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HISTORY 


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THE    UNITED    STATES. 


FOR    FAMILIES    AND    LIBRARIES 


BY 

BENSON     J.     LOS  SING, 

AUTHOR  OF  "  PICTORIAL  FIELD-BOOK  OF  THE  REVOLUTION,"   "  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES  FOR  SCHOOLS;"  "LIVES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS,"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  NEARLY  THREE  HUNDRED  ENGRAVINGS. 


NEW      YORK- 
MASON      BROTHERS, 

5   &    7    MERCER     STREET 
1860. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  185G, 

BY    MASON    BROTHERS, 
Tn  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


PRINTED     BY 
ELECTROTYPED    BY  c      A      ALVORD, 

THOMAS  B.   SMITH  ^  Vandewater.st,  N.Y. 

82  &  84  Beeltman  Street,  N.  \ 


ot  .ub 


PEE  F  A  C  B. 

THIS  work  has  been  prepared  with  great  care,  for  the  purpose  of  supply- 
ing a  want  long  felt  by  the  reading  public,  and  especially  by  Heads  of  Fam- 
ilies. Every  important  event  in  the  history  of  the  United  States,  from  the 
Aboriginal  period  to  the  present  time,  is  presented  in  a  concise,  but  perspic- 
uous and  comprehensive  manner,  without  giving  those  minute  and  often 
tedious  details,  which  are  valuable  to  the  student,  but  irksome  to  the  common 
reader.  The  History  of  our  Republic  is  herein  popularized,  and  adapted  to 
the  use  of  those  who  may  not  find  leisure  to  peruse  more  extensive  works 
upon  the  subject.  The  materials  have  been  drawn  from  the  earlier,  most 
elaborate,  and  most  reliable  historians  and  chroniclers  of  our  continent.  The 
work  is  constructed  upon  a  new  plan,  which,  it  is  believed,  will  be  found  to 
be  the  most  acceptable  yet  offered  to  the  public,  for  obtaining,  with  facility, 
and  fixing  in  the  memory,  a  knowledge  of  the  great  events  of  our  truly  won- 
derful history.  And  having  visited  a  greater  portion  of  the  localities  made 
memorable  by  important  occurrences  in  our  country,  the  writer  claims,  in 
that  particular,  an  advantage  over  his  predecessors  in  this  special  field,  for 
he  has  been  able  to  correct  errors  and  give  truthful  impressions  of  things  and 
events.  An  endeavor  has  also  been  made  to  show  the  cause  of  every  import- 
ant event,  and  thus,  by  developing  the  philosophy  of  our  history,  to  make  it 
more  attractive  and  instructive  than  a  bald  record  of  facts.  And  wherever 
the  text  appeared  to  need  further  elucidation,  additional  facts  have  been  given 
in  foot-notes. 

The  arrangement  of  the  work  is  new.  It  is  in  six  Periods,  each  com- 
mencing where  the  history  naturally  divides  into  distinct  epochs.  The  first 
Period  exhibits  a  general  view  of  the  Aboriginal  race  who  occupied  the  con- 
tinent when  the  Europeans  came.  The  second  is  a  record  of  all  the  Discov- 
eries and  preparations  for  settlement,  made  by  individuals  and  governments. 
The  third  delineates  the  progress  of  all  the  Settlements  until  colonial  gov- 
ernments were  formed.  The  fourth  tells  the  story  of  these  Colonies  from 
their  infancy  to  maturity,  and  illustrates  the  continual  development  of  Dem- 
ocratic ideas  and  Republican  tendencies  which  finally  resulted  in  a  political 


VI  PREFACE. 

confederation.  The  fifth  has  a  full  account  of  the  important  events  of  the 
War  for  Independence,  and  the  sixth  gives  a  concise  history  of  the  Re- 
public, from  its  formation  to  the  present  time.  The  Supplement  is  com- 
posed of  the  most  important  State  Papers  connected  with  that  formation, 
such  as  the  Stamp  Act,  and  papers  put  forth  by  the  Stamp  Act  Congress ; 
the  papers  presented  to  the  consideration  of  the  world  by  the  First  and  Sec- 
ond Continental  Congresses ;  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  the  Articles 
of  Confederation ;  and  the  Federal  Constitution,  with  the  admirable  Farewell 
Address  of  Washington.  These  documents,  thus  grouped  and  preserved,  will 
be  found  valuable  as  embodying  the  principles  of  our  government.  The 
original  draft,  with  the  amendments,  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  is 
given ;  and,  in  foot-notes,  every  charge  made  against  the  king  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, in  that  manifesto,  is  proven  from  History.  The  Federal  Constitution  is 
also  accompanied  by  important  commentaries. 

The  system  of  concordance  interwoven  with  the  notes  throughout  the 
entire  work,  is  of  great  importance  to  the  reader.  When  a  fact  is  named 
which  bears  a  relation  to  another  fact  elsewhere  recorded  in  the  volume,  a 
reference  is  made  to  the  page  where  such  fact  is  mentioned  A  knowledge 
of  this  relationship  of  separate  events  is  often  essential  to  a  clear  view  of  the 
subject,  and  without  this  concordance,  a  great  deal  of  time  would  be  spent  in 
searching  for  that  relationship.  With  the  concordance  the  matter  may  be 
found  in  a  moment.  Favorable  examples  of  the  utility  of  this  new  feature 
may  be  found  on  page  289.  If  strict  attention  shall  be  given  to  these  refer- 
ences, the  whole  subject  will  be  presented  to  the  mind  of  the  reader  in  a 
comprehensive  aspect  of  unity  not  to  be  obtained  by  any  other  method. 

The  engravings  are  introduced  not  for  the  sole  purpose  of  embellishing 
the  volume,  but  to  enhance  its  utility  as  an  instructor.  Every  picture  is 
intended  to  illustrate  a  fact,  not  merely  to  beautify  the  page.  Great  care 
has  been  taken  to  secure  accuracy  in  all  the  delineations  of  men  and  things, 
so  that  they  may  not  convey  false  instruction.  Geographical  maps  have  been 
omitted,  because  they  must  necessarily  be  too  small  to  be  of  essential  service. 
History  may  be  read  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  general  information  on  the 
subject,  without  maps,  but  it  should  never  be  studied  without  the  aid  of  an 
accurate  Atlas. 

The  author  has  endeavored  to  make  this  work  essentially  a  FAMILY 
HISTORY,  attractive  and  instructive;  and  the  Publishers  have  generously 
co-worked  with  him  in  producing  a  volume  that  may  justly  claim  to  be 
excellent  in  every  particular.  With  these  few  observations  concerning  the 
general  plan  and  merits  of  the  work,  it  is  presented  to  the  public,  with  an 
entire  willingness  to  have  its  reputation  rest  upon  its  own  merits. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

FRONTISPIECE 

Sioux  INDIANS 9 

PORTRAIT  OF  RED  JACKET 9 

A  WIGWAM 1 

\V  AM  HUM 13 

INDIAN  HIEROGLYPHICS 13 

INDIAN  WEAPONS 14 

CALUMETS 14 

INDIAN  BURIAL-PLACE 15 

INDIAN  TOTUM 15 

PROFILE  OF  BLACK  HAWK IS 

UNCAS'S  MONUMENT 21 

PORTRAIT  OF  SAMUEL  KIRKLAND 25 

SOUTHERN  INDIANS 30 

COLUMBUS  BEFORE  THE  COUNCIL  OF  SALAMANCA  3 

PORTRAIT  OF  AMERIGO  VESPUCCI 34 

NORTHMAN  ...                        34 


NORMAN  SHIP 35 

OLD  TOWER  AT  NEWPORT 35 

PORTRAIT  OF  COLUMBUS 36 

PORTRAIT  OF  ISABELLA 38 

THE  FLEET  OF  COLUMBUS 39 

BANNER  OF  THE  EXPEDITION 40 

BALBOA 42 

PORTRAIT  OF  DE  SOTO 44 

PORTRAIT  OF  SEBASTIAN  CABOT 46 

PORTRAIT  OF  VERAGAZZI 47 

CARTIER'S  SHIP 48 

ARMS  OF  FRANCE 4S 

FRENCH  NOBLEMAN,  154  I 49 

RALEIGH'S  EXPEDITION  AT  KOANOKE 53 

PORTRAIT  OF  SIR  WALTER  RALEIGH 55 

RALEIGH'S  SHIPS 55 

ENGLISH  GENTLEMAN,  1580 57 

PORTRAIT  OF  HENRY  HUDSON 59 

THE  HALF- MOON 59 

BUILDING  JAMESTOWN 61 

PORTRAIT  OF  CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH 61 

PORTRAIT  OF  POCAHONTAS 66 

SEAL  OF  NEW  NETHERLAND 73 

A  PURITAN 75 

THE  MAYFLOWER 77 

GOVERNOR  CARVER'S  CHAIR 79 

PORTRAIT  OF  CECIL,  LORD  BALTIMORE 81 

HOOKER'S  EMIGRATION  TO  CONNECTICUT S3 

FIRST  MEETING-HOUSE  IN  CONNECTICUT 86 

PORTRAIT  OF  ROGER  WILLIAMS 9i» 

PORTRAIT  OF  WILLIAM  PENN 95 

THE  ASSEMBLY  HOUSE,  PENNSYLVANIA 97 

OGLETHORPE  ON  THE  SITE  OF  SAVANNAH 101 

EMBARKATION  OF  THE  PILGRIMS 104 

PORTRAIT  OF  JAMES  EDWARD  OGLETHORPE 104 

CHURCH  TOWER  AT  JAMESTOWN 112 

FIRST  COLONY  SEAL,  MASSACHUSETTS 117 

PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  WINTIIROP 117 

FIRST  MONEY  COINED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES..  122 

PORTRAIT  OF  KING  PHILIP 124 

PALLISADED  BUILDING 127 

PORTRAIT  OF  CAPTAIN  CHURCH 128 

PORTRAIT  OF  COTTON  MATHER 133 

WILLIAMS'S  HOUSE,  DEERFIELD 135 

PLAN  OF  THE  SIEGE  OF  LOUISBURG 137 

PORTRAIT  OF  PETER  STUYVESANT 142 

CITY  OF  NEW  YORK  IN  1664 144 

STUYVESANT  SURRENDERING  FORT  AMSTERDAM 

TO  THE  ENGLISH 145 

THE  CHARTER  OAK  ...                                        . .  156 


PAGE 

67.  PENN'S  HOUSE 162 

68.  PLAN  OF  CHARLESTON  IN  1680 166 

69.  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  HOUSE 176 

70.  DUTCHMAN,  1660 176 

71.  PLAN  OF  FORT  Du  QUESNE 186 

72.  PORTRAIT  OF  BRADDOCK 186 

|     73.  BURIAL  OF  BRADDOCK 187 

I     74.  PLAN  OF  FORT  EDWARD 190 

75.  PORTRAIT  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  JOHNSON 190 

I     76.  PLAN  OF  FORT  WILLIAM  HENRY 191 

|     77.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  ABERCROMBIE 191 

|     78.  PLANS  OF  FORTS  AT  OSWEGO 192 

9.  BLOCK  HOUSE 192 

194 
190 
190 
197 
197 
200 
200 
201 
202 
202 


SO.  MAP  OF  LAKE  GEORGE  AND  VICINITY 

81.  PORTRAIT  OF  LORD  AMHERST 

82.  PLAN  OF  TICONDEROGA 

83.  RUINS  OF  TICONDEROGA 

84.  PORTRAIT  OF  LORD  HOWE 

85.  PLAN  OF  CROWN  POINT 

86.  PLAN  OF  FORT  NIAGARA 

87.  GENERAL  WOLFE 

88.  MILITARY  OPERATIONS  AT  QUEBEC 

89.  MONUMENT  TO  WOFLE  AND  MONTCALM 

90.  PATRICK  HENRY  BEFORE  THE  VIRGINIA  ASSEM- 

BLY   

91.  PORTRAIT  OF  JAMES  OTIS 

92.  PORTRAIT  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST 

93.  PORTRAIT  OF  DAVID  RITTENHOUSE 

94.  PORTRAIT  OF  PATRICK  HENRY 

95.  A  STAMP 

96.  PORTRAIT  OF  CADWALLADER  GOLDEN 

97.  PORTRAIT  OF  WILLIAM  PITT 

98.  PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  DICKENSON 

99.  PORTRAIT  OF  SAMUEL  ADAMS 

100.  PORTRAIT  OF  LORD  NORTH 

101.  FANEUIL  HALT 

102.  SNAKE  DEVICE.  .   

103.  PORTRAIT  OF  CHARLES  THOMSON 

104.  CARPENTER'S  HALL 

105.  JOHN  HANCOCK 

106.  PLAN  OF  BUNKER  HILL  BATTLE 

107.  BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT 

108.  PORTRAIT  OF  JOSEPH  WARREN 

109.  PORTRAIT  OF  PHILIP  SCIIUYLER 

110.  PLAN  OF  THE  WALLS  OF  QUEBEC 

111.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  MONTGOMERY 

112.  CULPEPPER  FLAG 

113.  UNION  FLAG 

114.  BILL  OF  CREDIT  OR  CONTINENTAL  MONEY 

115.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  LEE 

116.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  MOULTRIE 

117.  STATE  HOUSE,  PHILADELPHIA 

118.  PORTRAIT  OF  BENJAMIN  RUSH. 


119.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  PUTNAM 

120.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  ON  LONG  ISLAND 

121.  PLAN  OF  FORT  WASHINGTON 

122.  RETREAT  OF  THE  AMERICANS  FROM  LONG  ISLAND 

123.  THE  JERSEY  PRISON-SHIP 

124.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  AT  TRENTON 

125.  PORTRAIT  OF  ROBERT  MORRIS 

126.  PORTRAIT  OF  SILAS  DEANE 

127.  PORTRAIT  OF  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

128.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  AT  PRINCETON 

129.  PORTRAIT  OF  LA  FAYETTE 

130.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  AT  THE  BRANDYWINE.  .. 

131.  CHEVAUX-DE-FRISE 

132.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  AT  GERMANTOWN 


207 
207 
210 
211 
214 

210 
217 
219 
221 
224 
225 
220 
227 
228 
230 
235 
235 
237 
239 
242 
2>> 
248 
245 
245 
248 
249 
251 1 
251 
25S 
254 
256 
257 
259 
263 
264 
266 
267 
269 
273 
273 
274 
275 


Vlll 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

133.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  ST.  CLAIR '276  208. 

134.  PORTRAIT  OF  KOSCIUS/.KO 277  209. 

135.  PORTRAIT  OF  JOSEPH  BRANT 278  210. 

136.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  BURGOYNE 278  211. 

137.  A  TREATY 278  212. 

138.  BURGOYNE     SURRENDERING    ins    SWORD     TO  213. 

GATES 279  214. 

139.  PLAN  OF  OPERATIONS  AT  BEMIS'S  HEIGHTS 281  215. 

140.  PORTRAIT  OF  FRANCIS  HOPKINSON 284  216. 

141.  PLAN  OF  ENCAMPMENT  AT  VALLEY  FORGE 285  217. 

142.  PORTRAIT  OF  SIR  HENRY  CLINTON 287  218. 

143.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  AT  MONMOUTH 288  219. 

144.  PORTRAIT  OF  COUNT  D'ESTAING 289  220. 

145.  PORTRAIT  OF  BARON  STEUBEN 291  221. 

146.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  LINCOLN 294  222. 

147.  PLAN  OF  STONY  POINT 298  223. 

148.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  WAYNE 298  224. 

149.  PORTRAIT  OF  DANIEL  BOONE 299  225. 

150.  PORTRAIT  OF  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARKE 300  226. 

151.  CLARKE'S  EXPEDITION  ACROSS  THE  "  DROWNED  227. 

LANDS." 301      223. 

152.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  SULLIVAN 304     229. 

153.  PLAN  OF  THE  SIEGE  ov SAVANNAH 305     230. 

154.  PORTRAIT  OF  COUNT  PULASKI 3<;5     231. 

155.  PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  PAUL  JONES 307      232. 

156.  A  GUN-BOAT  AT  BOSTON 3C7      233. 

157.  PORTRAIT  OF  ADMIRAL  HOPKINS 308 

158.  CIPHER  ALPHABET 309 

159.  PORTRAIT  OF  GOVERNOR  RITTLEDGE 310 

160.  PORTRAIT  OF  COMMODORE  WHIPPLE 310 

161.  PLAN  OF  THE  SIEGE  OF  CHARLESTON 311 

162.  PORTRAIT  OF  DAVID  HAMS  AY 812 

163.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  GATES 814 

164.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  SITMTER 315 

1(55.  PLAN  OF  BATTLE  AT  SANDERS'S  CRI:I:K 815 

166.  PORTRAIT  OF  BARON  DE  KALI*  .  i 81 G 

167.  PORTRAIT  OF  COLONEL  TARLETON 816 

163.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  MARION 317 

169.  PORTRAIT  OF  LORD  CORNWALLIS 318 

170.  MARION'S  ENCAMPMENT  ON  THE  PEDEK 821 

171.  PORTRAIT  OF  GOVERNOR  TRUMBULL 823 

172.  PORT;;  A  IT  OF  BENEDICT  ARNOLD 825 

173.  THE  CAPTORS'  MEDAL 827 

174.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  GREENE 331 

175.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  MORGAN .  331 

176.  PORTRAIT  OF  COLONEL  WASHINGTON 832 

177.  PORTRAIT  OF  COLONEL  HENRY  LEE 333 

178.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  AT  GUILFORD 833 

179.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  AT  HOBKIRK'S  IIiLi 334 

180.  PORTRAIT  OF  REBECCA  MOTTE 335 

181.  PLAN  OF  FORT  NINETY-SIX 336 

182.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  PICKENS 336 

183.  PORTRAIT  OF  COUNT  DE  ROCIIAMBEAU 839 

134.  PORTRAIT  OF  COUNT  DE  GRASSE 340 

185.  PLAN  OF  THE  SIEGE  OF  YORKTOWN 841 

186.  PORTRAIT  OF   BENJAMIN  THOMPSON    (COUNT 

EUMFORD) 346 

1S7.  PORTRAIT  OF  JAMES  JACKSON 347 

183.  PORTRAIT  OF  GEORGE  CLINTON 850 

189.  PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  MARSH ALI 351 

190.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  MIFFLIN 352 

191.  ORDER  OF  THE  CINCINNATI 852 

192.  PORTRAIT  OF  BISHOP  CARROLI 354 

193.  FRANKLIN  BEFORE  THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CON- 

VENTION   357  :  272. 

194.  PORTRAIT  OF  OLIVER  ELLSWORTH 360  273. 

195.  PORTRAIT  OF  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON 361  j  274. 

196.  PORTRAIT  OF  EUFUS  PUTNAM 862  275. 

197.  INAUGURATION  OF  WASHINGTON 364  276. 

198.  PORTRAIT  OF  GOUVERNEUR  MORRIS 364  i  277. 

199.  PORTRAIT  OF  WASHINGTON 865  278. 

200.  PORTRAIT  OF  ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON 366  '  279. 

201. -PORTRAIT  OF  TENCH  COXE 369  :  280. 

202.  PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  KNOX 870  !  281 . 

203.  WAYNE'S  DEFEAT  OF  THE  INDIANS 375  282. 

204.  PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  JAY 379  i  283. 

205.  PORTRAIT  OF  FISHER  AMES 880  |  284. 

206.  PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  ADAMS 383  i  235. 

207.  PORTRAIT  OF  C.  C.  PINCKNEY 384  I 


PORTRAIT  OF  MARTHA  WASHINGTON 

PORTRAIT  OF  THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

PORTRAIT  OF  COMMODORE  BAINBRIDGE 

UNITED  STATES  FRIGATE 

PORTRAIT  OF  LIEUTENANT  DECATUR 

MOHAMMEDAN  SOLDIER 

BURNING  OF  THE  PHILADELPHIA  AT  TRIPOLI 

PORTRAIT  OF  RUFUS  KING 

PORTRAIT  OF  AARON  BURR 

PORTRAIT  OF  ROBERT  FULTON 

FULTON'S  FIRST  STEAMBOAT 

PORTRAIT  OF  WILLIAM  PINKNEY 

A  FELUCCA  GUN-BOAT 

PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  RANDOLPH 

PORTRAIT  OF  JAMES  MADISON 

PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  DEARBORN 

PORTRAIT  OF  STEPHEN  VAN  RENNSSELAER.  . 

SLOOP-OF-WAR 

PORTRAIT  OF  GOVERNOR  SHELUY 

PLAN  OF  FORT  MEIGS 

PLAN  OF  FORT  SANDCSKY 

MAJOR  CROGHAN 

PERRY  ON  LAKE  ERIE 

PORTRAIT  OF  COMMODORE  PKKRY 

PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  PIKE 

FORT  NIAGARA  IN  1813... 


239. 
240. 
241. 
242. 
243. 
244. 
245. 
246. 
247. 
248. 
249. 


PORTRAIT  OF  CAPTAIN  LAWRENCE.  . . 
PORTRAIT  OF  COMMODORE  PORTER.  . . 

PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  BROWN 

MAP  OK  THE  NIAGARA  FRONTIER.  . . , 
PORTRAIT  OF  COMMODORE  MACDONOI 
PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEA 
PORTRAIT  OF  W.  C.  C.  CLAIBORNE.  . 

JACKSON  AT  NEW  ORLEANS 

PORTRAIT  OF  JAMES  MONROE 

CAPTTTRK  OF  PENSACOLA ,... 

PORTRAIT  OF  EDWARD  LIVINGSTON.  , 
PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 

PORTRAIT  OF  DEWITT  CLINTON 

PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON 

PORTRAIT  OF  ROBERT  Y.  HAYNE.  . . 


PAGE 

.  387 
.  3S9 
.  391 
.  891 
.  392 
.  392 
.  398 
.  895 
.  396 
.  398 
.  S99 

400 
.  401 
.  403 
.  4;.5 
.  410 
.  413 
,  .  415 
.  417 
.  418 
.  419 
.  -120 
.  421 
.  423 
.  425 
.  427 
.  429 

431 
.  432 
.  434 
.  435 


250. 
251. 
252. 
253. 
254. 
255. 
256. 
257. 
258. 


PORTRAIT  OF  OSCEOLA 

MAP  OF  THE  SEAT  OF  THE  SEMINOLE  WAR 

PORTRAIT  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN 

PORTRAIT  OF  WILLIAM  II.  HARRISON 

PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  TYLER 

PORTRAIT  OF  JAMES  K.  POLK 

PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT 

MAP  OF  THE  REGION  OF  TAYLOR'S  OM.R.YTIONS 
PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  C.  FREMONT.  . . 


260. 
261. 
262. 
263. 
264. 
265. 
266. 
267. 
268. 
269. 
270. 
2T1. 


PLAN  OF  INTRENCHMENTS  AT  VERA  CRUX 

MAP  OF  THE  ROUTE  OF  SCOTT'S  ARMY  IN  MEXICO 

BOMBARDMENT  OF  VERA  CRUZ 

OPERATIONS  NEAR  MEXICO 

GENERAL  SCOTT  ENTERING  THE  CITY  OF  MEXICO 

PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  TAYLOR 

PORTRAIT  OF  HENRY  CLAY 

PORTRAIT  OF  MILLARD  FILLMORE 

PORTRAIT  OF  DANIEL  WEBSTER 

PORTRAIT  OF  JOSEPH  SMITH 

MORMON  EMIGRATION 

PORTRAIT  OF  PROFESSOR  MORSE 

PORTRAIT  OF  DR.  KANE 

PORTRAIT  OF  FRANKLIN  PIERCE 

PORTRAIT  OF  SANTA  ANNA 

AN  OCEAN  STEAMSHIP 

CRYSTAL  PALACE  IN  NEW  YORK 

PORTRAIT  OF  CAPTAIN  INGRAHAM 

PORTRAIT  OF  JAMES  BUCHANAN 

FOUNDING  NEW  STATES 

PORTRAIT  OF  THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  ADAMS 

PORTRAIT  OF  DR.  FRANKLIN 

PORTRAIT  OF  ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON 

PORTRAIT  OF  ROGER  SHERMAN 

PORTRAIT  OF  CHARLES  CARROLL 

PORTRAIT  OF  JUDGE  STORY 


440 
441 
447 
449 
452 
455 
456 
45S 
4CO 
463 
4G6 
467 
470 
474 
476 
479 
485 
486 
483 
489 
490 
491 
493 
495 
498 
500 
502 
503 
504 
505 
507 
510 
514 
515 
516 
517 
518 
532 
537 
589 
589 
589 
589 
589 
601 
612 


HISTORY 


OF 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


FIRST  PERIOD. 

THE     ABORIGINALS 


CHAPTER  I. 

EVERY  cultivated  nation  had  its  heroic 
age — a  period  when  its  first  physical  and 
moral  conquests  were  achieved,  and  when 

rude  society,  with  all  its  impurities,  was  fused  and  refined  in  the  crucible  of 
progress.  When  civilization  first  set  up  its  standard  as  a  permanent  ensign,  in 
the  western  hemisphere,  northward  of  the  Bahamas  and  the  great  Gulf,  and 


RED  JACKET. 


10  THE    ABORIGINALS. 

the  contests  for  possession  began  between  the  wild  Aboriginals,  who  thrust  no 
spade  into  the  soil,  no  sickle  into  ripe  harvests,  and  those  earnest  delvers  from 
the  Old  World,  who  came  with  the  light  of  Christianity,  to  plant  a  new 
empire,  and  redeem  the  wilderness  by  cultivation — then  commenced  the  heroic 
age  of  America.  It  ended  when  the  work  of  the  Revolution  in  the  eighteenth 
century  was  accomplished — when  the  bond  of  vassalage  to  Great  Britain  was 
severed  by  her  colonies,  and  when  thirteen  confederated  States  ratified  a  Fed- 
eral Constitution,  and  upon  it  laid  the  broad  foundation  of  our  Republic.1 

Long  anterior  to  the  advent  of  Europeans  in  America,  a  native  empire, 
little  inferior  to  old  Rome  in  civilization,  flourished  in  that  region  of  our  Con- 
tinent which  now  forms  the  south-western  portion  of  our  Republic,  and  the 
adjoining  States  of  Central  America.  The  Aztec  Empire,  which  reached  the 
acme  of  its  refinement  during  the  reign  of  Montezuma.  arid  crumbled  into  frag- 
ments beneath  the  heel  of  Cortez,  when  he  dethroned  and  destroyed  that  mon- 
arch,2 extended  over  the  whole  region  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien ;  and  when  the  Spaniards  came,  it  was  gradually  pushing  its  conquests 
northward,  where  all  was  yet  darkness  and  gloom.  To  human  apprehension, 
this  people,  apparently  allied  by  various  tics  to  the  wild  nations  of  North 
America,  appeared  to  be  the  most  efficient  instruments  in  the  hands  of  Provi- 
dence, for  spreading  the  light  of  dawning  civilization  over  the  whole  Continent. 
Yet,  they  were  not  only  denied  this  glorious  privilege,  but,  by  the  very  race 
which  first  attempted  to  plant  the  seeds  of  European  society  in  Florida,  and 
among  the  Mobilian  tribes,3  and  to  shed  the  illumination  of  their  dim  Chris- 
tianity over  the  dreary  region  of  the  North,  was  their  own  bright  light  extin- 
guished. The  Aztecs  and  their  neighbors  were  beaten  into  the  dust  or* 
debasement  by  the  falchion  blows  of  avarice  and  bigotry,  and  nothing  remains 
to  attest  their  superiority  but  the  magnificent  ruins  of  their  cities  and  temples. 
and  their  colossal  statuary,  which  has  survived  the  fury  of  the  Spanish  icono- 
clast and  the  tooth  of  decay.  They  form,  apparently,  not  the  most  insignificant 
atom  of  the  chain  of  events  which  connects  the  history  of  the  Aboriginal  nations 
of  America  with  that  of  our  Republic.  The  position  of  the  tribes  of  the 
North  is  different.  From  the  beginning  of  European  settlements,  they  have 
maintained,  and  do  still  maintain,  an  important  relation  to  the  white  people. 

The  first  inhabitants  of  a  country  properly  belong  to  the  history  of  all  sub- 
sequent occupants  of  the  territory.  The  several  nations  of  red  or  copper- 
colored  people  who  occupied  the  present  domain  of  the  United  States,  when 
Europeans  first  came,  form  as  necessary  materials  for  a  portion  ©f  the  history 
of  our  Republic,  as  the  Frenchmen4  and  Spaniards,3  by  whom  parts  of  the 
territory  were  settled,  and  from  whom  they  have  been  taken  by  conquest  or 
purchase. 

The  history  of  the  Indian8  tribes,  previous  to  the  formation  of  settlements 
among  them,  by  Europeans,7  is  involved  in  an  obscurity  which  is  penetrated 

1  Page  360.  2  Page  43.  3  Page  29.  4  Page  180. 

6  Page  51.  6  Page  40.  7  Before  the  year  1607. 


THE     ABORIGINALS.  H 

only  by  vague  traditions  and  uncertain  conjectures.  Whence  came  they  ?  is  a 
question  yet  unanswered  by  established  facts.  In  the  Old  World,  the  monu- 
ments of  an  ancient  people  often  record  their  history.  In  North  America, 
such  intelligible  records  are  wanting.  Within  almost  every  State  and  Terri- 
tory remains  of  human  skill  and  labor  have  been  found,1  which  seem  to  attest 
the  existence  here  of  a  civilized  nation  or  nations,  before  the  ancestors  of  our 
numerous  Indian  tribes  became  masters  of  the  Continent.  Some  of  these 
appear  to  give  indisputable  evidence  of  intercourse  between  the  people  of  tho 
Old  World  and  those  of  America,  centuries,  perhaps,  before  the  birth  of  Christ, 
and  at  periods  soon  afterward.2  The  whole  mass  of  testimony  yet  discovered 
doss  not  prove  that  such  intercourse  was  extensive ;  that  colonies  from  the 
eastern  hemisphere  ever  made  permanent  settlements  in  America,  or  remained 
long  enough  to  impress  their  character  upon  the  country  or  the  Aboriginals,  if 
they  existed ;  or  that  a  high  degree  of  civilization  had  ever  prevailed  on  our 
Continent. 

The  origin  of  the  Indian  tribes  is  referred  by  some  to  the  Phoenicians  and 
other  maritime  nations,  whose  extensive  voyages  have  been  mentioned  by 
ancient  writers,  and  among  whom  tradition  seemed  to  cherish  memories  of  far- 
off  lands  beyond  the  sea,  unknown  to  the  earlier  geographers.  Others  per- 
ceive evidences  of  their  Egyptian  or  Hindoo  parentage ;  and  others  find  their 
ancestors  among  the  "lost  tribes  of  Israel,"  who  "took  counsel  to  go  forth 
into  a  further  country  where  never  mankind  dwelt,"3  and  crossed  from  north- 
eastern Asia  to  our  Continent,  by  way  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  or  by  Beh- 
ring's  Straits.4  These  various  theories,  and  many  others  respecting  settlements 
of  Europeans  and  Asiatics  here,  long  before  the  time  of  Columbus,  unsupported 
as  they  are  by  a  sufficiency  of  acknowledged  facts,  have  so  little  practical  value 


J  Remains  of  fortifications,  similar  in  form  to  those  of  ancient  European  nations,  have  been 
discovered.  An  idol,  composed  of  clay  and  gypsum,  representing  a  man  without  arms,  and  in 
all  respects  resembling  one  found  in  Southern  Russia,  was  dug  up  near  Nashville,  in  Tennessee. 
Also  fireplaces,  of  regular  structure ;  weapons  and  utensils  of  copper ;  catacombs  with  mummies ; 
ornaments  of  silver,  brass,  and  copper ;  walls  of  forts  and  cities,  and  many  other  things  which  only 
a  people  advanced  in  civilization  could  have  made.  The  Aboriginals,  themselves,  have  various 
traditions  respecting  their  origin — each  nation  having  its  distinct  records  in  the  memory.  Nearly 
all  have  traditional  glimpses  of  a  great  and  universal  deluge;  and  some  say  their  particular  pro- 
genitor came  in  a  bark  canoe  after  that  terrible  event.  This  belief,  with  modifications,  was  current 
among  most  of  the  northern  tribes,  and  was  a  recorded  tradition  of  the  half-civilized  Aztecs. 
The  latter  ascribed  all  their  knowledge  of  the  arts,  and  their  religious  ceremonies,  to  a  white  and 
bearded  mortal  who  came  among  them ;  and  whan  his  mission  was  ended,  was  made  immortal  by 
the  Great  Spirit. 

2  A  Roman  coin  was  found  in  Missouri ;  a  Persian  coin  in  Ohio ;  a  bit  of  silver  in  Genesee 
county,  New  York,  with  the  year  of  our  Lord,  GOO,  engraved  on  it;  split  wood  and  ashes,  thirty 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  earth,  near  Fredonia,   New  York ;    and  near  Montevideo,   South 
America,  in  a  tomb,  were  found  two  ancient  swords,  a  helmet  and  shield,  with  Greek  inscriptions, 
showing  that  they  were  made  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  330  years  before  Christ.     Near 
Marietta,  Ohio,  a  silver  cup,  finely  gilded  within,  was  found  in  an  ancient  mound.     Traces  of  iron 
utensils,  wholly  reduced  to  rust,  mirrors  of  isinglass,  and  glazed  pottery,  have  also  been  discovered 
in  these  mounds.     These  are  evidences  of  the  existence  of  a  race  far  more  civilized  than  the  tribes 
found  by  modern  Europeans. 

3  2  Esdras,  xiii.  40-45. 

The  people  of  north-eastern  Asia,  and  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  have  a  near 
resemblance  in  person,  customs,  and  languages ;  and  those  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  present  many 
of  the  characteristics  of  both.  Ledyard  said  of  the  people  of  Eastern  Siberia,  "  Universally  and 
circumstantially  they  resemble  the  Aborigines  of  America." 


12  THE     ABORIGINALS. 

for  the  student  of  our  history,  that  we  will  not  occupy  space  in  giving  a  deline- 
ation of  even  their  outlines.  There  are  elaborately-written  works  specially 
devoted  to  this  field  of  inquiry,  and  to  those  the  curious  reader  is  referred. 
The  proper  investigation  of  such  subjects  requires  the  aid  of  varied  and  exten- 
sive knowledge,  and  a  far  wider  field  for  discussion  than  the  pages  of  a  volume 
like  this.  So  we  will  leave  the  field  of  conjecture  for  the  more  useful  and 
important  domain  of  recorded  history. 

The  New  World,  dimly  comprehended  by  Europeans,  afforded  materials  fcr 
wonderful  narratives  concerning  its  inhabitants  and  productions.  The  few 
natives  who  were  found  upon  the  seaboard,  had  all  the  characteristics  common 
to  the  human  race.  The  interior  of  the  Continent  was  a  deep  mystery,  and 
for  a  long  time  marvelous  stories  were  related  and  believed  of  nations  of  giants 
and  pigmies ;  of  people  with  only  one  eye,  and  that  in  the  centre  of  the  fore- 
head ;  and  of  whole  tribes  who  existed  without  eating.  But  when  sober  men 
penetrated  the  forests  and  became  acquainted  with  the  inhabitants,  it  was  dis- 
covered that  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  country  north  of  the  chain  of 
great  lakes  which  divide  the  United  States  and  the  British  possessions,  the 
people  were  not  remarkable  in  persons  and  qualities,  and  that  a  great  similarity 
in  manners  and  institutions  prevailed  over  that  whole  extent  of  country. 

The  Aboriginals  spoke  a  great  variety  of  dialects,  but  there  existed  not 
more  than  eight  radically  distinct  languages  among  them  all,  from  the  Atlan- 
tic to  the  Mississippi,  and  westward  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  namely :  AL- 

GOXQUIX,      HUROX-lROQUOIS,      CHEROKEE,      CATAWBA,      UciIEE,      NATCHEZ, 

MOBILIAX,  and  DAIICOTAH  or  Sioux.  These  occupied  a  region  embraced 
within  about  twenty-four  degrees  of  latitude  and  almost  forty  degrees  of  longi- 
tude, and  covering  a  greater  portion  of  the  breadth  of  the  north  temperate 
zone. 

All  the  nations  and  tribes  were  similar  in  physical  character,  moral  senti- 
ment, social  and  political  organization,  and  religious  belief.  They  were  all  of 
a  copper  color ;  were  tall,  straight,  and  well-proportioned ;  their  eyes  black 
and  expressive ;  their  hair  black,  long,  coarse,  and  perfectly  straight ;  their 
constitutions  vigorous,  and  their  powers  of  endurance  remarkable.  Bodily 
deformity  was  almost  unknown,  and  few  diseases  prevailed.  They  were  indo- 
lent, taciturn,  and  unsocial ;  brave,  and  sometimes  generous  in  war ;  unflinch- 
ing under  torture;  revengeful,  treacherous,  and  morose  when  injured  or 
offended ;  not  always  grateful  for  favors ;  grave  and  sagacious  in  council ;  often 
eloquent  in  speech ;  sometimes  warm  and  constant  in  friendship,  and  occasion- 
ally courteous  and  polite. 

The  men  were  employed  in  war,  hunting  and  fishing.  The  women  per- 
formed all  menial  services.  In  hunting  and  fishing  the  men  were  assiduous 
and  very  skillful.  They  carried  the  knowledge  of  woodcraft  to  the  highest 
degree  of  perfection ;  and  the  slightest  indication,  such  as  the  breaking  of  a 
twig,  or  the  bending  of  grass,  was  often  sufficient  to  form  a  clew  to  the  pathway 
of  an  enemy  or  of  game.  The  women  bore  all  burdens  during  journeys ; 
spread  the  tents ;  prepared  food ;  dressed  skins  for  clothing ;  wove  mats  for 


THE     ABORIGINALS. 


A    WIGWAM. 


beds,  made  of  the  bark  of  trees  and  the  skins  of  animals  ;  and  planted  and 
gathered  the  scanty  crops  of  corn,  beans,  peas,  potatoes, 
melons,  and  tobacco.  These  constituted  the  chief  agri- 
cultural productions  of  the  Aboriginals,  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances.  In  these  labors  the  men  never 
engaged ;  they  only  manufactured  their  implements  of 
war.  Their  wigwams,  or  houses,  were  rude  huts,  made 
of  poles  covered  with  mats,  skins,  or  bark  of  trees ;  and 
all  of  their  domestic  arrangements  were  very  simple. 
And  simple,  too,  were  their  implements  of  labor.  They  were  made  of  stone.3, 
shells,  and  bones,  with  which  they  prepared  their  food,  made  their  clothing  and 
habitations,  and  tilled  their  lands.  Their  food  consisted  of  a  few  vegetables, 
and  the  meat  of  the  deer,  buffalo,  and  bear,  generally  roasted  upon  the 
points  of  sticks ;  sometimes  boiled  in  water  heated  by  hot 
stones,  and  always  eaten  without  salt.  Their  dress  in  summer 
was  a  slight  covering  around  the  loins.  In  winter  they  were 
clad  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,1  often  profusely  ornamented 
with  the  claws  of  the  bear,  the  horns  of  the  buffalo,  the  feathers 
of  birds,  and  the  bones  of  fishes.  Their  faces  were  often  tat- 
tooed, and  generally  painted  with  bright  colors  in  hideous 
devices.  Their  money  was  little  tubes  made  of  shells,  fastened 
upon  belts  or  strung  in  chains,  and  called  ivampum?  It  was 
used  in  traffic,  in  treaties,  and  as  a  token  of  friendship  or  alliance.  Wampum 
belts  constituted  records  of  public  transactions  in  the  hands  of  a  chief. 

There  was  no  written  language  in  all  the 
New  World,  except  rude  hieroglyphics,  or 
picture  writings.  The  history  of  the 
nations,  consisting  of  the  records  of  warlike 
achievements,  treaties  of  alliance,  and 
deeds  of  great  men,  was,  in  the  form  of 
traditions,  carefully  handed  down  from 
father  to  son,  especially  from  chief  to  chief. 


WAJIPUM. 


INDIAN    HIEROGLYPHICS. a 


Children  were  taught  the  simple 


1  The  engraving  at  the  head  of  this  chapter  represents  some  Sioux  Indians,  in  their  winter  and 
fanciful  costumes. 

"  Wampum  is  yet  in  use,  as  money,  among  some  of  the  Western  tribes,  and  is  manufactured, 
we  believe,  as  an  article  of  commerce  on  the  sea-shore  of  one  of  the  counties  of  New  Jersey.  It  is 
made  of  the  clear  parts  of  the  common  clam-shell.  This  part  being  split  off,  a  hole  is  drilled  in  it, 
and  the  form,  which  is  that  of  the  bead  now  known  as  the  bugle,  is  produced  by  friction.  They  are 
about  half  an  inch  long,  generally  disposed  in  alternate  layers  of  white  and  bluish  black,  and 
valued,  when  they  become  a  circulating  medium,  at  about  two  cents  for  three  of  the  black  beads, 
or  six  of  the  white.  They  were  strung  in  parcels  to  represent  a  penny,  three  pence,  a  shilling, 
and  five  shillings,  of  white ;  and  double  that  amount  in  black.  A  fathom  of  white  was  worth 
about  two  dollars  and  a  half,  and  black  about  five  dollars.  They  were  of  less  value  at  the  time  of 
our  war  for  independence.  The  engraving  shows  a  part  of  a  string  and  a  belt  of  wampum. 

3  This  is  part  of  a  record  of  a  war  expedition.  The  figures  on  the  right  and  left — one  with  a 
gun  and  the  other  with  a  hatchet — denote  prisoners  taken  by  a  warrior.  The  one  without  a  head, 
and  holding  a  bow  and  arrow,  denotes  that  one  was  killed ;  and  the  figure  with  a  shaded  part 
below  the  cross  indicates  a  female  prisoner.  Then  he  goes  in  a  war  canoe,  with  nine  companions, 
denoted  by  the  paddles,  after  which  a  council  is  held  by  the  chiefs  of  the  Bear  and  Turtle  tribes, 
indicated  by  rude  figures  of  these  animals  on  each  side  of  a  fire. 


14 


THE     ABORIGINALS. 


INDIAN   WEAPONS.3 


CALUMETS. 


arts  practiced  among  them,  such  as  making  wampum,  constructing  bows, 
arrows,  and  spears,  preparing  matting  and  skins  for  domestic  use,  and  fashion- 
ing rude  personal  ornaments. 

Individual  and  national  pride  prevailed  among  the  Aboriginals.  They 
were  ambitious  of  distinction,  and  therefore  war  was  the  chief  vocation,  as  we 
have  said,  of  the  men.1  They  generally  went  forth  in  parties  of  about  forty 
bowmen.  Sometimes  a  half-dozen,  like  knights- 
errant,3  went  out  upon  the  war-path  to  seek  renown  in 
combat.  Their  weapons  were  bows  and  arrows,  hatch- 
ets (tomahawks)  of  stone,  and  scalping-knives  of  bone. 
Soon  after  they  became  acquainted  with  the  Euro- 
peans, they  procured  knives  and  hatchets  made  of 
iron,  and  this  was  a  great  advance  in  the 
increase  of  their  power.  Some  wore 
shields  of  bark ;  others  wore  skin  dresses 

for  protection.  They  were  skillful  in  stratagem,  and  seldom  met 
an  enemy  in  open  fight.  Ambush  and  secret  attack  were  their 
favorite  methods  of  gaining  an  advantage  over  an  enemy.  Their 
close  personal  encounters  were  fierce  and  bloody.  They  made 
prisoners,  and  tortured  them,  and  the  scalps4  of  enemies  were 
their  trophies  of  war.  Peace  was  arranged  by  sachems5  in  council ; 
and  each  smoking  the  same  "  pipe  of  peace."  called  calumet*  was 
a  solemn  pledge  of  fidelity  to  the  contract. 

4With  the  Indians,  as  with  many  oriental  nations,  women  were  regarded  as 
inferior  beings.  They  were  degraded  to  the  condition  of  abject  slaves,  and  they 
never  engaged  with  the  men  in  their  amusements  of  leaping,  dancing,  target- 
shooting,  ball-playing,  and  games  of  chance.  They  were  allowed  as  spectators, 
with  their  children,  at  war-dances  around  fires,  when  the  men  recited  the  feats 
of  their  ancestors  and  of  themselves.  Marriage,  among  them,  was  only  a  tem- 
porary contract — a  sort  of  purchase — the  father  receiving  presents  from  the 

1  It  was  offensive  to  a  chief  or  warrior  to  ask  him  his  name,  because  it  implied  that  his  brave 
deeds  were  unknown.     Red  Jacket,  the  great  Seneca  chief  (whose  portrait  is  at  the  head  of  this 
chapter),  was  asked  his  name  in  court,  in  compliance  with  a  legal  form.     He  was  very  indignant, 
and  replied,  "  Look  at  the  papers  which  the  white  people  keep  the  most  carefully" — (land  cession 
treaties) — "they  will  tell  you  who  I  am."     Red  Jacket  was  born  near  Geneva,  New  York,  about 
1750,  and  died  in  1830.     He  was  the  last  great  chief  of  the  Senecas.     For  a  biographical  sketch  of 
him,  see  Lossing's  "  Eminent  Americans." 

2  Knights-errant  of  Europe,  six  hundred  years  ago,  were  men  clothed  in  metal  armor,  who 
went  from  country  to  country,  to  win  fame  by  personal  combats  with  other  knights.     They  also 
engaged  in  wars.     For  about  three  hundred  years,  knights-errant  and  their  exploits  formed  the 
chief  amusement  of  the  courts  of  Europe.     It  is  curious  to  trace  the  connection  of  the  spirit  of 
knighthood,   as  exhibited  by  the  one  hundred  and   thirty-five   orders  that  have   existed,   at 
various  times,  in  the  Old  World,  with  some  of  the  customs  of  the  rude  Aboriginals  of  North 
America 

3  a,  bow  and  arrow ;  b,  a  war  club ;  c,  an  iron  tomahawk ;  c?,  a  stone  one ;    e,  a  scalping- 
knife. 

*  They  seized  an  enemy  by  the  hair,  and  by  a  skillful  use  of  the  knife,  cut  and  tore  from  the 
top  of  the  head  a  large  portion  of  the  skin. 

6  Sachems  were  the  civil  heads  of  nations  or  tribes;  chiefs  were  military  leaders. 

6  Tobacco  was  in  general  use  among  the  Indians  for  smoking,  when  the  white  men  came.  The 
more  filthy  practice  of  chewing  it  was  invented  by  the  white  people.  The  calumet  was  made  of 
pipe-clay,  and  was  often  ornamented  with  feathers. 


THE    ABORIGINALS.  15 

husband,  in  exchange  for  the  daughter,  who,  generally,  after  being  fondled  and 
favored  for  a  few  months,  was  debased  to  the  condition  of  a  domestic  servant,  at 
best.  The  men  had  the  right  to  take  wives  and  dismiss  them  at  pleasure ;  and, 
though  polygamy  was  not  very  common,  except  among  the  chiefs,  it  was  not 
objectionable.  Every  Indian  might  have  as  many  wives  as  he  could  purchase 
and  maintain.  The  husband  might  put  his  wife  to  death  if  she  proved  unfaithful 
to  him.  The  affections  were  ruled  by  custom,  and  those  decorous  endearments 
and  attentions  toward  woman,  which  give  a  charm  to  civilized  society,  were 
wholly  unknown  among  the  Indians  ;  yet  the  sentiment  of  conjugal  love  was 
not  always  wanting,  and  attachments  for  life  were  frequent.  There  was  no 
society  to  call  for  woman's  refining  qualities  to  give  it  beauty,  for  they  had  but 
few  local  attachments,  except  for  the  burial-places  of  their  dead. 

From  the  frozen  North  to  the  tropical  South,  their  funeral  ceremonies 
and  methods  of  burial  were  similar.     They  laid  their  dead,  wrapped  in  skins, 
upon  sticks,  in  the  bottom  of  a  shallow  pit,  or  placed 
them  in  a  sitting  posture,  or  occasionally  folded  them 
in  skins,  and  laid  them  upon  high  scaffolds,  out  of  the 
reach  of  wild   beasts.       Their   arms,  utensils,  paints, 
and  food,  were  buried  with  them,  to  be  used  on  their 
long  journey  to  the  spirit-land.     By  this  custom,  the 
doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  was  clearly  and  BURIU,  PLACE 

forcibly  taught,  not  as  distinctively  spiritual,  but  as 

possessing  the  two-fold  nature  of  matter  and  spirit.  Over  their  graves  they 
raised  mounds,  and  planted  beautiful  wild-flowers  upon  them.  The  Algon- 
quins,  especially,  always  lighted  the  symbolical  funeral  pyre,  for  several  nights, 
upon  the  grave,  that  the  soul  might  perceive  and  enjoy  the  respect  paid  to  the 
body.  Relatives  uttered  piercing  cries  and  great  lamentations  during  the 
burial,  and  they  continued  mourning  many  days. 

Like  that  of  the  earlier  nations  of  the  world,  their  religion  was  simple,  with- 
out many  ceremonies,  and  was  universally  embraced.  They  had  no  infidels 
among  them.  The  duality  of  God  is  the  most  ancient  tenet  of  Indian  faith — 
a  prominent  tenet,  it  will  be  observed,  in  the  belief  of  all  of  the  more  advanced 
oriental  nations  of  antiquity.  They  believed  in  the  existence  of  two  Great 
Spirits:  the  one  eminently  great  was  the  Good  Spirit,1  and  the  inferior  was  an 
Evil  one.  They  also  deified  the  sun,  moon,  stars,  meteors,  fire,  water,  thun- 
der, wind,  and  every  thing  which  they  held  to  bo  superior  to  themselves,  but 

1  They  believed  every  animal  to  have  had  a  great  original,  or  father.  The  first  buffalo,  the  first 
bear,  the  first  beaver,  the  first  eagle,  etc.,  was  the  Manitou  of  the  whole  race  of  the  different  crea- 
tures. They  chose  some  one  of  these  originals  as  their  special  Manitou,  or  guardian,  and  hence 
arose  the  custom  of  having  the  figure  of  some  animal  for  the  arms  or  symbol 
of  a  tribe,  called  totum.  For  example,  each  of  the  FIVE  NATIONS  (see  page  12) 
was  divided  into  several  tribes,  designated  The  Wolf,  The  Bear,  The  Turtle, 
etc.,  and  their  respective  Mums  were  rude  representations  of  these  animals. 
When  they  signed  treaties  with  the  white  people,  they  sometimes  sketched 
outlines  of  their  totums.  The  annexed  cut  represents  the  totum  of  Teyenda- 
gages,  of  the  Turtle  tribe  of  the  Mohawk  nation,  as  affixed  by  him  to  a  deed.  TOTUM. 

It  would  be  a  curious  and  pleasant  task  to  trace  the  intimate  connection  of 
this  totemic  system  with  the  use  of  symbolical  signet-rings,  and  other  seals  of  antiquity,  and,  by  suc- 
cession, the  heraldic  devices  of  modern  times. 


16  THE    ABORIGINALS. 

they  never  exalted  their  heroes  or  prophets  above  the  sphere  of  humanity. 
They  also  adored  an  invisible,  great  Master  of  life,  in  different  forms,  which 
they  called  Manitou,  and  made  it  a  sort  of  tutelar  deity.  They  had  vague 
ideas  of  the  doctrine  of  atonement  for  sins,  and  made  propitiatory  sacrifices  with 
great  solemnity.  All  of  them  had  dim  traditions  of  the  creation,  and  of  a  great 
deluge  which  covered  the  earth.  Each  nation,  as  we  have  observed,  had  crude 
notions,  drawn  from  tradition,  of  their  own  distinct  origin,  and  all  agreed  that 
their  ancestors  came  from  the  North. 

It  can  hardly  be  said  that  the  Indians  had  any  true  government.  It  was  a 
mixture  of  the  patriarchal  and  despotic.  Public  opinion  and  common  usage 
were  the  only  laws  of  the  Indian.1  All  political  power  was  vested  in  a  sachem 
or  chief,  who  wa~s  sometimes  an  hereditary  monarch,  but  frequently  owed  his 
elevation  to  his  own  merits  as  a  warrior  or  orator.  While  in  power,  he  was 
absolute  in  the  execution  of  enterprises,  if  the  tribe  confided  in  his  wisdom. 
Public  opinion,  alone,  sustained  him.  It  elevated  him,  and  it  might  depose 
him.  The  office  of  chief  was  often  hereditary,  and  its  duties  were  sometimes  exer- 
cised even  by  women.  Unlike  the  system  of  lineal  descent  which  prevails  in 
the  Old  World,  tho  heir  to  the  Indian  throne  of  power  was  not  the  chief's  own 
son,  but  the  son  of  his  sister.  This  usage  was  found  to  be  universal  through- 
out the  continent.  Yet  the  accident  of  birth  was  of  little  moment.  If  the 
recipient  of  the  honor  was  not  worthy  of  it,  the  title  might  remain,  but  the  in- 
fluence passed  into  other  hands.  This  rule  might  be  followed,  with  benefit,  by 
civilized  communities.  Every  measure  of  importance  was  matured  in  council, 
which  was  composed  of  the  elders,  with  the  sachem  as  umpire.  His  decision 
was  final,  and  wherever  he  led,  the  whole  tribe  followed.  The  utmost  decorum 
prevailed  in  the  public  assemblies,  and  a  speaker  was  always  listened  to  with 
respectful  silence. 

We  have  thus  briefly  sketched  the  general  character  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  territory  of  the  United  States,  when  discovered  by  Europeans.  Although 
inferior  in  intellectual  cultivation  and  approaches  to  the  arts  of  civilization,  to 
the  native  inhabitants  of  Mexico2  and  South  America,  and  to  a  race  which 
evidently  occupied  the  continent  before  them,  they  possessed  greater  personal 
manliness  and  vigor  than  the  more  southern  ones  discovered  by  the  Spaniards. 
They  were  almost  all  wranderers,  and  roamed  over  the  vast  solitudes  of  a  fertile 
continent,  free  as  the  air,  and  unmindful  of  the  wealth  in  the  soil  under  their 
feet.  The  great  garden  of  the  western  world  needed  tillers,  and  white  men 
came.  They  have  thoroughly  changed  the  condition  of  the  land  and  the  people. 
The  light  of  civilization  has  revealed,  and  industry  has  developed,  vast  treas- 
ures in  the  soil,  while  before  its  radiance  the  Aboriginals  are  rapidly  melting 
like  snow  in  the  sunbeams.  A  few  generations  will  pass,  and  no  representa- 
tive of  the  North  American  Indian  will  remain  upon  the  earth. 

1  It  was  said  of  McGillivray,  the  half-breed  emperor  of  the  Creeks,  who  died  in  1793,  that,  not- 
withstanding he  called  himself  "King  Of  kings,"  and  was  idolized  by  his  people,  "he  could  neither 
restrain  the  meanest  fellow  of  his  nation  from  the  commission  of  a  crime,  nor  punish  him  after  he 
had  committed  it.     He  might  persuade,  or  advise — all  the  good  an  Indian  king  or  chief  can  do." 

2  Page  43. 


THE    ALGONQUINS.  17 

CHAPTER    II. 

THE    AL  GO  N  QUINS. 

THE  first  tribes  of  Indians,  discovered  by  the  French  in  Canada, l  were  in- 
habitants of  the  vicinity  of  Quebec,  and  the  adventurers  called  them  Mon- 
tagners,  or  Mountain  Indians,  from  a  range  of  high  hills  westward  of  that  city. 
Ascending  the  St.  Lawrence,  they  found  a  numerous  tribe  on  the  Ottawa 
River,  who  spoke  an  entirely  different  dialect,  if  not  a  distinct  language. 
These  they  called  ALGONQUINS,  and  this  name  was  afterward  applied  to  that 
great  collection  of  tribes  north  and  south  of  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  who  spoke 
dialects  of  the  same  language.  They  inhabited  the  territory  now  included  in 
all  of  Canada,  New  England,  a  part  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  the 
States  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  eastern  North  Car- 
olina above  Cape  Fear,  a  large  portion  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and  all  north 
and  west  of  these  States,  eastward  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  ALGONQUIN  nation  Avas  composed  of  several  powerful  tribes,  the  most 
important  of  which  were  the  Knisteneaux  and  Athapascas,  in  the  far  north,  the 
Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Menomonees,  Miamies,  Piankeshaws, 
Pottowatomies,  Kickapoos,  Illinois,  Shawnees,  Powhatans,  Corees,  Nanticokes, 
Lenni- Lenapes,  or  Delawares,  Mohegans,  the  New  England  Indians,  and  the 
Abenakes.  There  were  smaller,  independent  tribes,  the  principal  of  which 
were  the  Susquehannocks,  on  the  Susquehanna  in  Pennsylvania ;  the  Manna- 
hoacks,  in  the  hill  country  between  the  York  and  Potomac  Rivers,  and  the 
Monocans,  on  the  head  waters  of  the  James  River  in  Virginia.  All  of  these 
tribes  were  divided  into  cantons  or  clans,  sometimes  so  small  as  to  aiford  only  a 
war  party  of  forty  bowmen. 

The  KNISTENEAUX  yet  [1856]  inhabit  a  domain  extending  across  the  con- 
tinent from  Labrador  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  are  the  hereditary  ene- 
mies of  the  ESQUIMAUX,  their  neighbors  of  the  Polar  Circle.  The  Athapascas 
inhabit  a  belt  of  country  from  Churchill's  River  and  Hudson's  Bay  to  within  a 
hundred  miles  of  the  Pacific  coast,  and  combine  a  large  number  of  tribes  who 
speak  a  similar  language.  They,  too,  are  the  enemies  of  the  Esquimaux.  The 
extensive  domain  occupied  by  these  tribes  and  the  Esquimaux,  is  claimed  by 
the  British,  and  is  under  the  control  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The 
orginal  land  of  the  OTTAWAS  was  on  the  west  side  of  Lake  Huron,  but  they 
were  seated  upon  the  river  in  Canada  bearing  their  name,  when  the  French  dis- 
covered them.  They  claimed  sovereignty  over  that  region,  and  exacted  tribute 
from  those  who  passed  to  or  from  the  domain  of  the  Hurons.2  They  assisted 


1  Page  48. 

2  Between  the  Ottawas  and  Hurons,  was  a  tribe  called  Mississaguies,  who  appear  to  have  left  the 
ALGONQUINS,  and  joined  the  FIVE  NATIONS,  south  of  Lake  Ontario.     Remnants  of  this  tribe  are 
still  found  in  Canada. 

3 


18  THE    ABORIGINALS. 

the  latter  in  a  war  with  the  FIVE  NATIONS'  in  1650,  and  suffered  much.  The 
Hurons  were  almost  destroyed,  and  the  OTTAWAS  were  much  reduced  in  num- 
bers. Some  of  them,  with  the  Huron  remnant,  joined  the  Chippewas.  and, 
finally,  the  whole  tribe  returned  to  their  ancient  seat  [1680]  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  Michigan  peninsula.  Under  their  great  chief,  Pontiac,  they  were 
confederated  with  several  other  ALGONQUIN  tribes  of  the  north-west,  in  an 
attempt  to  exterminate  the  white  people,  in  1763.-  Within  a  fortnight,  in  the 
summer  of  that  year,  they  took  possession  of  all  the  English  garrisons  and 
trading  posts  in  the  West,  except  Detroit,  Niagara,3  and  Fort  Pitt.4  Peace  was 
restored  in  1764—5,  the  confederation  was  dissolved,  and  Pontiac  took  up  his 
abode  witlj  the  Illinois,  where  he  was  murdered.5  "  This  murder,"'  says  Nicol- 
let,  "which  roused  the  vengeance  of  all  the  Indian  tribes  friendly  to  Pontiac, 
brought  about  the  successive  wars,  and  almost  extermination  of  the  Illinois  na- 
tion." His  broken  nation  sought  refuge  with  the  French,  and  their  descendants 
may  yet  [1856]  be  found  in  Canada. 

Those  two  once  powerful  tribes,  the  CHIPPEWAS  and  POTTAW ATOMIES,  were 
closely  allied  by  language  and  friendship.  The  former  were  on  the  southern 
shores  of  Lake  Superior ;  the  latter  occupied  the  islands  and  main  land  on  the 
western  shores  of  Green  Bay,  when  first  discovered  by  the  French  in  1761. 
They  afterward  seated  themselves  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Michigan 
[1701],  where  they  remained  until  removed,  by  treaty,  to  lands  upon  the  Little 
Osage  River,  westward  of  Missouri.  They  arc  now  [1856]  the  most  numerous 
of  all  the  remnants  of  the  ALGONQUIN  tribes.  The  Chippewas  and  the  Sioux, 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  are  their  deadly  enemies. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes  are  really  one  tribe.  They  were  first  discovered  by  the 
French  at  the  southern  extremity  of  Green  Bay,  in  1680.  In  1712  the  French 
garrison  of  twenty  men  at  Detroit,6  was  attacked  by  the  Foxes.  The  French 
repulsed  them,  with  the  aid  of  the  Ottawas,  and  almost  destroyed  the  assailants. 
They  joined  the  Kickapoos  in  1722,  in  driving  the  Illinois  from  their  lands  on 
the  river  of  that  name.  The  Illinois  took  refuge  with  the  French,  and  the 
Kickapoos  remained  on  their  lands  until' 1819,  when  they  went 
to  the  west  bank  of  the  Missouri  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Leav- 
enworth.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes  sold  their  lands  to  the  United 
States  in  1830.  Black  Hawk,  a  Sac  chief,  who,  with  his 
people,  joined  the  English  in  our  second  war  with  Great  Brit- 
ain,7 demurred,  and  commenced  hostilities  in  1832. s  The  In- 
dians were  defeated,  and  Black  Hawk,9  with  many  of  his  war- 
riors, were  made  prisoners.  BLACK  HAWK* 
Among  the  very  few  Indian  tribes  who  have  remained  upon  their  ancient 

1  Chapter  III.,  p  23.  2  Page  205.  3  page  200.  4  Page  198. 

5  He  was  buried  on  the  site  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  in  Missouri.     "Neither  mound  nor  tablet,1' 
says  Parkman,  "  marked  the  burial-place  of  Pontiac.     For  a  mausoleum,  a  city  has  risen  above  the 
forest  hero,  and  the  race  whom  he  hated  with  such  burning  rancor,  trample  with  unceasing  foot- 
steps over  his  forgotten  grave." 

6  Page  180.    '  7  page  409.  8  page  453. 

9  This  picture  is  from  a  plaster-cast  of  the  face  of  Black  Hawk,  taken  when  he  was  a  prisoner  in 
New  York,  in  1832.     See  page  463. 


THE    ALGONQUINS.  19 

territory,  during  all  the  vicissitudes  of  their  race,  are  the  MENOMOKEES,  who 
were  discovered  by  the  French,  upon  the  shores  of  Green  Bay,  in  1699.  They 
yet  [1856]  occupy  a  portion  of  their  ancient  territory,  while  their  southern 
neighbors  and  friends,  the  Winnebagoes,  have  gone  westward  of  the  Mississippi.1 

The  MIAMIES  and  PIANKESHAWS  inhabited  that  portion  of  Ohio  lying  be- 
tween the  Maumee  River  of  Lake  Erie,  and  the  ridge  which  separates  the  head 
waters  of  the  Wabash  from  the  Kaskaskias.  They  were  called  Twightwees  by 
the  FIVE  NATIONS,  and  English.  Of  all  the  Western  tribes,  these  have  ever 
been  the  most  active  enemies  of  the  United  States.'2  They  have  ceded  their 
lands,  and  are  now  [1856]  far  beyond  the  Mississippi. 

The  ILLINOIS  formed  a  numerous  tribe,  twelve  thousand  strong,  when  dis- 
covered by  the  French.  They  were  seated  upon  the  Illinois  River,  and  consisted 
of  a  confederation  of  five  families,  namely,  Kaskaskias,  Cahokias,  Tamaronas, 
Michigamias,  and  Peorias.  Weakened  by  internal  feuds,  the  confederacy  was 
reduced  to  a  handful,  by  their  hostile  neighbors.  They  ceded  their  lands  in 
1818,  when  they  numbered  only  three  hundred  souls.  A  yet  smaller  remnant 
are  now  [1856]  upon  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi.  It  can  not  properly  be  said 
that  they  have  a  tribal  existence.  They  are  among  the  many  extinct  commun- 
ities of  our  continent. 

The  once  powerful  SIIAWNEES  occupied  a  vast  region  west  of  the  Alleghan- 
ies,3  and  their  great  council-house  was  in  the  basin  of  the  Cumberland  River. 
At  about  the  time  when  the  English  first  landed  at  Jamestown4  [1607],  they 
were  driven  from  their  country  by  more  southern  tribes.  Some  crossed  the 
Ohio,  and  settled  on  the  Sciota,  near  the  present  Chilicothe  ;  others  wandered 
eastward  into  Pennsylvania.  The  Ohio  division  joined  the  Eries  and  Andastes 
against  the  FIVE  NATIONS  in  1672.  Suffering  defeat,  the  Shawnees  fled  to 
the  country  of  the  Catawbas,  but  were  soon  driven  out,  and  found  shelter  with 
the  Creeks.5  They  finally  returned  to  Ohio,  and  being  joined  by  their  Penn- 
sylvania brethren,  they  formed  an  alliance  with  the  French  against  the  En- 
glish, and  were  among  the  most  active  allies  with  the  former,  during  the  long 
contest  known  in  America  as  the  French  and  Indian  War.  They  continued 
hostilities,  in  connection  with  the  Delawares,  even  after  the  conquest  of  the 
Canadas  by  the  English.6  They  were  subdued  by  Boquet  in  1763,7  and  again 
by  Virginians,  at  Point  Pleasant,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kenawha,  in  1774. 8 
They  aided  the  British  during  the  Revolution,  and  continued  to  annoy  the 
Americans  until  1795,  when  permanent  peace  was  established.9  They  were 
the  enemies  of  the  Americans  during  their  second  war  with  Great  Britain,  a 
part  of  them  fighting  with  the  renowned  Tecumseh.  Now  [1856]  they  are  but 


1  The  Winnebagoes  are  the  most  dissolute  of  all  the  Indian  remnants.    In  August,  1853,  a  treaty 
was  made  with  them  to  occupy  the  beautiful  country  above  St.  Paul,  westward  of  the  Mississippi, 
between  the  Crow  and  Clear  Water  Rivers. 

2  Page  408. 

3  The  Alleghany  or  Appalachian  Mountains  extend  from  the  Catskills,  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
in  a  south-west  direction,  to  Georgia  and  Alabama,  and  have  been  called  "the  backbone  of  the 
country."     Some  geographers  extend  them  to  the  White  Mountains  of  New  Hampshire. 

4  Page  64.  6  Page  30.  6  Page  203. 
7  Note  7,  page  205.                                 8  Note  4,  page  237.                                  9  Page  374. 


20  THE     ABORIGINALS. 

a  miserable  remnant,  and  occupy  lands  south  of  the  Kansas  River.  The  road 
from  Fort  Independence1  to  Santa  Fo  passes  through  their  territory.2 

The  POWHATANS  constituted  a  confederacy  of  more  than  twenty  tribes,  in- 
cluding the  Accohannocks  and  Accomacs,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay.  Powhatan  (the  father  of  Pocahontas3),  was  the  chief  sachem  or 
emperor  of  the  confederacy,  when  the  English  first  appeared  upon  the  James 
River,  in  1607.  He  had  arisen,  by  the  force  of  his  own  genius,  from  the  po- 
sition of  a  petty  chief  to  that  of  supreme  ruler  of  a  great  confederacy.  He  gov- 
erned despotically,  for  no  man  in  his  nation  could  approach  him  in  genuine 
ability  as  a  leader  and  counselor.  His  court  exhibited  much  barbaric  state. 
Through  fear  of  the  English,  and  a  selfish  policy,  he  and  his  people  remained 
nominally  friendly  to  the  white  intruders  during  his  lifetime,  but  after  his 
death,  they  made  two  attempts  [1622,  1644]  to  exterminate  the  English.  The 
Powhatans  were  subjugated  in  1644/  and  from  that  time  they  gradually  di- 
minished in  numbers  and  importance.  Of  all  that  great  confederacy  in  Lower 
Virginia,  it  is  believed  that  not  one  representative  on  earth  remains,  or  that 
one  tongue  speaks  their  dialect. 

On  the  Atlantic  coast,  south  of  the  Powhatans,  were  the  Corees,  Cheraws, 
and  other  small  tribes,  occupying  the  land  once  inhabited  by  the  powerful  Hat- 
teras  Indians.5  They  were  allies  of  the  Tuscaroras  in  1711,  in  an  attack  upon 
the  English,6  suffered  defeat,  and  have  now  disappeared  from  the  earth.  Their 
dialect  also  is  forgotten. 

Upon  the  great  peninsula  between  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Bays,  were 
the  NANTICOKES.  They  were  early  made  vassals,  and  finally  allies,  on  com- 
pulsion, of  the  FIVE  NATIONS.  They  left  their  ancient  domain  in  1710,  occu- 
pied lands  upon  the  Susquehanna,  in  Pennsylvania,  until  the  Revolutionary 
War  commenced,  when  they  crossed  the  Alleghanies,  and  joined  the  British  in 
the  west.  They  are  now  [1856]  scattered  among  many  tribes. 

The  Original  People,7  as  the  LEKNT-LENAPES  (who  are  frequently  called  Del- 


1  United  States  fort  on  the  Missouri.     Santa  Fe  is  in  New  Mexico,  765  miles  south-west  of  Fort 
Independence. 

2  One  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Shawnee  chiefs,  was  Cornstalk,  who  was  generally  friendly  to 
the  Americans,  and  was  always  ready  to  assist  in  negotiating  an  honorable  peace  between  them  and 
his  own  people.     But  he  cordially  united  with  Logan,  the  Mingo  chief,  against  the  white  people  in 
IT 74;  and  during  the  same  battle  at  Point  Pleasant,  his  voice,  stentorian  in  volume,  was  frequently 
heard,  calling  to  his  men,  "Be  strong!  be  strong!"     He  made  his  warriors  fight  without  wavering, 
and  actually  sunk  his  tomahawk  deep  into  the  head  of  one  who  endeavored  to  escape.     lie  was 
murdered  by  some  exasperated  soldiers  at  Poiht  Pleasant.     When  he  perceived  their  intent,  he 
calmly  said  to  his  son,  who  had  just  joined  him,  "  My  son,  the  Great  Spirit  has  seen  fit  that  we 
should  die  together,  and  has  sent  you  hither  for  that  purpose.     It  is  His  will ;  let  us  submit." 
Turning  to  the  soldiers,  he  received  the  fatal  bullets,  and  his  son,  who  was  sitting  near  him,  was 
shot  at  the  same  time.     The  celebrated  Tecumseh — meaning  a  tiger  crouching  for  his  prey — who 
endeavored  to  confederate  all  the  Western  tribes  in  opposition  to  the  white  people,  was  also  a 
Shawnee  chief.     See  page  408. 

3  Page  66.  4  pag;e  108> 

s  This  tribe  numbered  about  three  thousand  warriors  when  Raleigh's  expedition  landed  on 
Roanoke  Island  in  1584;  when  the  English  made  permanent  settlements  in  that  vicinity,  eighty 
years  later,  they  were  reduced  to  about  fifteen  bowmen.  «  page  168. 

?  This  name  has  been  applied  to  the  whole  ALGONQUIN  nation.  The  Lenni-Lenapes  claimed  to 
have  come  from  beyond  the  Mississippi,  conquering  a  more  civilized  people  on  the  way,  who 
inhabited  the  great  valleys  beyond  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 


THE    ALGONQUINS.  21 

awares)  named  themselves,  comprised  two  powerful  nations,  namely,  the  Minsi 
and  the  Delawares  proper.  The  former  occupied  the  northern  part  of  New 
Jersey,  and  a  portion  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  latter  inhabited  lower  New  Jer- 
sey, the  banks  of  the  Delaware  below  Trenton,  and  the  whole  valley  of  the 
Schuylkill.  The  FIVE  NATIONS  subjugated  them  in  1650.  and  brought  them 
under  degrading  vassalage.  They  gradually  retreated  westward  before  the  tide 
of  civilization,  and  finally  a  portion  of  them  crossed  the  Alleghanies,  and  settled 
in  the  land  of  the  Hurons,1  on  the  Muskingum,  in  Ohio.  Those  who  remained 
hi  Pennsylvania  joined  the  Shawnees,2  and  aided  the  French  against  the  En- 
glish, during  the  French  and  Indian  War.3  In  1768,  they  all  went  over  the 
mountains,  and  the  great  body  of  them  became  friends  of  the  British  during  the 
Revolution.  They  were  at  the  head  of  the  confederacy  of  Western  tribes  who 
were  crushed  by  Wayne  in  1794,4  and  the  following  year  they  ceded  all  their 
lands  on  the  Muskingum,  and  seated  themselves  near  the  Wabash.  In  1819, 
they  ceded  those  lands  also,  and  the  remnant  now  [1856]  occupy  a  territory 
north  of  the  Kansas  River,  near  its  mouth. 

The  MOHEGANS  were  a  distinct  tribe,  on  the  Hudson  River,  but  the  name 
was  given  to  the  several  independent  tribes  who  inhabited  Long  Island,  and  the 
country  between  the  Lenni-Lenapes  and  the  New  England  Indians.5  Of  this 
family,  the  Pequods,  G  inhabiting  eastern  Connecticut,  on  the  shores  of  Long 
Island  Sound,  were  the  most  powerful.  They  exercised  authority  over  the 
Montauks  and  twelve  other  tribes  upon  Long  Island.  Their  power  was  broken 
by  the  revolt  of  Uncas  against  his  chief,  Sassacus,7  a  short  time  before  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  white  people.  The  Manhattans  were  seated  upon  the  Hudson, 
in  lower  Westchester,  and  sold  Manhattan  Island,  whereon  New  York  now 
stands,  to  the  Dutch.3  The  latter  had  frequent  conflicts  with  these  and  other 
River  Indians.9  The  Dutch  were  generally  conquerors.  The  Mohawks,  one 
of  the  FIVE  NATIONS,10  were  pressing  hard  upon  them,  at  the  same  time,  and 
several  of  the  Mohegan  tribes  were  reduced  to  the  condition  of  vassals  of  that 
confederacy.  Peace  wras  effected,  in  1665,  by  the  English  governor  at  New 
York.  In  the  mean  while,  the  English  and  Narragansets  had 
smitten  the  Pequods,11  and  the  remaining  independent  Mohe- 
gans,  reduced  to  a  handful,  finally  took  up  their  abode  upon  the 
west  bank  of  the  Thames,  five  miles  below  Norwich,12  at  a  place 
still  known  as  Mohegan  Plain.  Their  burial-place  was  at  Nor- 
wich, and  there  a  granite  monument  rests  upon  the  grave  of 
Uncas.  The  tribe  is  now  almost  extinct  —  "  the  last  of  the  Mo- 


1  Page  23.  3  Page  19.  3  Fourth  Period,  Chap.  XII.  4  Page  374. 

6  Page  22.  6  Page  86.  7  Page  87.  8  Page  139j 

9  Page  140.  10  Page  23.  »  Page  87.  M  Note  4,  page  340. 

13  The  last  known  lineal  descendant  of  Uncas,  named  Mazeon,  was  buried  in  the  Indian  cemetery, 
at  Norwich,  in  1827,  when  the  remnant  of  the  Mohegan  tribe,  then  numbering  about  sixty,  were 
present,  and  partook  of  a  cold  collation  prepared  for  them  by  a  lady  of  that  city.  The  most  noted 
leaders  among  the  New  England  Indians  known  to  history,  are  Massasoit,  the  father  of  the  re- 
nowned King  Philip  ;  Caunbitant,  a  very  distinguished  captain  ;  Hobomok  ;  Canonicus  ;  Miasto- 
nomoh  ;  Ninigret,  his  cousin  ;  King  Philip,  the  last  of  the  Wampanoags  ;  Canonchet,  and  Anna- 
wan.  We  shall  meet  them  in  future  pages. 


22  THE     ABORIGINALS. 

The  Aboriginals  who  inhabited  the  country  from  Connecticut  to  the  Saco 
River,  were  called  the  NEW  ENGLAND  INDIANS.  The  principal  tribes  were  the 
Narragansets  in  Rhode  Island,  and  on  the  western  shores  of  Narraganset  Bay ; 
the  Pokonokets  and  Wampanoags  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  same  bay,  and  in 
a  portion  of  Massachusetts ;  the  Nipmucs  in  the  center  of  Massachusetts ;  the 
Massachusetts  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  and  the  shores  southward;  and  the 
Pawtuckets  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  Massachusetts,  embracing  the  Penna- 
cooks  of  New  Hampshire.  These  were  divided  into  smaller  bands,  having 
petty  chiefs.  The  Pokonokets,  for  example,  were  divided  into  nine  separate 
cantons  or  tribes,  each  having  its  military  or  civil  ruler,  but  all  holding  alle- 
giance to  one  Grand  Sachem.  They  were  warlike,  and  were  continually 
engaged  in  hostilities  with  the  FIVE  NATIONS,  or  with  the  Mohegans.  The 
English  and  Dutch  effected  a  general  peace  among  them  in  1673.  Two  years 
afterward  [1675],  Metacomet  (King  Philip)  aroused  most  of  the  New  England 
tribes  against  the  English.  A  fierce  war  ensued,  but  ended  in  the  subjugation 
of  the  Indians  and  the  death  of  Philip,  in  1676. x  The  power  of  the  New 
England  Indians  was  then  completely  broken.  Some  joined  the  more  eastern 
tribes,  and  others  took  refuge  in  Canada,  from  whence  they  frequently  came  to 
the  border  settlements  on  errands  of  revenge.3  These  incursions  ceased  when 
the  French  dominion  in  Canada  ended  in  1763.8  When  the  Puritans  came* 
[1620],  the  New  England  Indians  numbered  about  ten  thousand  souls;  now 
[1856]  probably  not  three  hundred  representatives  remain;  and  the  dialects 
of  all,  except  of  the  Narragansets,  are  forgotten. 

Eastward  of  the  Saco  River  were  the  Abenakes.  The  chief  tribes  were  the 
Penobscots,  Norridgewocks,  Androscoggins,  and  Passamaquoddies.  These, 
with  the  more  eastern  tribes  of  the  Micmacs  and  Etchemins,  were  made  nom- 
inal Christians  by  the  French  Jesuits  ;5  and  they  were  all  firm  allies  of  the 
French  until  the  conquest  of  Canada  by  the  English,  in  1760."  Most  of  the 
ABENAKES,  except  the  Penobscots,  withdrew  to  Canada  in  1754.  A  few 
scattered  families  of  the  latter  yet  [1856]  dwell  upon  the  banks  of  the  Penob- 
scot  River,  and  wanderers  are  seen  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  Like  other  New 
England  tribes,  they  are  rapidly  fading,  and  will,  doubtless,  be  extinct  before 
the  dawn  of  another  century. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE      H  U  R,  0  N-I  R  0  Q  U  0  I  S. 

WE  now  come  to  consider  the  most  interesting,  in  many  respects,  of  all  the 
aboriginal  tribes  of  North  America,  called  IROQUOIS  by  the  French.  The  pre- 
fix "Huron"  was  given,  because  that  people  seemed,  by  their  language,  to  form 

1  Page  128.       a  Page  130.       8  Page  202.        4  Page  114.       6  Page  130.       6  Page  203. 


THE    HURON-IROQUOIS.  23 

a  part  of  the  IROQUOIS  nation,  and  like  them,  were  isolated  in  the  midst  of  the 
ALGONQUINS,  when  discovered  by  the  Europeans.  The  great  body  of  the 
IROQUOIS  occupied  almost  the  whole  territory  in  Canada,  south-west  of  the 
Ottowa  River,  between  Lakes  Ontario,  Erie  and  Huron ;  a  greater  portion  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  and  a  part  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  along  the  south- 
ern shores  of  Lake  Erie.  They  were  completely  surrounded  by  the  ALGON- 
QUINS, in  whose  southern  border  in  portions  of  North  Carolina  and  Virginia, 
were  the  Tuscaroras  and  a  few  smaller  Iroquois  tribes.1  The  Hurons  occupied 
the  Canadian  portions  of  the  territory,  and  the  land  on  the  southern  shore  of 
Lake  Erie,  and  appeared  to  be  a  distinct  nation ;  but  their  language  was  found 
to  be  identical  with  that  of  the  Iroquois.  The  Hurons  consisted  of  four  smaller 
tribes,  namely,  the  Wyandots  or  Hurons  proper,  the  Attiouandirons,2  the 
Eries,  and  the  Andastes.  The  two  latter  tribes  were  south  of  the  lake,  and 
claimed  jurisdiction  back  to  the  domains  of  the  Shawnees.3 

Those  "Romans  of  the  Western  World,"  the  FIVE  NATIONS,  or  IROQUOIS 
proper,  formed  a  confederacy  composed  of  the  Seneca,  Cayuga,  Onondaga, 
Oneida,  and  Mohawk  tribes,  all  occupying  lands  within  the  present  State  of  New 
York.  They  fancifully  called  their  confederacy  the  Long  House.  The  eastern 
door  was  kept  by  the  Mohawks ;  the  western  by  the  Senecas ;  and  the  Great 
Council  fire  was  with  the  Onondagas,  at  the  metropolis,  or  chief  village,  near 
the  present  city  of  Syracuse.  The  French,  as  we  have  observed,  gave  them 
the  name  of  Iroquois ;  the  ALGONQUINS  called  them  Mingoes. 4  At  what  time 
the  confederacy  was  formed,  is  not  known.  It  was  strong  and  powerful  when 
the  French  discovered  them,  in  1609,  and  they  were  then  engaged  in  bloody 
wars  with  their  kinsmen,  the  Wyandots.5 


1  The  Southern  Iroquois  were  the  Tuscaroras,  Chowans,  Meherrins,  and  Nottoways.     The  three 
latter  were  upon  the  rivers  in  lower  Virginia,  called  by  their  respective  names,  and  were  known 
under  the  general  title  of  Tuscaroras. 

2  Neutral  Nation.     When  the  Hurons  and  FIVE  NATIONS  were  at  war,  the  Attiouandirons  fled 
to  the  Sandusky,  and  built  a  fort  for  each  of  the  belligerents  when  in  that  region.     But  their  neu- 
trality did  not  save  them  from  internal  feuds  which  finally  dismembered  the  tribe.      One  party 
joined  the  Wyandots ;  the  other  the  Iroquois. 

3  Page  19. 

4  Mingoes,  Minquas,  and  Maquas,  were  terms  more  particularly  applied  to  the  Mohawk  tribe, 
who  called  themselves  Kayingehaga,   "  possessors  of  the  flint."     The  confederation  assumed  the 
title  of  Aquinuschioni,  "  united  people  ;"  or  as  some  say,  Konoshioni,  "cabin  builders." 

s  The  time  of  the  formation  of  the  confederation  is  supposed  to  have  been  at  about  the  year 
1539.  According  to  their  own  tradition,  it  was  about  two  generations  before  the  white  people 
came  to  trade  with  them.  Clarke,  in  his  history  of  Onondaga  county,  has  given,  from  the  lips  of  an 
old  chief  of  the  Onondaga  tribe,  that  beautiful  legend  of  the  formation  of  the  great  confederacy, 
which  forms  the  basis  of  Longfellow's  Indian  Edda,  "  HI-A-WAT-HA."  Centuries  ago,  the  story 
runs,  the  deity  who  presides  over  fisheries  and  streams,  came  from  his  dwelling-place  in  the  clouds, 
to  visit  the  inhabitants  of  earth.  He  was  delighted  with  the  land  where  the  tribes  that  afterward 
formed  the  confederacy,  dwelt ;  and  having  bestowed  many  blessings  on  that  land,  he  laid  aside  his 
Divine  character,  and  resolved  to  remain  on  earth.  He  selected  a  beautiful  residence  on  the  shore 
of  Te-ungk-too  (Cross  lake),  and  all  the  people  called  him  Hi-a-wat-ha,  "the  wise  man."  After  a 
while,  the  people  were  alarmed  by  the  approach  of  a  ferocious  band  of  warriors  from  the  country 
north  of  the  great  lakes.  Destruction  seemed  inevitable.  The  inhabitants  thronged  around  the 
lodge  of  Hi-a-wat-ha,  from  all  quarters,  craving  his  wise  advice  in  this  hour  of  great  peril.  After 
solemn  meditation,  he  told  them  to  call  a  grand  council  of  all  the  tribes.  The  chiefs  and  warriors 
from  far  and  near,  assembled  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Oh-nen-ta-ha  (Onondaga).  The  council-fire 
blazed  three  days  before  the  venerable  Hi-a-wat-ha  arrived.  He  had  been  devoutly  praying,  in 
silence,  to  the  Great  Spirit,  for  guidance.  Then,  with  his  darling  daughter,  a  virgin  of  twelve 
years,  he  entered  his  white  canoe,  and,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  people,  he  appeared  on  the  Oh-nen- 


24  THE    ABORIGINALS. 

In  the  year  1649,  the  FIVE  NATIONS  resolved  to  strike  a  final  and  decisive 
blow  against  their  western  neighbors,  and,  gathering  all  their  warriors,  they 
made  a  successful  invasion  of  the  Wyandot,  or  Huron  country.  Great  num- 
bers of  the  Wyandots  were  slain  and  made  prisoners,  and  the  whole  tribe  was 
dispersed.  Some  of  the  fugitives  took  refuge  with  the  Chippewas ;  others 
fled  to  Quebec,  and  a  few  were  incorporated  into  the  Iroquois  confederacy. 
Yet  the  spirit  of  the  Wyandots  was  not  subdued,  and  they  claimed  and  exer- 
cised sovereignty  over  almost  the  whole  of  the  Ohio  country.  They  had  great 
influence  among  the  ALGONQUIN  tribes,1  and  even  as  late  as  the  treaty  of 
Greenville,  in  1795,  the  principal  cession  of  lands  in  Ohio  to  the  United 
States  was  made  by  the  Wyandot  chiefs  in  council.'2  They,  too,  are  reduced  to 
a  mere  remnant  of  less  than  five  hundred  souls,  and  now  [1856]  they  occupy 
lands  on  the  Neosho  River,  a  chief  tributary  of  the  Arkansas. 

Being  exceedingly  warlike,  the  FIVE  NATIONS  made  hostile  expeditions 
against  the  New  England  Indians3  in  the  East,  the  Eries,  Andastes,  and 


ta-ha.  A  great  shout  greeted  him,  and  as  ho  landed  and  walked  up  the  bank,  a  sound  like  a 
rushing  wind  was  heard ;  a  dark  spot,  every  moment  increasing  in  size,  was  descending  from  the 
clear  sky.  Fear  seized  the  people ;  but  Ili-a-wat-ha  stood  unmoved.  The  approaching  object  was 
an  immense  bird.  It  came  swiftly  to  earth,  crushed  the  darling  daughter  of  Hi-a-wat-ha — was  itself 
destroyed,  but  the  wise  man  was  unharmed.  Grief  for  his  bereavement  prostrated  him  in  the  dust 
for  three  days.  The  council  anxiously  awaited  his  presence.  At  length  lie  came  :  the  subject  of 
the  peril  from  invaders  was  discussed,  and  after  deliberating  a  day,  the  venerable  Hi-a-wat-ha 
arose  and  said : 

"Friends  and  Brothers — You  are  members  of  many  tribes  and  nations.  You  have  come  here, 
many  of  you,  a  great  distance  from  your  homes.  We  have  met  for  one  common  purpose — to  pro- 
mote one  common  interest,  and  that  is,  to  provide  for  our  mutual  safety,  and  how  it  shall  best  be 
accomplished.  To  oppose  these  foes  from  the  north  by  tribes,  singly  and  alone,  would  prove  our 
certain  destruction.  We  can  make  no  progress  in  that  way.  We  must  unite  ourselves  into  one 
common  band  of  brothers ;  thus  united,  we  may  drive  the  invaders  back  ;  this  must  be  done,  and 
we  shall  be  safe. 

"You,  the  MOHAWKS,  sitting  under  the  shadow  of  the  'Great  Tree,' whose  roots  sink  deep 
into  the  earth,  and  whose  branches  spread  over  a  vast  country,  shall  be  the  first  nation,  because 
you  are  warlike  and  mighty. 

"And  you,  ONEIDAS,  a  people  who  recline  your  bodies  against  the  'Everlasting  Stone,'  that 
can  not  be  moved,  shall  be  the  second  nation,  because  you  give  wise  counsel. 

"And  you,  OXONDAGAS,  who  have  your  habitation  at  the  'Great  Mountain,'  and  are  over- 
shadowed by  its  crags,  shall  be  the  third  nation,  because  you  are  greatly  gifted  in  speech,  and 
mighty  in  war. 

"And  you,  CAYUGAS,  a  people  whose  habitation  is  the  'Dark  Forest,'  and  whose  home  is  every- 
where, shall  be  the  fourth  nation,  because  of  your  superior  cunning  in  hunting. 

"And  you,  SENEGAS,  a  people  who  live  in  the  'Open  Country,'  and  possess  much  wisdom, 
shall  be  the  fifth  nation,  because  you  understand  better  the  art  of  raising  corn  and  beans,  and 
making  cabins. 

"  You,  five  great  and  powerful  nations,  must  unite  and  have  but  one  common  interest,  and  no 
foe  shall  be  able  to  disturb  or  subdue  you.  If  we  unite,  the  Great  Spirit  will  smile  upon 
us.  Brothers,  these  are  the  words  of  Hi-a-wat-ha — let  them  sink  deep  into  your  hearts.  I  have 
said  it." 

They  reflected  for  a  day,  and  then  the  people  of  the  "  Great  Tree,"  the  "  Everlasting  Stone," 
the  "Great  Mountain,"  the  "Dark  Forest,"  and  the  "  Open  Country,"  formed  a  league  like  that  of 
the  Amphyctioni  of  Greece.  The  enemy  was  repulsed,  and  the  FIVE  NATIONS  became  the  terror 
of  the  Continent.  Then  Hi-a-watha  said, 

"  The  Great  Master  of  Breath  calls  me  to  go.  I  have  patiently  waited  his  summons.  I  am 
ready — farewell !" 

Myriads  of  singing  voices  burst  upon  the  ears  of  the  multitude,  and  the  whole  air  seemed  filled 
with  music.  Hi-a-wat-ha,  seated  in  his  white  canoe,  rose  majestically  above  the  throng,  and  as  all 
eyes  gazed  in  rapture  upon  the  ascending  wise  man,  he  disappeared  forever  in  the  blue  vault  of 
heaven.  The  music  melted  into  low  whispers,  like  the  soft  summer  breeze ;  and  there  were 
pleasant  dreams  in  every  cabin  of  the  FIVE  NATIONS  on  that  blessed  night. 

1  Page  17.  2  Page  374.  '  3  Page  22. 


THE    HURON-IROQUOIS. 


25 


Miamies  in  the  West/  and  penetrated  to  the  domains  of  the  Catawbas2  and 
Cherokees3  in  the  South.  They  subjugated  the  Eries  in  1655,  and  after  a  con- 
test of  twenty  years,  brought  the  Andastes  into  vassalage.  They  conquered 
the  Miamies4  and  Ottawas5  in  1657,  and  made  incursions  as  far  as  the  Roanoke 
and  Cape  Fear  Rivers  to  the  land  of  their  kindred  in  dialect,  the  Tuscaroras,  in 
1701.°  Thirty  years  afterward,  having  been  joined  by  the  Tuscaroras,  and 
the  name  of  the  confederacy  changed  to  that  of  the  Six  NATIONS,  they  made 
war  upon  the  Cherokees  and  Catawbas.7  They  were  led  on  by  Hi-o-ka-too,  a 
Seneca  chief.  The  Catawbas  were  almost  annihilated  by  them,  after  a  battle 
of  two  days.  So  determined  were  the  FIVE  NATIONS  to  subdue  the  southern 
tribes,  that  when,  in  1744,  they  ceded  a  part  of  their  lands  to  Virginia,  they 
reserved  a  perpetual  privilege  of  a  war-path  through  the  territory. 

In  the  year  1712,  the  Tuscaroras  having  been  signally  defeated  by  the 
Carolinians,8  came  northward,  and  in  1714  joined  the  FIVE  NATIONS.  From 
that  time  the  confederacy  was  known  as  the  Six  NATIONS.  They  were  gen- 
erally the  sure  friends  of  the  English  and  inveterate  foes  of  the  French.9 


They  were  all  friends  of  the  British  during  the  Revolution,  except  a  part  of 
the  Oneidas,  among  whom  the  influence  of  the  Rev.   Samuel  Kirkland10  was 


Page  IT 


1  Page  17.  2  Page  26.  3  page  27.  4  Page  17. 

e  Page  168.  1  page  17.  8  page  168-  9  page  192> 

10  Samuel  Kirkland  was  one  of  the  most  laborious  and  self-sacrificing  of  the  earlier  missionaries, 

who  labored  among  the  tribes  of  the  Six  NATIONS.     He  was  born  at  Norwich,  Connecticut,  in 

December,  1741.     He  was  educated  at  Dr.  Wheelock's  school,  at  Lebanon,  where  he  prepared  for 

that  missionary  work  in  which  he  labored  forty  years.     His  efforts  were  put  forth  chiefly  among 


26  THE     ABORIGINALS. 

very  powerful,  in  favor  of  the  Republicans.  The  Mohawks  were  the  most 
active  enemies  of  the  Americans ;  and  they  were  obliged  to  leave  the  State  and 
take  refuge  in  Canada  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  The  others  were  allowed 
to  remain,  and  now  [1856]  mere  fragments  of  that  great  confederation  exist, 
and,  in  habits  and  character,  they  are  radically  changed.  The  confederacy 
was  forever  extinguished  by  the  sale  of  the  residue  of  the  Seneca  lands  in 
1838.  In  1715,  the  confederacy  numbered  more  than  forty  thousand  souls ; 
now  [1856]  they  are  probably  less  than  four  thousand,  most  of  whom  are 
upon  lands  beyond  the  Mississippi.1 


CHAPTER    IY. 

THE    CATAWBAS. 

IN  that  beautiful,  hilly  region,  between  the  Yadkin  and  Catawba  Rivers,  on 
each  side  of  the  boundary  line  between  North  and  South  Carolina,  dwelt  the 
CATAWBA  nation.  They  were  south-westward  of  the  Tuscaroras,  and  were 
generally  on  good  terms  with  them.  They  were  brave,  but  not  warlike,  and 
their  conflicts  were  usually  in  defense  of  their  own  territory.  They  expelled 
the  fugitive  Shawnees  in  1672,2  but  were  overmatched  and  desolated  by  the 
warriors  of  the  FIVE  NATIONS'  in  1701.  They  assisted  the  white  people  of 
South  Carolina  against  the  Tuacaroras  and  their  confederates  in  171 2  ;4  but 
when,  three  years  afterward,  the  southern  tribes,  from  the  Neuse  region  to  that 
of  the  St.  Mary's,  in  Florida,  and  westward  to  the  Alabama,  seven  thousand 

the  Oneidas;  and,  during  the  Revolution,  he  was  active  in  restraining  them  from  an  alliance  with 
the  rest  of  the  confederacy  against  the  Patriots.  He  was  exceedingly  useful  in  treaty-making;  for 
he  had  the  entire  confidence  of  the  Indians.  He  died  at  Paris,  in  Oneida  county,  in  February, 
1808,  in  the  67th  year  of  his  age.  See  Lossing's  '"Eminent  Americans"  for  a  more  elaborate  sketch. 
1  The  chief  men  of  the  FIVE  NATIONS,  known  to  the  white  people,  are  Garangula,  who  was 
distinguished  toward  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  for  his  wisdom  and  sagacity  in  council, 
and  was  of  the  Ononclaga  tribe.  Logan,  whose  celebrated  reply  to  a  white  messenger  has  been 
preserved  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  was  of  the  Cayuga  tribe.  To  the  messenger  he  said:  ''I  appeal  to  any 
white  man  to  say  if  he  ever  entered  Logan's  cabin  hungry,  and  he  gave  him  no  meat ;  if  ever  he 
came  cold  and  naked  and  he  clothed  him  not."  Then  speaking  of  the  cruelty  of  the  white  people, 
who,  in  cold  blood  had  murdered  his  family,  he  said  :  "They  have  murdered  all  the  relations  of 
Logan — not  even  sparing  my  women  and  children.  This  called  on  me  for  revenge ;  I  have  sought 
it.  I  have  killed  many.  I  have  fully  glutted  my  vengeance.  For  my  country,  I  rejoice  at  the 
beams  of  peace.  But  do  not  harbor  the  thought  that  mine  is  the  joy  of  fear.  Logan  never  felt 
fear.  He  will  not  turn  on  his  heel  to  save  his  life.  Who  is  there  to  mourn  for  Logan  ?  Not 
one !"  Joseph  Brant  (Thayendanega),  was  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Mohawk  tribe ;  and  Red 
Jacket  (Sagoyewatha),  was  a  very  renowned  Seneca,  greatly  distinguished  for  his  eloquence. 
Cornplanter,  who  lived  till  past  a  century  in  age,  was  also  a  distinguished  Seneca  chief.  Red  Jacket 
was  very  intemperate  toward  the  latter  part  of  his  life.  On  one  occasion  a  lady  inquired  after  his 
children.  He  had  lost  fourteen  by  consumption.  Bowing  his  head,  he  said :  "  Red  Jacket  was 
once  a  great  man,  and  in  favor  with  the  Great  Spirit.  He  was  a  lofty  pine  among  the  smaller  trees 
of  the  forest.  But  after  years  of  glory,  he  degraded  himself  by  drinking  the  fire-water  of  the  white 
man.  The  Great  Spirit  has  looked  upon  him  in  anger,  and  His  lightning  has  stripped  the  pine  of 
its  branches  I"  2  Page  19.  3  page  23.  *  Page  168. 


THE     CHEROKEES  27 

strong,  confederated  in  an  attempt  to  exterminate  the  Carolinians,1  the  Cataw- 
bas  were  among  them. 

They  were  again  the  active  allies  of  the  Carolinians  in  1760,  when  the 
Cherokees  made  war  upon  them,2  and  they  remained  true  friends  of  the  white 
people  afterward.  They  joined  the  Americans  during  the  Revolution,  and 
have  ever  since  experienced  the  fostering  care  of  the  State,  in  some  degree.3 
Their  chief  village  was  upon  the  Catawba  River,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Fishing 
Creek,  in  Yorkville  district,  South  Carolina;  and  there  the  remnant  of  the 
nation,  numbering  less  than  a  hundred  souls,  are  now  [1856]  living  upon  a 
reservation,  a  few  miles  square.  Their  ancient  language  is  almost  extinct. 


CHAPTER   Y. 

THE       CHEROKEES. 

OF  all  the  Indian  tribes,  the  CHEROKEES,  who  dwelt  westward  and  adjoining 
the  Tuscaroras4  and  Catawbas,5  among  the  high  hills  and  fertile  valleys,  have 
ever  been  the  most  susceptible  to  the  influences  of  civilization.  They  have  been 
properly  called  the  mountaineers  of  the  South.  Their  beautiful  land  extended 
from  the  Carolina  Broad  River  on  the  east,  to  the  Alabama  on  the  west,  includ- 
ing the  whole  of  the  upper  portion  of  Georgia  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Ala- 
tamaha,  to  those  of  the  Tennessee.  It  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  regions  of 
the  United  States. 

These  mountaineers  were  the  determined  foes  of  the  Shawnees,6  and  after 
many  conflicts,  they  finally  drove  them  from  the  country  south  of  the  Ohio 
River.  They  joined  with  the  Catawbas  and  the  white  people  against  the  Tus- 
caroras  in  1712,7  but  were  members  of  the  great  confederation  against  the 
Carolinians  in  1715,8  which  we  shall  consider  hereafter. 

The  FIVE  NATIONS  and  the  Cherokees  had  bloody  contests  for  a  long  time. 
A  reconciliation  was  finally  effected  by  the  English  about  the  year  1750,  and 
the  Cherokees  became  the  allies  of  the  peace-makers,  against  the  French. 
They  assisted  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Du  Quesne  in  1758, 9  but  their  irregular- 
ities, on  their  return  along  the  border  settlements  of  Virginia,  gave  the  white 
people  an  apparent  excuse  for  killing  two  or  three  warriors.  Hatred  was  en- 
gendered, and  the  Cherokees  soon  afterward  retaliated  by  spreading  destruction 


170.  2  Page  204. 

3  In  1822,  a  Catawba  warrior  made  an  eloquent  appeal  to  the  legislature  of  South  Carolina  for 
aid.     "I  pursued  the  deer  for  subsistence,"  he  said,  "but  the  deer  are  disappearing,  and  I  must 
starve.     God  ordained  me  for  the  forests,  and  my  ambition  is  the  shade.     But  the  strength  of  my 
arm  decays,  and  my  feet  fail  me  in  the  chase.     The  hand  that  fought  for  your  liberties  is  now  open 
to  you  for  relief"     A  pension  was  granted. 

4  Page  25.  s  page  204.  6  Page  19. 

168.  8  page  170.  9  Page  186. 


28  THE     ABORIGINALS. 

along  the  frontiers.1     Hostilities  continued  a  greater  portion  of  three  years, 
when  peace  was  established  in  1761,  and  no  more  trouble  ensued. 

During  the  Revolution  the  Cherokees  adhered  to  the  British ;  and  for  eight 
years  afterward  they  continued  to  annoy  the  people  of  the  upper  country  of  the 
Carolinas.  They  were  reconciled  by  treaty  in  1791.  They  were  friends  of  the 
United  States  in  1812.  and  assisted  in  the  subjugation  of  the  Creeks.2  Civili- 
zation was  rapidly  elevating  them  from  the  condition  of  roving  savages,  to  agri- 
culturists and  artisans,  when  their  removal  west  of  the  Mississippi  was  required. 
They  had  established  schools,  a  printing  press,  and  other  means  for  improve- 
ment and  culture,  when  they  were  obliged  to  leave  their  farms  and  the  graves 
of  their  fathers;  for  a  new  home  in  the  wilderness.3  They  are  now  in  a  fertile 
country,  watered  by  the  Arkansas  and  its  tributaries,  and  are  in  a  prosperous 
condition.  They  now  [1856 j  number  about  fourteen  thousand  souls.4 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE    UCHEES. 

IN  the  pleasant  country  extending  from  the  Savannah  River,  at  Augusta, 
westward  to  Milledgeville,  and  along  the  banks  of  the  Oconee  and  the  head 
waters  of  the  Ogeechee  and  Chattahooche.  the  Europeans  found  a  remnant  of 
the  once  powerful  nation  of  the  UCHEES.  Their  language  was  exceedingly 
harsh,  and  totally  unlike  that  of  any  other  people  on  the  continent.  They 
claimed  to  be  descendants  of  the  most  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  country,  and 
took  great  pride  in  the  fact ;  and  they  had  no  tradition  of  their  ever  occupy- 
ing any  other  territory  than  the  domain  on  which  they  were  found.  They, 
too,  have  been  driven  beyond  the  Mississippi  by  the  pressure  of  civilization, 
and  have  become  partially  absorbed  by  the  Creeks,  with  whom  less  than  a 
thousand  souls  yet  [1856]  remain.  They  are,  in  fact,  an  extinct  nation,  and 
their  language  is  almost  forgotten. 


i  Page  204.  *  page  428. 

3  A  native  Cherokee,  named  by  the  white  people,  George  Guess  (Sequoyah),  who  was  ignorant 
of  every  language  but  his  own,  seeing  books  in  the  missionary  schools,  and  being  told  that  the 
characters  represented  the  words  of  the  spoken  English  language,  conceived  the  idea  of  forming  a 
written  language  for  his  people.     He  first  made  a  separate  character  for  each  word,  but  this  made 
the  whole  matter  too  voluminous,  and  he  formed  a  syllabic  alphabet  of  eighty-five  characters.     It 
was  soon  ascertained  that  this  was  sufficient,  even  for  the  copious  language  of  the  Cherokees,  and 
this  syllabic  alphabet  was  soon  adopted,  in  the  preparation  of  books  for  the  missionary  schools.     In 
1826,  a  newspaper,  called  the   Cherokee  Phoenix,  printed  in  the  new  characters,  was  established. 
Many  of  the  native  Cherokees  are  now  well  educated,  but  the  great  body  of  the  natives  are  in  ig- 
norance. 

4  Note  4,  page  32. 


THE     MOBILIAN     TRIBES.  29 

CHAPTER   VII. 

THE     NATCHEZ. 

OF  this  once  considerable  nation,  who  inhabited  the  borders  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, where  a  modern  city  now  perpetuates  their  name,  very  little  is  known. 
When  first  discovered  by  the  French,  they  occupied  a  territory  about  as  large 
as  that  inhabited  by  the  lichees.  It  extended  north-easterly  from  the  Missis- 
sippi along  the  valley  of  the  Pearl  River,  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Chickasa- 
haw.  For  a  long  time  they  were  supposed  to  belong  to  the  nation  of  Mobilian 
tribes,  by  whom  they  were  surrounded,  but  their  language  proved  them  to  be  a 
distinct  people.  They  were  sun-worshippers ;  and  from  this  circumstance, 
some  had  supposed  that  they  had  once  been  in  intimate  communication  with 
the  adorers  of  the  great  luminary  in  Central  and  South  America.  In  many 
things  they  were  much  superior  to  their  neighbors,  and  displayed  signs  of  the 
refinement  of  a  former  more  civilized  condition.  They  became  jealous  of  the 
French  on  their  first  appearance  upon  the  Mississippi,  and  finally  they  con- 
spired, with  others,  to  drive  the  intruders  from  the  country.  The  French  fell 
upon,  and  almost  annihilated  the  nation,  in  1730.  They  never  recovered  from 
the  shock,  and  after  maintaining  a  feeble  nationality  for  almost  a  century,  they 
have  become  merged  into  the  Creek  confederacy.  They  now  [1856]  number 
less  than  three  hundred  souls,  and  their  language,  in  its  purity,  is  unknown. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE     MOBILIAN     TRIBES. 

LIKE  the  Algonquins  and  Iroquois  nations,  the  MOBILIAN  was  composed  of 
a  great  number  of  tribes,  speaking  different  dialects  of  the  same  language. 
Their  territory  was  next  in  extent  to  that  of  the  Algonquins.1  It  stretched 
along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi,  more  than  six 
hundred  miles  ;  up  the  Mississippi  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  ;  and  along 
the  Atlantic  to  Cape  Fear.  It  comprised  a  greater  portion  of  the  present  State 
of  Georgia,  the  whole  of  Florida,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi,  and  parts  of  South 
Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Kentucky.  The  nation  was  divided  into  three  grand 
confederacies  of  tribes,  namely,  Muscogees  or  Creeks  Choctaws,  and  Chick- 
asaws. 

1  Page  17. 


30     .  .  THE    ABORIGINALS. 

The  Creek  Confederacy  extended  from  the 
Atlantic  westward  to  the  high  lands  which  sep- 
arate the  waters  of  the  Alabama  and  Tombigbee 
Rivers,  including  a  great  portion  of  the  States  of 
Alabama  and  Georgia,  and  the  whole  of  Florida. 
Oglethorpe's  first  interviews1  with  the  natives  at 
Savannah,  were  with  people  of  this  confederacy. 

SOUTHERN  INDIANS.  '  ^       r  .          J 

The  Yamassees,  or  Savannahs  of  Georgia  and 

South  Carolina,  and  the  Seminoles  of  Florida,  were  of  the  Creek  confederacy. 
The  latter  were  strong  and  warlike.  They  were  at  the  head  of  the  Indian 
confederacy,  to  destroy  the  white  people,  in  1715. 2  When  the  general  dis- 
persion followed  that  abortive  attempt,  the  Yamassees  took  refuge  with  the 
Spaniards  of  Florida.  Small  bands  often  annoyed  the  white  frontier  settle- 
ments of  Georgia,  but  they  were  not  engaged  in  general  hostilities  until  the 
Revolution,  when  the  whole  Creek  confederacy3  took  part  with  the  British. 

The  most  inveterate  and  treacherous  enemy  of.  the  white  people,  have  ever 
been  the  Seminoles.  Bands  of  them  often  went  out  upon  the  war-path,  with 
the  Yamassees,  to  slay  the  pale-faces.  They  joined  the  British  in  1812-14; 
and  in  1817  they  renewed  hostilities.4  They  were  subdued  by  General  Jack- 
son, and  afterward  remained  comparatively  quiet  until  1835,  when  they  again 
attacked  the  white  settlements.5  They  were  subjugated  in  1842,  after  many 
lives  and  much  treasure  had  been  sacrificed.6  A  few  of  them  yet  [1856] 
remain  in  the  everglades  of  Florida,  but  a  greater  portion  of  the  tribe  have 
gone  west  of  the  Mississippi,  with  the  other  members  of  the  Creek  confederacy. 
The  Creeks  proper  now  [1856]  number  about  twenty-four  thousand  souls. 
The  number  of  the  whole  confederacy  is  about  thirty  thousand.  They  occupy 
lands  upon  the  Arkansas  and  its  tributaries,  and  are  among  the  most  peaceable 
and  order-loving  of  the  banished  tribes. 

In  the  beautiful  country  bordering  upon  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  extending 
west  of  the  Creeks  to  the  Mississippi,  lived  the  Choctaws.  They  were  an  agri- 
cultural people  when  the  Europeans  discovered  them ;  and,  attached  to  home 
and  quiet  pursuits,  they  have  ever  been  a  peaceful  people.  Their  wars  have 
always  been  on  the  defensive,  and  they  never  had  public  feuds  with  either  their 
Spanish,  French,  or  English  neighbors.  They,  too,  have  been  compelled  to 
abandon  their  native  country  for  the  uncultivated  wilderness  west  of  Arkansas, 
between  the  Arkansas  and  Red  Rivers.  ,They  now  [1856]  number  about  twenty- 
three  thousand  souls.  They  retain  their  peaceable  character  in  their  new  homes. 

The  Chickasaw  tribe  inhabited  the  country  along  the  Mississippi,  from  the 
borders  of  the  Choctaw  domain  to  the  Ohio  River,  and  eastward  beyond  the  Ten- 
nessee to  the  lands  of  the  Cherokees7  and  Shawnees.8  This  warlike  people  were 
the  early  friends  of  the  English,  and  the  most  inveterate  foes  of  the  French, 


1  Page  102.  2  Page  17 p. 

3  This  confederacy  now  [1856]  consists  of  the  Creeks  proper,  Seminoles,  Natchez,  Hichitties, 
and  Alabamas.     The  Creeks,  like  many  other  tribes,  claim  to  be  the  Original  People. 

4  Page  448.  6  Page  466.    *  <s  Page  468.  ?  page  27.  8  Page  19. 


THE     DAHCOTAH    OR     SIOUX    TRIBES.  31 

who  had  twice  [1736-1740]  invaded  their  country.  They  adhered  to  the 
British  during  the  Revolution,  but  since  that  time  they  have  held  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  The  remnant,  about  six 
thousand  in  number,  are  upon  lands  almost  a  hundred  leagues  westward  of  the 
Mississippi. 

Thus,  with  almost  chronological  brevity,  we  have  given  an  outline  sketch 
of  the  history  of  the  Aboriginal  nations  with  whom  the  first  European  settlers 
in  the  United  States  became  acquainted.  They  have  now  no  legal  habitation 
eastward  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  the  fragments  of  those  powerful  tribes  who 
once  claimed  sovereignty  over  twenty-four  degrees  of  longitude  and  twenty 
degrees  of  latitude,  are  now  [1856]  compressed  within  a  quadrangle  of  about 
nine  degrees,  between  the  Red  and  Missouri  Rivers.1  Whether  the  grave  of 
the  last  of  those  great  tribes  shall  be  within  their  present  domain,  or  in  some 
valley  among  the  crags  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  expediency  will  hereafter 
determine. 


C  II A  P  T  E  H    IX. 

THE    DAHCOTAH    OR    SIOUX    TRIBES. 

THE  French  were  the  earliest  explorers  of  the  regions  of  the  Middle  and 
Upper  Mississippi,  and  they  found  a  great  number  of  tribes  west  of  that  river 
who  spoke  dialects  of  the  same  language.  They  occupied  the  vast  domain  from 
the  Arkansas  on  the  south,  to  the  western  tributary  of  Lake  Winnipeg  on  the 
north,  and  westward  to  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  These 
have  been  classed  into  four  grand  divisions,  namely,  the  WINNEBAGOES,  who 
inhabited  the  country  between  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Mississippi,  among  the 
Algonquins  ;2  the  ASSINNIBOINS  and  Sioux  proper,  the  most  northerly  nation ; 
the  MINETAREE  GROUP  in  the  Minnesota  Territory,  and  the  SOUTHERN  Sioux, 
who  dwelt  in  the  country  between  the  Arkansas  and  Platte  Rivers,  and  whose 
hunting-ground  extended  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  most  uneasy  of  these  tribes  were  the  Winnebagoes,  who  often  attacked 
the  Sioux  west  of  the  Mississippi.  They  generally  lived  on  friendly  terms 
with  the  Algonquins,  after  their  martial  spirit  was  somewhat  subdued  by  the 
Illinois,  who,  in  1640,  almost  exterminated  them.  They  were  enemies  to  the 


1  Mr.  Bancroft  [II.,  253]  after  consulting  the  most  reliable  authorities  on  the  subject,  makes  the 
following  estimate  of  the  entire  Aboriginal  population  in  1650'  Algonquins,  90,000;  Eastern 
Sioux,  less  than  3,000  ;  Iroquois,  including  their  southern  kindred,  about  17,000;  Catawbas,  3,000, 
Cherokees  (now  more  numerous  than  ever),  12,000;  Mobilian  tribes,  50,000;  Uchees,  1,000; 
Natchez,  4,000 — in  all,  180,000.  These  were  the  only  nations  and  tribes  then  known.  "With  the 
expansion  of  our  territory  westward  and  southward,  we  have  embraced  numerous  Indian  nations, 
some  of  them  quite  populous,  until  the  number  of  the  estimate  above  given  has  been  more  than 
doubled,  according  to  the  late  census. 

a  Page  17. 


32  THE     ABORIGINALS 

United  States  during  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain,1  and  they  confeder- 
ated with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  in  hostilities  against  the  white  people,  under 
Black  Hawk,  in  1832. 2  The  tribe,  now  [1856]  less  than  four  thousand  strong, 
are  seated  upon  the  Mississippi,  about  eighty  miles  above  St.  Paul,  the  capital 
of  Minnesota.  Fear  of  the  white  people  keeps  them  quiet. 

In  the  cold,  wet  country  of  the  North,  the  Assiniboins  yet  inhabit  their  na- 
tive land.  Having  separated  from  the  nation,  they  are  called  "  rebels."  Their 
neighbors,  the  Sioux  proper,  were  first  visited  by  the  French  in  1660,  and 
have  ever  been  regarded  as  the  most  fierce  and  warlike  people  on  the  continent. 
They  also  occupy  their  ancient  domain,  and  are  now  [1856]  about  eighteen 
thousand  strong. 

Further  westward  are  the  Minetarees,  Mandans,  and  Crows,  who  form  the 
MINETAREE  GROUP.  They  are  classed  with  the  Dahcotahs  or  Sioux,  although 
the  languages  have  only  a  slight  affinity.  The  Minetarees  and  Mandans  num- 
ber about  three  thousand  souls  each.  They  cultivate  the  soil,  and  live  in  vil- 
lages. The  Crows  number  about  fifteen  hundred,  and  are  wanderers  and 
hunters.  The  Mandans  are  very  light-colored.  Some  suppose  them  to  be 
descendants  of  a  colony  from  Wales,  who,  it  is  believed,  came  to  America 
under  Madoc,  the  son  of  a  Welsh  prince,  in  the  twelfth  century.3 

There  are  eight  in  number  of  the  SOUTHERN  Sioux  tribes,  namely,  the 
Arkansas,  Osages,  Kansas,  lowas,  Missouries,  Otoes,  Omahas,  and  Puncahs. 
They  are  cultivators  and  hunters.  They  live  in  villages  a  part  of  the  year, 
and  are  abroad  upon  their  hunting-grounds  during  the  remainder.  Of  these 
tribes,  the  Osages  are  the  most  warlike  and  powerful.  All  of  the  Southern 
Sioux  tribes  are  upon  lands  watered  by  the  Missouri  and  the  Platte,  and  their 
tributaries. 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE    EXTREME    WESTERN    TRIBES. 

WITHIN  a  few  years,  our  domain  has  been  widely  expanded,  and  in  our 
newly-acquired  possessions  on  the  borders  of  Mexico  and  the  Pacific  coast,  and 
the  recently  organized  Territories  in  th,e  interior  of  the  continent,  are  numer- 
ous powerful  and  warlike  tribes,4  of  whom  little  is  known,  and  whose  history 


'  Page  260.  2  page  287. 

3  It  is  said  that  Madoc,  son  of  Prince  Owen  Gwignedd,  sailed  from  "Wales,  with  ten  ships  and 
three  hundred  men,  at  about  the  year  1170,  on  an  exploring  voyage,  and  never  returned.     Many 
learned  conjectures  have  been  expressed,  and  among  them  the  belief  that  the  expedition  reached 
the  American  continent,  and  became  the  progenitors  of  the  Mandans,  or  White  Indians,  of  our 
western  plains. 

4  The  whole  number  of  Indians  within  the  present  limits  of  the  United  States,  in  1853,  is 
reported  in  the  census  to  be  a  little  more  than  400.000.     There  are  about  17,000  in  the  States  east- 
ward of  the  Mississippi,  principally  in  New  York,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin ;  the  remainder,  con- 
sisting of  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  and  Seminoles,  being  in  North  Carolina,  Mississippi,  and  Florida.  The 


THE    EXTREME    WESTERN    TRIBES.  33 

has  no  connection  with  that  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  except  the  fact 
that  they  were  original  occupants  of  the  soil,  and  that  some  of  them,  especially 
the  California  and  Oregon  Indians,  yet  [1856]  dispute  our  right  to  sovereignty. 
Of  these,  the  Comanches  and  Apaches  of  California  are  the  most  warlike.  The 
Pawnees  upon  the  Great  Plains  toward  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  very  numer- 
ous, but  not  so  warlike ;  and  the  Utahs,  among  the  Wasatch  and  neighboring 
rano-es,  are  strong  in  numbers.  Further  northward  and  westward  are  the 

O        -  £3 

Blackfeet,  Crow,  Snake,  Nezperces,  and  Flathead  Indians,  and  smaller  clans, 
with  petty  chiefs,  whose  domains  stretch  away  toward  the  Knisteneaux  and 
Esquimaux  on  the  extreme  north. 

These  tribes  are  rapidly  fading  in  the  light  of  modern  civilization,  and  are 
destined  to  total  annihilation.  The  scythe  of  human  progress  is  steadily  cut- 
ting its  swathes  over  all  their  lands  ;  and  the  timo  is  not  far  distant  when  the 
foot-prints  of  the  Indians  will  be  no  more  known  within  the  domain  of  our  Re- 
public. In  future  years,  the  dusky  son  of  an  exile,  coming  from  the  far-off 
borders  of  the  Slave  Lake,  will  be  gazed  at  in  the  streets  of  a  city  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Yellow  Stone,  with  as  much  wonder  as  the  Oneida  woman,  with  her  blue 
cloth  blanket  and  bead-work  merchandize  is  now  [1856]  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  So  the  Aboriginals  of  our  land  are  passing  away,  and  even  now  they 
may  chant  in  sorrow  : 

"  We,  the  rightful  lords  of  yore, 
Are  the  rightful  lords  no  more ; 
Like  the  silver  mist,  we  fail, 
Like  the  red  leaves  on  the  gale — 
Fail,  like  shadows,  when  the  dawning 
Waves  the  bright  fia^  of  the  morning." 

J.  McLELLAX,  Jll. 

"  I  will  weep  for  a  season,  in  bitterness  fed, 
For  my  kindred  are  gone  to  the  hills  of  the  dead ; 
But  they  died  not  of  hunger,  or  lingering  decay — 
The  hand  of  the  white  man  hath  swept  them  away." 

HENRY  ROWE  SCHOOLCRAFT. 


number  in  Minnesota  and  along  the  frontiers  of  the  Western  States  and  Texas  (most  of  them  emi- 
grants from  the  country  eastward  of  the  Mississippi),  is  estimated  at  110,000.  Those  on  the  Plains 
and  among  the  Rocky  Mountains,  not  within  any  organized  Territory,  at  G3,000;  in  Texas,  at 
29,000  ;  in  New  Mexico,  at  45,000 ;  in  California,  at  100,000  ;  in  Utah,  at  12,000  ;  in  Oregon  and 
Washington  Territories,  at  23,000.  For  more  minute  accounts  of  the  Indians,  see  Heckewelder's 
"History  of  the  Indian  Nations;1'  Schoolcraft's  "Algic  Researches;"  M'Kinney's  "History  of  the 
Indian  Tribes;"  Drake's  "Book  of  the  Indians;"  Catliri's  "Letters  and  Notes." 

3 


COLUMBUS  BEFORE  THE  COUNCIL  OP  SALAMANCA. 


SECOND  PERIOD. 


DISCOVERIES. 


CHAPTER  I. 


SCANDINAVIAN    VOYAGES    AND    DISCOVERIES. 


AMERIGO  VESPUCCI. 


ONE  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  un- 
solved problems  of  history,  is  that  which  re- 
lates to  the  alleged  discovery  of  America  by  mariners  of  north- 
ern Europe,  almost  five  hundred  years  before  Columbus  left 
Palos,  in  Spain,  to  accomplish  that  great  event.  The  tales  and 
poetry  of  Iceland  abound  with  intimations  of  such  discoveries ; 
and  records  of  early  voyages  from  Iceland  to  a  continent  south- 
westward  of  Greenland,  have  been  found.  These,  and  the  re- 
sults of  recent  investigations,  appear  to  prove,  by  the  strongest 
circumstantial  evidence,  that  the  New  England1  coast  was  vis- 
ited, and  that  settlements  thereon  were  attempted  by  Scandi- 
navian navigators,2  almost  five  centuries  before  the  great  Genoese 
undertook  his  first  voyage  in  quest  of  a  western  passage  to 
India. 


NORTHMAN. 


1  The  States  of  our  Union  eastward  of  New  York  are  collectively  called  New  England.    P.  74. 

2  The  ancients  called  the  territory  which  contains  modern  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark,  Lapland, 
Iceland,  Finland,  etc.,  by  the  general  name  of  Scandinavia. 


SCANDINAVIAN    VOYAGES    AND    DISCOVERIES. 


35 


NORMAX   SHIP. 


The  navigators  of  northern  Europe  were  remarkable  for  their  boldness  and 
perseverance.  They  discovered  Iceland  in  the  year  860,  and  colonized  it. 
In  890  they  colonized  Greenland,  and  planted  colonies  there  also.  There  was 
traffic,  friendly  and  lucrative,  between  the  colonists  of  Iceland  and  Greenland, 
and  the  parent  Norwegians  and  Danes,  as  early  as  the  year  950,  and  no  mar- 
iners were  so  adventurous  as  these  Northmen.  In 
the  year  1002,  according  to  an  Icelandic  chronicle,  a 
Norwegian  vessel,  commanded  by  Captain  Lief,  sailed 
from  Iceland  for  Greenland.  A  gale  drove  the  voy- 
agers to  the  coast  of  Labrador.  They  explored  the 
shores  southward  to  the  region  of  a  genial  climate, 
where  they  found  noble  forests  and  abundance  of 
grapes.  This,  it  is  supposed,  was  the  vicinity  of 
Boston.  Other  voyages  to  the  new-found  land  were 

afterward  made  by  the  adventurous  Scandinavians,  and  they  appear  to  have 
extended  their  explorations  as  far  as  Rhode  Island — perhaps  as  far  south  as 
Cape  May. 

It  is  further  asserted  that  settlements  in  that  pleas- 
ant climate  were  attempted,  and  that  the  child  of  a  Scan- 
dinavian mother  was  born  upon  the  shore  of  Mount  Hope 
Bay,  in  Rhode  Island.1  In  the  absence  of  actual  charts 
and  maps,  to  fix  these  localities  of  latitude  and  longitude, 
of  course  they  must  be  subjects  of  conjecture  only,  for 
these  explorers  left  no  traces  of  their  presence  here,  un- 
less it  shall  be  conceded  that  the  round  tower  at  New- 
port,2 about  the  origin  of  which  history  and  tradition  are 
silent,  was  built  by  the  Northmen. 

The  period  of  this  alleged  discovery  was  that  of  the  dark  ages,  when  ig- 
norance brooded  over  Europe,  like  thick  night.  Information  of  these  voyages 
seems  not  to  have  spread,  and  no  records  of  intercourse  with  a  western  conti- 
nent later  than  1120,  have  been  found.  The  great  discovery,  if  made,  was  for- 
gotten, or  remembered  only  in  dim  traditionary  tales  of  the  exploits  of  the  old 
"  Sea-Kings"3  of  the  North.  For  centuries  afterward,  America  was  an  un- 


TOWER  AT  NEWPORT. 


1  The  old  chronicle  referred  to  says  that  Gudrida,  wife  of  a  Scandinavian  navigator,  gave  birth 
to  a  child  in  America,  to  whom  she  gave  the  name  of  Snorre  ;  and  it  is  further  asserted  that  Ber- 
tel  Thorwalsden,  the  great  Danish  sculptor,  was  a  descendant  of  this  early  white  American.     The 
records  of  these  voyages  were  compiled  by  Bishop  Thorlack,  of  Iceland,  who  was  also  a  descendant 
of  Snorre. 

2  This  structure  is  of  unhewn  stone,  laid  in  mortar  made  of  the  gravel  of  the  soil  around,  and 
oyster-shell  lime.    It  is  a  cylinder  resting  upon  eight  round  columns,  twenty-three  feet  in  diameter, 
and  twenty-four  feet  in  height      It  was  originally  covered  with  stucco.     It  seems  to  have  stood 
there  when  the  white  people  first  visited  Rhode  Island,  and  the  Narraganset  Indians,  it  is  as- 
serted, had  no  tradition  of  its  origin.     There  can  be  little  doubt,  all  things  considered,  of  its  having 
been  constructed  by  those  northern  navigators,  who  made  attempts  at  settlement  in  that  vicinity. 

3  This  name  was  given  to  bold  adventurers  of  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark,  who  rebelled 
against  Gorm  the  Old  of  Norway,  and  Harold  Fairhair  of  Denmark,  their  conquerors,  forsook  their 
country,  settled  upon  the  islands  of  the  North  Sea,  and  Greenland,  and  from  thence  went  forth 
upon  piratical  expeditions,  even  as  far  south  as  the  pleasant  coasts  of  France.     They  trafficked,  as 
well  as  plundered ;  and  finally  sweeping  over  Denmark  and  Germany,  obtained  possession  of  some 


36  DISCOVERIES.  [1492. 

known  region.  It  had  no  place  upon  maps,  unless  as  an  imaginary  island 
without  a  name,  nor  in  the  most  acute  geographical  theories  of  the  learned. 
When  Columbus  conceived  the  grand  idea  of  reaching  Asia  bj  sailing  westward, 
no  whisper  of  those  Scandinavian  voyages  was  heard  in  Europe. 


CHAPTER    II. 

SPANISH    VOYAGES    AND    DISCOVERIES. 

THE  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  century  was  distinguished  for  great  commer- 
cial activity.  Sluggish  Europe  was  just  awaking  from  its  slumber  of  centuries, 
and  maritime  discoveries  were  prosecuted  with  untiring  zeal  by  the  people 
inhabiting  the  great  south-western  peninsula  covered  by  Spain,  Portugal,  and 
France.  The  incentives  to  make  these  discoveries  grew  out  of  the  political 
condition  of  Europe,  and  the  promises  of  great  commercial  advantages.  The 
rich  commerce  of  the  East  centered  in  Rome,  when  that  empire  overshad- 
owed the  known  world.  When  it  fell  into  fragments,  the  Italian  cities  con- 
tinued their  monopoly  of  the  rich  trade  of  the  Indies.  Provinces  which  had 
arisen  into  independent  kingdoms,  became  jealous  of  these  cities,  so  rapidly 
outstripping  them  in  power  and  opulence ;  and  Castile  and  Portugal,  in  par- 
ticular, engaged  in  efforts  to  open  a  direct  trade  with  the  East.  The  ocean  was 
the  only  highway  for  such  commerce,  toward  which  the  rivals  could  look  with 
a  hope  of  success.  The  errors  of  geographical  science  interposed  great  obsta- 
cles. Popular  belief  pictured  an  impassable  region  of  fire  beyond  Cape  Baja- 
dor,  on  the  coast  of  Africa ;  but  bold  navigators,  under  the  auspices  of  Prince 
Henry  of  Portugal,  soon  penetrated  that  dreaded  latitude,  crossed  the  torrid 
zone,  and,  going  around  the  southern  extremity  of  Africa,  opened  a  pathway 
to  the  East,  through  the  Indian  Ocean. 

The  Portuguese  court  at  Lisbon  soon  became  a 
point  of  great  attraction  to  the  learned  and  adven- 
turous. Among  others  came  Christopher  Columbus, 
the  son  of  a  wool-carder  of  Genoa,  a  mariner  of 
great  experience  and  considerable  repute,  and  then 
in  the  prime  of  life.  In  person  he  was  tall  and 
commanding,  and,  in  manners,  exceedingly  winning 
and  graceful,  for  one  unaccustomed  to  the  polish  of 
courts,  or  the  higher  orders  in  society.  The  rudi- 
COLUMBUS.  ments  of  geometry,  which  he  had  learned  in  the 


of  the  best  portions  of  Gaul.  They  finally  invaded  the  British  Islands,  and  placed  Canute  upon 
the  throne  of  Alfred.  It  was  among  these  people  that  chivalry,  as  an  institution,  originated ;  and 
back  to  those  "  Sea-Kings"  we  may  look  for  the  hardiest  elements  of  progress  among  the  people 
of  the  United  States. 


1609.]  SPANISH    VOYAGES    AND    DISCOVERIES.  37 

university  of  Pavia,  had  been  for  years  working  out  a  magnificent  theory  in 
his  mind,  and  he  came  to  Lisbon  to  seek  an  opportunity  to  test  its  truth. 

Fortune  appeared  to  smile  beneficently  upon  Columbus,  during  his  early 
residence  in  Lisbon.  He  soon  loved  and  married  the  daughter  of  Palestrello, 
a  deceased  navigator  of  eminence,  and  he  became  possessed  of  nautical  papers 
of  great  value.  They  poured  new  light  upon  his  mind.  His  convictions 
respecting  the  rotundity  of  the  earth,  and  the  necessity  of  a  continent  in  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  to  balance  the  land  in  the  eastern  hemisphere ;  or  at  least  a 
nearer  approach  of  eastern  Asia  to  the  shores  of  western  Europe,  than  geo- 
graphical science  had  yet  revealed,  assumed  the  character  of  demonstrated 
realities.  He  was  disposed  to  credit  the  narratives  of  Plato  and  other  ancient 
writers,  respecting  the  existence  of  a  continent  beyond  the  glorious,  but  long- 
lost,  island  of  Atlantis,  in  the  wTaste  of  waters  westward  of  Europe.  He  was 
convinced  that  Asia  could  be  reached  much  sooner  by  sailing  westward,  than 
by  going  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.1  He  based  his  whole  theory  upon 
the  fundamental  belief  that  the  earth  was  a  terraqueous  globe,  which  might  be 
traveled  round  from  east  to  west,  and  that  men  stood  foot  to  foot  at  opposite 
points.  This,  it  should  be  remembered,  was  seventy  years  before  Copernicus 
announced  his  theory  of  the  form  and  motion  of  the  planets  [1543],  and  one 
hundred  and  sixty  years  [1633]  before  Galileo  was  compelled,  before  the 
court  of  the  Inquisition  at  Rome,  to  renounce  his  belief  in  the  diurnal  revolu- 
tion of  the  earth. 

A  deep  religious  sentiment  imbued  the  whole  being  of  Columbus,  and  he 
became  strongly  impressed  with  the  idea  that  there  were  people  beyond  the 
waste  of  waters  westward,  unto  whom  he  was  commissioned  by  heaven  to 
carry  the  Gospel.2  With  the  lofty  aspirations  which  his  theory  and  his  faith 
gave  him,  he  prosecuted  his  plans  with  great  ardor.  He  made  a  voyage  to 
Iceland,  and  sailed  a  hundred  leagues  beyond,  to  the  ice-fields  of  the  polar  cir- 
cle. He  probably  heard,  there,  vague  traditions  of  early  voyages  to  a  western 
continent.3  which  gave  strength  to  his  own  convictions ;  and  on  his  return,  he 
laid  his  plans  first  before  his  countrymen,  the  Genoese  (who  rejected  them), 
and  then  before  the  monarchs  of  England4  and  Portugal. 

The  Portuguese  monarch  appeared  to  comprehend  the  grand  idea  of  Colum- 
bus, but  it  was  too  lofty  for  the  conceptions  of  his  council  and  the  pedantic 
wise  men  of  Lisbon.  For  a  long  time  Columbus  was  annoyed  by  delays  on  the 
part  of  those  to  whose  judgment  the  king  deferred ;  and  attempts  were  meanly 
and  clandestinely  made  to  get  from  Columbus  the  information  which  he  pos- 
sessed. While  awaiting  a  decision,  his  wife  died.  The  last  link  that  bound 
him  to  Portugal  was  broken,  and,  taking  his  little  son  Diego  by  the  hand,  he 

1  This  point  was  first  discovered  by  Diaz,  a  Portuguese  navigator,  who  named  it  Stormy  Cape. 
But  King  John,  believing  it  to  be  that  remote  extremity  of  Africa  so  long  sought,  named  it  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.     Vasco  de  Gama  passed  it  in  1497,  and  made  his  way  to  the  East  Indies  beyond. 

2  His  name  was  suggestive  of  a  mission.     Christo  or  Christ,  and  Colombo,  a  pigeon — carrier- 
pigeon.     By  this  combination  of  significant  words  in  his  name,  he  believed  himself  to  be  a  Christ, 
or  Gospel-bearer,  to  the  heathen,  and  he  often  signed  his  name  Christo-ferens,  or  Christ-bearer. 

d  Page  34.  4  page  46. 


38  DISCOVERIES.  [1492. 

departed  on  foot  to  lay  his  proposition  before  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,1  the 
monarchs  of  Spain — occupants  of  the  united  thrones  of  Arragon  and  Castile. 

Very  poor,  and  greatly  dispirited,  Columbus  arrived  at  the  gate  of  the 
monastery  of  Rabida,  near  the  little  port  from  whence  he  afterward  sailed,  and 
begged  food  and  shelter  for  himself  and  child.  The  good  Father  Marchena 
received  him  kindly,  entered  warmly  into  his  plans,  and  was  of  essential  service 
to  him  afterward.  Through  him  Columbus  obtained  access  to  the  court ;  but 
the  war  with  the  Moors,  then  raging,  delayed  an  opportunity  for  an  audience 
with  the  monarchs  for  a  long  time.  Yet  he  was  not  idle.  He  employed  him- 
self in  the  alternate  pursuits  of  science,  and  engagements  in  some  of  the  military 
campaigns.  He  was  continually  treated  with  great  deference  by  the  court  and 
nobility,  and  at  length  his  importunities  were  heeded.  A  council  of  the  learned 
men  of  the  nation  was  convened  at  Salamanca,  to  consider  his  plans  and  propo- 
sitions.2 The  ftiajority  pronounced  his  scheme  vain  and  impracticable,  and 
unworthy  of  the  support  of  the  government.  But  a  minority  of  the  council, 
wiser  than  the  rest,  did  not  acquiesce  in  this  decision,  and,  with  Cardinal  Men- 
doza  and  other  officers  of  government,  they  encouraged  the  navigator  by  prom- 
ises of  their  continual  support.  But  he  became  disgusted  by  procrastination, 
and  abandoning  the  hope  of  royal  aid,  he  applied  to  two  wealthy  dukes  for 
assistance.  They  refused,  and  he  left  with  a  determination  to  lay  his  plans  before 
the  King  of  France. 

Columbus  had  been  encouraged  by  Father  Mar- 
chena (who  had  been  Isabella's  confessor),3  and  through 
his  intercession,  the  navigator  was  recalled  before  he 
had  entered  France.  He  sought  and  obtained  a  per- 
sonal interview  with  the  queen.  To  her  he  revealed 
all  his  plans ;  told  her  of  the  immense  treasures  that 
lay  hidden  in  that  far  distant  India4  which  might  be 
easily  reached  by  a  shorter  way,  and  pleaded  eloquently 
for  aid  in  his  pious  design  of  carrying  the  Gospel  to  the 
heathen  of  unknown  lands.  The  last  appeal  aroused 
ISABELLA.  the  religious  zeal  of  Isabella,  and  with  the  spirit  of  the 

Crusaders,5  she  dismissed  Columbus  with  the  assurance 

1  Isabella  was  a  sister  of  the  profligate  Henry  the  Fourth  of  Castile'  and  Leon.     She  was  a  pious, 
virtuous,  and  high-minded  woman,  then  almost  a  phenomenon  in  courts.     She  was  of  middle  size, 
and  well  formed,  with  a  fair  complexion,  auburn  hair,  and  clear,  blue  eyes. . 

2  See  the  picture  at  the  head  of  this  chapter.     The  Council  was  composed  of  the  professors  of 
the  university,  various  dignitaries  of  the  Church,  and  learned  friars.     They  were  nearly  all  preju- 
diced against  the  poor  navigator,  and  he  soon  discovered  that  ignorance  and  bigotry  would  defeat 
his  purposes. 

3  All  Roman  Catholics  are  obliged  to  confess  their  sins  to  a  priest.     Rich  and  titled  persons 
often  had  a  priest  confessor  for  themselves  and  their  families  exclusively. 

^4  Marco  Polo  and  other  travelers  had  related  wonderful  stories  of  the  beauty  and  wealth 
of  a  country  beyond  the  limits  of  geographical  knowledge,  and  had  thus  inflamed  the  avarice  and 
ambition  of  the  rich  and  powerful.  The  country  was  called  Zipangi,  and  also  Cathay.  It  included 
China  and  adjacent  islands. 

5  About  700  years  ago,  the  Christian  powers  of  Europe  fitted  out  expeditions  to  conquer 
Palestine,  with  the  avowed  object  of  rescuing  the  sepulcher  of  Jesus,  at  Jerusalem,  from  the  hands 
of  the  Turks.  These  were  called  crusades — holy  ivars.  The  lives  of  two  millions  of  people  were 
lost  in  them. 


1609.]  SPANISH    VOYAGES    AND    DISCOVERIES.  39 

that  he  should  have  her  aid  in  fitting  out  an  exploring  expedition,  even  if  it  should 
require  the  pawning  of  her  crown  jewels  to  obtain  the  money.  And  Isabella  was 
faithful  to  her  promise.  She  fitted  out  two  caravels  (light  coasting  ships),  and 
Columbus,  by  the  aid  of  friends,  equipped  a  third  and  larger  one.  With  this  little 
fleet,  bearing  one  hundred  and  twenty  persons,  he  left  Palos,  on  the  Tinto  River, 
in  Andalusia,  on  Friday,  the  3d  of  August,  1492,  to  explore  the  stormy  Atlantic.1 

Columbus  started  on  that  perilous  voyage  without  a  reliable  chart  for  his 
guidance,  and  no  director  in  his  course  but  the  sun  and  stars,  and  the  imperfect 
mariner's  compass,  then  used  only  by  a  few  in  navigating  the  pleasant  seas  of 
the  Old  World.  After  various  delays  at  the  Canary  Islands,  they  left  them  in 
the  dim  distance  behind,  on  Sunday,  the  9th  of  September.  The  broad  At- 
lantic, mysterious  and  unknown,  was  before  them.  A  voyage  of  great  trial  for 
the  navigator  was  now  fairly  entered  upon.  His  theory  taught  him  to  believe 
that  he  would  reach  Asia  in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  But  weeks  wore  away  • 
the  needle2  became  unfaithful;  alarm  and  discontent  prevailed,  and  several 
times  his  followers  were  on  the  point  of  compelling  him  to  turn  back. 

One  pleasant  evening  (the  llth  of  October),  the  perfumes  of  flowers  came 
upon  the  night  breeze,  as  tokens  of  approach  to  land.  The  vesper  hymn  to  the 
Virgin  was  sung,  and  Columbus,  after  recounting  the  blessings  of  God  thus  far 
manifested  in  the  voyage,  assured  the  crews  that  he  confidently  expected  to  see 
land  in  the  morning.  Yet  they  hesitated  to  believe,  for  twice  before  they  had 
been  mocked  by  other  indications  of  land 
being  near.3  On  the  high  poop  of  his 
vessel  the  great  navigator  sat  watching 
until  midnight,  when  he  saw  the  glim- 
mer of  moving  lights  upon  the  verge  of 
the  horizon.  He  called  others  to  con- 
firm his  vision,  for  he  was  fearful  of 
mistake.  They,  too,  perceived  blazing 
torches,  and  at  dawn  the  next  morning 

their  delighted  eyes  saw  green  forests  THE  FLEET  OF  COLUMBC& 

stretching  along  the   horizon ;    and   as 

they  approached,  they  were  greeted  by  the  songs  of  birds  and  the  murmur  of 
human  voices. 


1  Columbus  was  appointed  high-admiral  of  all  seas  which  he  might  discover,  with  the  attendant 
honors.     Also  viceroy  of  all  lands  discovered.     He  was  to  have  one-tenth  of  all  profits  of  the  first 
voyage,  and  by  contributing  an  eighth  of  the  expense  of  future  voyages,  was  to  have  an  eighth  of 
all  the  profits.     Although  Isabella  paid  the  whole  expense,  the  contract  was  signed,  also,  by  her 
husband. 

2  Needle,  or  pointer,  of  the  mariner's  compass.     This  instrument  was  first  known  in  Europe,  at 
Amalfi,  about  1302.     The  Chinese  claim  to  have  possessed  a  knowledge  of  it  more  than  1100  years 
before  the  birth  of  Christ.     The  needle  was  supposed  to  point  toward  the  north  star  at  all  times. 
There  is  a  continual  variation  from  this  line,  now  easily  calculated,  but  unknown  until  discovered 
by  Columbus.     It  perplexed,  but  did  not  dismay  him. 

3  They  had  seen  birds,  but  they  proved  to  be  the  petrel,  an  ocean  fowl.     Bits  of  wood  and  sea- 
weeds had  also  been  seen.     These  had  undoubtedly  been  seen  on  the  outer  verge  of  the  Gulf 
Stream,  north-east  of  the  Bahamas,  where,  according  to  Lieutenant  Maury  [Physical  Geography  of 
the  Sea],  there  may  always  be  found  a  drift  of  sea-weed,  and  sometimes  objects  that  have  floated 
from  the  land. 


40 


DISCOVERIES. 


[1492. 


BANNER   OF   THE 
EXPEDITION. 


Arrayed  in  scarlet,  and  bearing  his  sword  in  one  hand, 
and  the  banner  of  the  expedition  in  the  other,  Columbus 
landed,  with  his  followers,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  gorgeous 
scenery  and  the  incense  of  myriads  of  flowers,  they  all  knelt 
clown  and  chaunted  a  hymn  of  thanksgiving  to  God.  The 
natives  had  gathered  in  wonder  and  awe,  in  the  grove  near 
by,  regarding  the  Europeans  as  children  of  their  great 
deity,  the  Sun.1  Little  did  they  comprehend  the  fatal  signif- 
icance to  them,  of  the  act  of  Columbus,  when,  rising  from 
the  ground,  he  displayed  the  royal  standard,  drew  his  sword, 
set  up  a  rude  cross  upon  the  spot  where  he  landed,  and  took 
formal  possession  of  the  beautiful  country  in  the  name  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella.2  The  land  first  discovered  by  Colum- 
bus was  one  of  the  Bahamas,  called  by  the  natives  Guana- 
hama,  but  since  named  by  the  English,  Cat  Island.  The 
navigator  named  it  San  Salvador  (Holy  Saviour)  ;  and  believing  it  to  be  near 
the  coast  of  further  India,  he  called  the  natives  Indians.  This  name  was  after- 
ward applied  to  all  the  natives  of  the  adjacent  continent,3  and  is  still  retained. 

The  triumph  of  Columbus  was  now  complete.  After  spending  some  time 
in  examining  the  island,  becoming  acquainted  with  the  simple  habits  of  the 
natives,  and  unsuccessfully  searching  for  ' t  the  gold,  and  pearls,  and  spices  of 
Zipangi,"4  he  sailed  southward,  and  discovered  several  other  small  islands.  He 
finally  discovered  Cuba  and  St.  Domingo,  where  he  was  told  of  immense  gold- 
bearing  regions  in  the  interior.  Impressed  with  the  belief  that  he  had  dis- 
covered the  Ophir  of  the  ancients,  he  returned  to  Spain,  where  he  arrived  in 
March,  1493.  He  was  received  with  great  honors,5  but  considerations  of  State 
policy  induced  the  Spanish  government  to  conceal  the  importance  of  his  dis- 
covery from  other  nations.  This  policy,  and  the  jealousy  which  the  sudden 
elevation  of  a  foreigner  inspired  in  the  Spaniards,  deprived  him  of  the  honor 
of  having  the  New  World  called  by  his  name.  Americus  Vespucius,6  a  Flor- 
entine, unfairly  won  the  prize.  In  company  with  Ojeda,  a  companion  of  Colum- 


1  Almost  all  the  natives  of  the  torrid  zone  of  America  worshiped  the  sun  as  the  chief  visible 
deity.     The  great  temples  of  the  sun  in  Mexico  and  Peru  were  among  the  most  magnificent  struc- 
tures of  the  Americans,  when  Europeans  came. 

2  It  was  a  common  practice  then,  as  now,  for  the  discoverer  of  new  lands  to  erect  some  monu- 
ment, and  to  proclaim  the  title  of  his  sovereign  to  the  territories  so  discovered.     The  banner  of  the 
expedition,  borne  on  shore  by  Columbus,  was  a  white  one,  with  a  green  cross.     Over  the  initials 
F.  and  Y.  (Ferdinand  and  Ysabella)  were  golden  mural  crowns. 

3  Chapter  I,  page  9.  *  Note  4,  page  38. 

5  Columbus  carried  back  with  him  several  of  the  natives,  and  a  variety  of  the  animals,  birds, 
and  plants  of  the  New  "World.  They  excited  the  greatest  astonishment.  His  journey  from  Palos 
to  Barcelona,  to  meet  the  sovereigns,  was  like  the  march  of  a  king.  His  reception  was  still  more 
magnificent.  The  throne  of  the  monarch  was  placed  in  a  public  square,  and  the  great  of  the  king- 
dom were  there  to  do  homage  to  the  navigator.  The  highest  honors  were  bestowed  upon  Colum- 
bus: and  the  sovereigns  granted  him  a  coat  of  arms  bearing  royal  devices,  and  the  motto,  "To 
Castile  and  Leon  Columbus  gave  a  new  world." 

e  See  the  protrait  of  Vespucius  at  the  head  of  this  Chapter.  The  Italians  spell  his  name  Amer- 
igo Vespucci  [Am-e-ree-go  Ves-pute-sej.  He  died  while  in  the  service  of  the  king  of  Spain,  in 
1514.  He  had  made  several  voyages  to  South  America,  and  explored  the  eastern  coast  as. far 
southward  as  the  harbor  of  Rio  Janeiro. 


1609.]  SPANISH    YOTAG-ES    AND    DISCOVERIES.  41 

bus  during  his  first  voyage,  Americus  visited  the  West  Indies,  and  discovered 
and  explored  the  eastern  coast  of  South  America,  north  of  the  Oronoco,  in 
1499.  In  1504,  he  published  a  glowing  account  of  the  lands  he  had  visited,1 
and  that  being  the  first  formal  announcement  to  the  world  of  the  great  discov- 
ery, and  as  he  claimed  to  have  first  set  foot  upon  the  Continent  of  the  West, 
it  was  called  AMERICA,  in  honor  of  the  Florentine.  This  claim  was  not 
founded  on  truth,  for  Columbus  had  anticipated  him ;  and  two  years  earlier, 
Cabot,  in  command  of  an  expedition  from  England,  discovered  Labrador,  New- 
foundland, and  portions  of  the  New  England  coast. 

Columbus  made  three  other  voyages  to  the  West  Indies,2  established  settle- 
ments, and  in  August,  1498,  he  discovered  the  continent  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Oronoco.  This,  too,  he  supposed  to  be  an  island  near  the  coast  of  Asia,  and  he 
lived  and  died  in  ignorance  of  the  real  grandeur  of  his  discoveries.  Before 
departing  on  his  third  voyage,  he  was  appointed  Viceroy  and  High  Admiral  of 
the  New  World.  During  his  absence,  jealous  and  unscrupulous  men  poisoned 
the  minds  of  the  king  and  queen  with  false  statements  concerning  the  ambitious 
designs  of  Columbus,  and  he  was  sent  back  to  Spain  in  chains.  The  navigator 
was  guilty  of  serious  wrongs,  but  not  against  his  sovereign.  He  made  slaves 
of  the  natives,  and  this  offended  the  conscientious  Isabella.  But  she  was  soon 
undeceived  concerning  his  alleged  political  crimes,  and  he  was  allowed  to  depart 
on  a  fourth  voyage.  When  he  returned,  the  queen  was  dead,  his  enemies  were 
in  power,  and  he  who  had  shed  such  luster  upon  the  Spanish  name,  and  added  a 
new  hemisphere  to  the  Spanish  realm,  was  allowed  to  sink  into  the  grave  in 
obscurity  and  neglect.  He  died  at  Valladolid  on  the  20th  of  May,  1506. 
His  body  was  buried  in  a  convent,  from  whence  it  was  afterward  carried  to  St. 
Domingo,  and  subsequently  to  Havana,  in  Cuba,  where  it  now  remains. 

It  was  an  unlucky  hour  for  the  nations  of  the  New  World  when  the  eyes  of 
Europeans  were  first  opened  upon  it.  The  larger  islands  of  the  West  India 
group  were  soon  colonized  by  the  Spaniards  ;  and  the  peaceful,  friendly,  gen- 
tle, and  happy  natives,  were  speedily  reduced  to  slavery.  Their  Paradise  was 
made  a  Pandemonium  for  them.  Bending  beneath  the  weight  of  Spanish 
cruelty  and  wrong,  they  soon  sunk  into  degradation.  The  women  were  com- 
pelled to  intermarry  with  their  oppressors,  and  from  this  union  came  many  of 
the  present  race  of  Creoles,  who  form  the  numerical  strength  of  Cuba  and  other 
West  India  Islands. 

The  wonderful  stories  of  gold-bearing  regions,  told  by  the  natives,  and  ex- 
aggerated by  the  adventurers,  inflamed  the  avarice  and  cupidity  of  the  Span- 
iards, and  exploring  voyages  from  Cuba,  St.  Domingo,  and  Porto  Rico,  were 
undertaken.  The  eastern  coast  of  Yucatan  was  discovered  in  1506 ;  and 
in  1510,  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  with  a  colony,  settled  upon  the  Isthmus 


1  First  in  a  letter  to  Lorenzo  de  Medici,  and  then  [1507]  in  a  volume,  dedicated  to  the  Duke  of 
Lorraine.     These  publications  revealed  what  the  Spanish  Government  wished  to  conceal.     Note  4, 
page  47. 

2  In  his  second  voyage  [1493],  Columbus  took  with  him  several  horses,  a  bull,  and  some  cows. 
These  were  the  first  animals  of  the  kind  taken  from  Europe  to  America. 


42  DISCOVERIES.  [1492. 

of  JDarieri.  This  was  the  first  colony  planted  on  the  continent  of  America. 
Crossing  the  Isthmus  in  search  of  gold  in  1513,  Balboa  saw  the  Pacific 
Ocean  in  a  southerly  direction  from  the  top  of  a  high 
mountain,  and  he  called  it  the  "  South  Sea."  In  full 
costume,  and  bearing  the  Spanish  flag,  he  entered  its 
waters  and  took  possession  of  the  "seas,  lands,"  etc.,  "of 
the  South,"  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign. 

In  the  year  1512  Florida  was  discovered  by  Juan  Ponce 
de  Leon,  an  old  visionary,  who  had  been  governor  of 
Porto  Rico.  With  three  ships  he  sailed  for  the  Bahamas 
in  search  of  a  fountain  which  unlettered  natives  and 
wise  men  of  Spain  believed  to  exist  there,  and  whose 
waters  possessed  the  quality  of  restoring  old  age  to  the 
bloom  of  youth,  and  of  making  the  recipient  immortal. 
It  was  on  Easter  Sunday,2  March  27,  1512,  the  Pasquas  de  Flores3  of  the 
Spaniards,  when  the  adventurer  approached  the  shores  of  the  great  southern 
peninsula  of  the  United  States  and  landed  near  the  site  of  St.  Augustine.4  The 
forests  and  the  green  banks  were  laden  with  flowers ;  and  when,  soon  after 
landing,  Ponce  do  Leon  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  his  sov- 
ereign, this  fact  and  the  holy  day  were  regarded,  and  he  called  the  beautiful 
domain,  FLORIDA.  He  continued  his  searches  for  the  Fountain  of  Youth  all 
along  the  coast  of  the  newly-discovered  country,  and  among  the  Tortugas  (Tor- 
toise) Islands,  a  hundred  miles  from  its  southern  cape,  but  without  success ; 
and  he  returned  to  Porto  Rico,  an  older  if  not  a  wiser  man.  He  soon  afterward 
went  to  Spain,  where  he  remained  several  years. 

While  Ponce  de  Leon  was  absent  in  Europe,  some  wealthy  owners  of  plant- 
ations and  mines  in  St.  Domingo,  sent  Lucas  Vasquez  d:  Ay  lion,  one  of  their 
number,  with  two  vessels,  to  seize  natives  of  the  Bermudas,  and  bring  them 
home  for  laborers.  It  was  an  unholy  mission,  and  God's  displeasure  was  made 
manifest.  A  storm  drove  the  voyagers  into  St.  Helen's  Sound,  on  the  coast  of 
South  Carolina,  and  after  much  tribulation,  they  anchored  [1520]  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Combahee  River.  The  natives  were  kind  and  generous ;  and,  judging 
their  visitors  by  their  own  simple  standard  of  honor,  they  unsuspectingly  went 
upon  the  ship  in  crowds,  to  gratify  their  curiosity.  While  below,  the  hatches 
were  closed,  the  sails  were  immediately  spread,  and  those  free  children  of  the 
forest  were  borne  away  to  work  as  bond-slaves  in  the  mines  of  St.  Domingo. 
But  the  perpetrators  of  the  outrage  olid  not  accomplish  their  designs.  One  of 
the  vessels  was  destroyed  by  a  storm ;  and  almost  every  prisoner  in  the  other 
refused  to  take  food,  and  died.  The  fruit  of  this  perfidy  was  a  feeling  of  hos- 
tility to  white  people,  which  spread  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Mobilian 
tribes,5  and  was  a  source  of  much  trouble  afterward. 

1  This  little  picture  gives  a  correct  representation  of  those  armed  Spaniards  who  attempted  con- 
quests in  the  New  World.  Balboa's  fellow-adventurers  became  jealous  of  his  fame,  and  on  their 
.accusations  he  was  put  to  death  by  the  Governor  of  Darien,  in  1517. 

"  The  day  in  which  is  commemorated  in  the  Christian  Church  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 

8  Feast  of  flowers.  4  Page  51.  6  Chapter  VIII.,  page  29. 


1609.]  SPANISH    VOYAGES    AND    DISCOVERIES.  43 

Ponce  de  Leon  returned  to  the  West  Indies  soon  after  D'Ayllon's  voyage, 
bearing  the  commission  of  Governor  cf  Florida,  with  instructions  to  plant  settle- 
ments there.  In  his  attempts  to  do  so,  the  angry  natives,  who  had  heard  of  the 
treachery  of  the  Spaniards,  attacked  him  furiously.  He  was  mortally  wounded, 
and  almost  all  of  his  followers  were  killed.  D' Ay  lion  was  then  appointed  governor 
of  the  country  which  he  had  discovered  and  named  Chicora.  He  went  thither 
to  conquer  it,  and  was  received  with  apparent  friendship  by  the  natives  on  the 
banks  of  the  Combahee,1  near  the  spot  where  his  great  crime  of  man-stealing 
had  been  perpetrated.  Many  of  his  men  were  induced  to  visit  a  village  in  the 
interior,  when  the  natives  practiced  the  lesson  of  treachery  which  D?  Ayllon  had 
taught  them,  and  massacred  the  whole  party.  The  commander  himself  was 
attacked  upon  his  own  ship,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  he  escaped.  He  died 
of  his  wounds  at  St.  Domingo. 

Another  important  discovery  was  made  in  1517,  by  Francisco  Fernandez 
de  Cordova,  who  commanded  an  expedition  from  Cuba  :  the  rich  and  populous 
domain  of  Mexico  was  revealed  to  the  avaricious  Spaniards.  Cordova's  report 
of  a  people  half  civilized,  and  possessing  treasures  in  cities,  awakened  the  keen- 
est cupidity  of  his  countrymen  ;  and  the  following  year  Velasquez,  the  governor 
of  Cuba,  sent  another  expedition  to  Mexico,  under  Juan  de  Grijalva.  That 
captain  returned  with  much  treasure,  obtained  by  trafficking  with  the  Mex- 
icans. The  avarice,  cupidity,  and  ambition  of  Velasquez  were  powerfully 
aroused,  and  lie  determined  to  conquer  the  Mexicans,  and  possess  himself 
of  their  sources  of  wealth.  An  expedition,  consisting  of  eleven  vessels,  and 
more  than  six  hundred  armed  men,  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Fernando 
Cortez,  a  brave  but  treacherous  and  cruel  leader.  He  landed  first  at  Tobasco, 
and  then  at  San  Juan  de  Ulloa,2  near  Vera  Cruz  [April  12,  1519],  where  he 
received  a  friendly  deputation  from  Montezuma,  the  emperor  of  the  nation.3 
By  falsehood  and  duplicity,  Cortez  and  his  armed  companions  were  allowed  to 
march  to  Mexico,  the  capital.  By  stratagem  and  boldness,  and  the  aid  of 
native  tribes  who  were  hostile  to  the  Mexican  dynasty,  ^Cortez1  succeeded,  after 
many  bloody  contests  during  almost  two  years,  in  subduing  the  people.  The 
city  of  Mexico  surrendered  to  him  on  the  23d  of  August,  1521,  and  the  vast 
and  populous  empire  of  Montezuma  became  a  Spanish  province. 

Florida  continued  to  command  the  attention  of  the  Spaniards,  in  whose 
minds  floated  magnificent  dreams  of  immense  wealth  in  cities  and  mines  within 
its  deep  forests ;  and  seven  years  after  the  conquest  of  Mexico  [1528],  Pamphilo 


1  D'Ayllon  nnmed  this  river,  Jordan,  for  he  regarded  the  country  as  the  new  Land  of  Promise. 

2  Pronounced  Sari-whahn-da-Ooloo-ah. 

3  The  Mexicans  at  that  time  were  making  rapid  advances  in  the  march  of  civilization.     They 
were  acquainted  with  many  of  the  useful  arts  of  enlightened  nations,  and  appear  to  have  been  as 
far  advanced  in  science,  law,  religion,  and  domestic  and  public  social  organization,  as  were  the 
Romans  at  the  close  of  the  Republic. 

4  Born  at  Medellon,  in  Estramadura,  Spain,  in  1485.     lie  went  to  St.  Domingo  in  1504,  and 
in  1511  accompanied  Velasquez  to  Cuba.     He  committed  many  horrid  crimes  in  Mexico.     Yet  he 
had  the  good  fortune,  unlike  the  more  noble  Columbus,  to  retain  the  favor  of  the  Spanish  monarch 
until  his  death.     When,  on  his  return  to  Spain,  he  urged  an  audience  with  the  emperor,  and  was 
asked  who  he  was,  the  bold  adventurer  replied,  "  I  am  the  man  who  has  given  you  more  provinces 
than  your  father  left  you  towns."     He  died  in  Estramadura,  in  1554,  at  the  age  of  69  years 


44  DISCOVERIES.  [1492. 

de  Narvaez  having  been  appointed  governor  of  that  region,  went  from  Cuba. 
with  three  hundred  men,1  to  conquer  it.  Hoping  to  find  a  wealthy  empire, 
like  Mexico,  he  penetrated  the  unknown  interior  as  far  as  the  southern  borders 
of  Georgia.  Instead  of  cities  filled  with  treasures,  he  found  villages  of  huts, 
and  the  monarch  of  the  country  living  in  a  wigwam.2  Disappointed,  and  con- 
tinually annoyed  by  hostile  savages,  who  had  heard  of  the  treachery  at  the  Com- 
bahee,3  he  turned  southward,  and  reaching  the  shores  of  Apallachee  Bay,  near 
St.  Marks,  he  constructed  rude  boats  and  embarked  for  Cuba.  The  commander 
and  most  of  his  followers  perished  ;  only  four  escaped,  and  these  wandered  from 
tribe  to  tribe  for  several  years  before  reaching  a  Spanish  settlement  in  Mexico. 
Yet  the  misfortunes  of  Narvaez  did  not  suppress  the  spirit  of  adventure,  and 
Florida  (the  name  then  applied  to  all  North  America)  was  still  regarded  by 
the  Spaniards  as  the  new  Land  of  Promise.  All  believed  that  in  the  vast 
interior  were  mines  as  rich,  and  people  as  wealthy  as  those  of  Mexico  and  Yu- 
catan. Among  the  most  sanguine  of  the  possessors  of  such 
an  opinion,  was  Ferdinand  de  Soto,  a  brave  and  wealthy 
cavalier,  who  had  gained  riches  and  military  honors,  with 
Pizarro,  in  Peru.4  He  obtained  permission  of  the  Spanish 
emperor  to  conquer  Florida  at  his  own  expense,  and  for  that 
purpose,  was  appointed  governor  of  Ouba,  and  also  of  Flor- 
ida. With  ten  vessels  and  six  hundred  men,  all  clad  in 
armor,  he  sailed  for  the  New  World  early  in  1539.  Leav- 
DE  SOTO.  ing  his  wife  to  govern  Cuba,  he  proceeded  to  Florida,  and 

on  the  10th  of  June  landed  on  the  shores  of  Tampa  Bay. 
He  then  sent  most  of  his  vessels  back,  and  made  his  way,  among  hostile  sav- 
ages, toward  the  interior  of  the  fancied  land  of  gold.5  He  wintered  on  the 
banks  of  the  Flint  River,  in  Georgia,  and  in  the  spring  crossed  the  Appal- 
lachian  Mountains,  and  penetrated  the  beautiful  country  of  the  Cherokees.6 

This,  all  things  considered,  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  expeditions  on 
record.  For  several  months,  De  Soto  and  his  followers  wandered  over  the  hills 
and  valleys  of  Alabama,  in  vain  searches  for  treasure,  fighting  the  fierce  Mo- 
bilian  tribes,7  and  becoming  continually  diminished  in  number  by  battle  and 
disease.  They  passed  the  winter  of  1541  on  the  banks  of  the  Yazoo  River,  in 
the  land  of  the  Chickasaws.8  In  May  of  that  year,  they  discovered  and  crossed 
the  Mississippi  River,  probably  not  far  below  Memphis ;  and  there,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  almost  twenty  thousand  Indians,  De  Soto  erected  a  cross  made  of  a 
huge  pine  tree,  and  around  it  imposing  religious  ceremonies  were  performed. 

1  They  took  with  them  about  forty  horses,  the  first  ever  landed  upon  the  soil  of  the  present 
United  States.     These  all  perished  by  starvation,  or  the  weapons  of  the  Indians. 

2  Page  13.  3  Page  42. 

4  Pizarro  was  a  follower  of  Balboa.     He  discovered  Peru  m  1524,  and  in  connection  with  Al- 
magro  and  Lucque,  he  conquered  it  in  1532,  after  much  bloodshed.     He  was  born,  out  of  wedlock, 
in  Estramadura,  Spain,  in  1475.     He  could  neither  read  nor  write,  but  seemed  eminently  fitted  for 
the  field  of  effort  in  which  he  was  engaged.    He  quarreled  with  Almagro,  civil  war  ensued,  and  he 
was  murdered  at  Lima,  in  Peru,  in  1541. 

5  De  Soto  had  a  large  number  of  horses.     He  also  landed  some  swine.    These  rapidly  increased 
in  the  forests.     They  were  the  first  of  their  species  seen  in  America. 

6  Page  27.  1  Chapter  VIII.,  p.  29.  »  Page  30. 


1G09.]  ENGLISH    AND    FRENCH    DISCOVERIES.  45 

To  De  Soto  belongs  the  honor  of  first  discovering  that  mighty  river  of  our  wide 
continent.  After  resting  two  days,  the  adventurers  went  up  the  western  shore 
of  the  Mississippi  as  far  as  New  Madrid.  The  ensuing  summer  and  winter 
were  spent  by  them  in  the  wilderness  watered  by  the  Arkansas  and  its  tributa- 
ries, and  in  the  spring  of  1542  they  returned  to  the  Mississippi,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Wachita,  where  De  Soto  sickened  and  died,  after  appointing  his  succes- 
sor.1 In  these  painful  and  perilous  journeyings,  they  had  marched  full  three 
thousand  miles. 

The  death  of  their  leader  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  followers  of  De  Soto. 
They  were  now  reduced  to  half  their  original  number ;  and,  abandoning  all 
hopes  of  finding  gold,  or  a  wealthy  people,  they  sought  for  Spanish  settlements 
in  Mexico.  For  many  months  they  wandered  over  the  prairies,  and  among  the 
tributary  streams  of  the  Red  River,  as  far  as  the  land  of  the  Comanches,2  when 
impassable  mountain  ranges  compelled  them  to  retrace  their  steps  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi. At  a  little  below  Natchez  they  remained  until  the  following  July 
[1543],  engaged  in  constructing  several  large  boats,  in  which  they  embarked. 
Reaching  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  they  crept  cautiously  along  its  coast ;  and,  on  the 
20th  of  September,  the  little  remnant  of  De  Soto's  proud  army,  half  naked  and 
starving,  arrived  at  a  Spanish  settlement  near  the  mouth  of  the  Panuco,  thirty 
miles  north  of  Tampico.  This  was  the  last  attempt  of  the  Spanish  cotempo- 
raries  of  Columbus  to  explore,  or  to  make  settlements  within  the  present  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States,  previous  to  the  appearance  of  the  English3  in  the 
same  field.  They  were  impelled  by  no  higher  motive  than  the  acquisition  of 
gqld,  and  treachery  and  violence  were  the  instruments  employed  to  obtain  it. 
They  were  not  worthy  to  possess  the  magnificent  country  which  they  coveted 
only  for  its  supposed  wealth  in  precious  metals  ;  and  it  was  reserved  for  others, 
who  came  afterward,  with  loftier  aims,  better  hearts,  and  stronger  hands,  to 
cultivate  the  soil,  and  to  establish  an  empire  founded  upon  truth  and  justice. 
The  Spaniards  did  finally  become  possessors  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  Con- 
tinent ;  and  to  this  day  the  curse  of  moral,  religious,  and  political  despotism 
rests  upon  those  regions. 


CHAPTER    III. 

ENGLISH    AND    FRENCH    D  I  SCO  YE  HIES. 

WITH  all  its  zealous  vigilance,  the  Spanish  court  could  not  conceal  the  fact 
that  a  New  World  had  been  discovered,1  and  over  Continental  Europe  and  the 

1  De  Soto's  followers  sunk  the  body  of  their  leader  deep  in  the  Mississippi,  so  that  the  Indians 
should  not  find  it.  2  Page  33. 

3  Page  46.  While  De  Soto  was  engaged  in  this  expedition,  another,  no  less  adventurous,  was 
undertaken  by  Coronada,  at  the  command  of  Mendoza,  Viceroy  of  Mexico.  He  took  with  him, 
from  the  south-eastern  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  three  hundred  and  fifty  Spaniards,  and  eight 
hundred  Indians.  He  penetrated  the  country  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  and  onward 
into  the  great  interior  desert,  as  far  as  the  fortieth  degree  of  north  latitude.  It  was  a  perilous,  but 
iruitless  expedition.  4  Page  40. 


46  DISCOVERIES.  [1492. 

British  Isles,  were  spread  the  most  extravagant  tales  of  gold-bearing  regions 
beyond  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  By  means  of  a  papal  bull,'  Portugal  and  Spain 
vainly  attempted  to  secure  to  themselves  a  monopoly  of  oceanic  navigation. 
But  in  all  maritime  countries,  cupidity  and  curiosity  urged  men  to  brave  both 
the  perils  of  the  sea  and  the  thunders  of  the  Vatican,  in  search  of  the  western 
paradise  and  the  regions  of  gold.  Monarchs  and  wealthy  subjects  projected 
new  expeditions.  Among  those  whose  zeal  in  the  cause  of  maritime  discovery 
was  newly  awakened,  was  Henry  the  Seventh  of  England,  who  had  turned  a 
deaf  ear  to  the  appeals  of  Columbus  before  his  great  first  voyage.2 

The  town  of  Bristol,  in  the  west  of  England,  was 
then  one  of  the  most  important  sea-ports  in  the  realm  ; 
and  among  its  adventurous  mariners  who  had  pene- 
trated the  polar  waters,  probably  as  far  as  Greenland, 
was  Sebastian  Cabot,  son  of  a  wealthy  Venetian  mer- 
chant of  Bristol,  whose  father  sought  the  aid  of  the 
king  in  making  a  voyage  of  discovery.  Willing  to 
secure  a  portion  of  the  prize  he  had  lost,  Henry  read- 
W*  ily  yielded  to  the  solicitations  of  Cabot,  and  gave  him 

SEBASTIAN'CABOT.  an(^  n^s  sons  a  commission  of  discovery,  dated  March 

16,  1496,  which  was  similar,  in  some  respects,  to  that 

which  Columbus  had  received  from  Ferdinand  and  Isabella;3  but  unlike  his 
Spanish  cotemporaries,  the  English  monarch  did  not  bear  the  expenses  of  the 
voyage.  The  navigators  were  permitted  to  go,  at  their  own  expense,  "  to  search 
for  islands  or  regions  inhabited  by  infidels,  and  hitherto  unknown  to  Christen- 
dom," and  take  possession  of  them  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  England.  They 
were  to  enjoy  the  sole  right  of  trading  thither — paying  to  the  King,  "  in  lieu 
of  all  customs  and  imposts,"  a  fifth  of  all  net  profits,  and  the  same  proportion 
of  the  products  of  all  mines. 

According  to  recent  discoveries  made  in  searching  the  ancient  records  of 
England,  it  appears  to  be  doubtful  whether  the  elder  Cabot,  who  was  a  mer- 
chant and  a  scientific  man,  ever  voyaged  to  America.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  his  son,  Sebastian,  accompanied,  and,  doubtless,  commanded,  the  first 
expedition,  which  consisted  of  two  vessels  freighted  by  his  father  and  others  of 
Bristol  and  of  London,  and  which  sailed  from  the  former  port  in  May,  1497. 
They  steered  north-westerly  until  they  encountered  immense  fields  of  ice  west- 
ward of  Cape  Farewell,  when  they  turned  to  the  south-west,  and  on  the  3d  of 
July,  of  that  year,  discovered  the  rugged  coast  of  Labrador.  Passing  Cape 
Charles,  they  saw  Newfoundland ;  and,  after  touching  at  several  points,  prob- 
ably as  far  southward  as  the  coast  of  Maine,  they  hastened  to  England  to 
announce  the  fact  that  they  had  first  discovered  a  great  western  continent. 

1  This  is  the  name  of  special  edicts  issued  by  the  Pope  of  Rome.  They  are  written  on  parch- 
ment, and  have  a  great  seal  attached,  made  of  wax,  lead,  silver,  or  gold.  The  name  is  derived  from 
the  seal,  bulla.  On  one  side,  are  the  heads  of  Peter  and  Paul,  and  on  the  other,  the  name  of  the  Pope 
and  the  year  of  his  pontificate.  The  seal  of  the  celebrated  golden  bull  of  the  Emperor  Charles  IV., 
was  made  of  gold.  That  bull  became  the  fundamental  law  of  the  German  Empire,  at  the  Diet  of 
Nuremburg,  A.D.  1536.  2  page  37.  3  Note  1,  page  39. 


1609.]  ENGLISH    AND    FRENCH    DISCOVERIES.  47 

The  skill  and  energy  of  young  Cabot  secured  the  confidence  of  his  father 
and  friends  in  his  ability  to  command  successfully ;  and  the  following  year, 
although  he  was  only  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  was  placed  in  charge  of 
another  expedition,  fitted  out  by  his  family  and  some  Bristol  merchants,  for  the 
purpose  of  traffic,  and  of  discovering  a  north-west  passage  to  India,  a  desire  for 
which  had  now  taken  hold  upon  the  minds  of  the  commercial  world.  Ice  in  the 
polar  seas  presented  an  impassable  barrier,  and  he  was  compelled  to  go  south- 
ward. He  explored  the  coast  from  the  frozen  regions  of  Labrador  to  the  sunny 
land  of  the  Carolinas.  Nineteen  years  afterward  [1517]  he  navigated  the 
northern  waters,  as  far  as  the  entrance  to  Hudson's  Bay ;  and  nine  years  later 
[1526],  while  in  the  service  of  the  monarch  of  Spain,1  he  explored  the  coast  of 
Brazil,  discovered  and  named  the  great  Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  penetrated  the 
southern  continent,  in  boats,  upon  the  bosom  of  that  river,  almost  four  hundred 
miles.  To  the  Cabots,  father  and  son,  belong  the  imperishable  honor  of  first 
discovering  the  coast  of  the  United  States,  through  at  least  ten  degrees  of  lati- 
tude. Italy  may  claim  the  glory  of  having  given  birth  to  the  two  great  discov- 
erers, Columbus  and  Americus  Vcspucius,  whose  name  our  continent  now 
bears  ;  while  Sebastian  Cabot  drew  his  first  breath  in  England.2 

The  immense  numbers  and  commercial  importance  of  the  cod  fishes  in  the 
vicinity  of  Newfoundland,  were  first  discovered  and  made  known  by  the  Cabots ; 
and  within  five  or  six  years  after  their  first  voyages,  many  fishermen  went 
thither  from  England,  Brittany,  and  Normandy,  for  those  treasures  of  the  deep. 
Every  French  vessel  that  went  to  America,  was  on  a  com- 
mercial errand  only,  until  1523,  when  Francis  the  first  fitted 
out  four  ships,  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  coasts  of  the 
New  World.     He  gave  the  command  to  John  Verrazani,  an 
eminent  Florentine  navigator.     Verrazani  sailed  in  Decem- 
ber, 1523,  but  a  tempest  disabled  three  of  his  ships,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  go  with  only  one.     He  proceeded  due  west 
from  the  Madeiras  on  the  27th  of  January,  1524,  and  first 
touched  the  American  Continent,  in  March  following,  near          VERRAZANI 
the  mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  River,  in  North  Carolina.     After 
seeking  a  good  harbor  for  fifty  leagues  further  south,  he  sailed  northward,  and 

1  Sebastian  Cabot  was  born  at  Bristol,  in  1467.     He  was  invested  with  the  honorable  title  of 
Chief  Pilot  of  both  England  and  Spain :  and  to  him  England  is  indebted  for  her  first  maritime  con- 
nection with  Russia,  by  the  establishment  of  the  Russian  Trading  Company,  of  which  he  was 
appointed  governor  for  life.     He  published  a  map  of  the  world,  and  also  an  account  of  his  southern 
voyages.     He  died  in  1557,  at  the  age  of  90  years. 

2  King  John  of  Portugal,  like  Henry  of  England,  had  refused  to  aid  Columbus,  and  lost  the 
great  prize.      After  the  return  of  the  navigator,  he  felt  a  desire  to  fit  out  an  expedition  for  dis- 
coveries in  the  Now  World,  but  the  Pope  having  given  to  Spain  the  whole  region  westward, 
beyond  an  imaginary  line  three  hundred  leagues  west  from  the  Azores,  he  dared  not  interfere  with 
the  Spanish  mariners.     But  when  the  northern  voyages  of  the  Cabots  became  known,  King  John 
dispatched  an  expedition  in  that  direction,  under  Gasper  Cortoreal,  toward  the  close  of  the  year 
1500,  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  seeking  a  north-west  passage  to  India.     Cortoreal  coasted  along 
the  shores  of  Labrador  several  hundred  miles,  and  then  freighting  his  ship  with  fifty  natives  whom 
he  had  caught,  he  returned  to  Portugal,  and  sold  his  living  cargo,  for  slaves.     Finding  the  adven- 
ture profitable,  he  sailed  for  another  cargo,  but  he  was  never  heard  of  afterward.     Almost  sixty 
years  later  some  Portuguese  settled  in  Newfoundland  and  Nova  Scotia,  and  first  imported  cattle 
and  swine  there. 


48 


DISCOVERIES. 


[1492. 


CAR-TIER'S  SHIP. 


explored  the  coast  from  the  Carolinas  to  Newfoundland.     He  anchored  in  the 
Bays  of  Delaware  and  New  York,1  the  harbor  of  Newport,  and  probably  that 
of  Boston,  and  held  intercourse  with  the  natives,  who  were  sometimes  friendly 
and  sometimes  hostile.     Yerrazani  gave  the  name  of  NEW  FRANCE  to  the  vast 
regions  within  the  latitudes  of  the  coasts  which  he  had  discovered.     But  at  that 
time  the  French  King  was  too  much  engrossed  and  impoverished  by  war  with 
the    Spanish   monarch,   to    pay  much    attention  to  the 
important  discoveries  of  Yerrazani,  or  to  listen  to  plans 
for  future  expeditions.     Ten  years  elapsed  before  Admi- 
ral Chabon  induced  Francis  to  encourage  another  explor- 
ing enterprise,  when  a  plan  for  making  settlements  in 
NEW  FRANCE  was  arranged  [1534],  and  James  Carrier,  a 
mariner  of  St.  Malo,  was  appointed  to  the  command  of 
an   expedition.       He   reached    Newfoundland   early   in 
June,  1534.     After  exploring  its  coasts, 
he  passed  through  the  Straits  of  Belle- 
isle,  into  the  Gulf  beyond,  planted  a 

cross  with  the  arms  of  France  upon  it,  on  the  shore  of  Gaspe 
inlet,  and  took  possession  of  the  whole  country  in  the  name  of 
his  king.  After  discovering  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  of 
Canada,  he  sailed  for  France,  in  time  to  avoid  the  autumn 
storms  on  the  American  coast. 

There  was  great  joy  at  the  French  court,  in  the  capital, 
and  throughout  the  whole  kingdom,  because  of  the  success  of 
Cartier.  He  was  commissioned  for  another  voyage  ;  and  in 
May  following  [1535]  he  sailed  for  Newfoundland  with  three 
ships,  accompanied  by  several  young  noblemen  of  France. 
They  passed  the  Straits  of  Belleisle,  and  entered  the  Gulf  on  the  day  dedicated 
to  St.  Lawrence ;  and,  on  that  account,  Cartier  gave  the  name  of  the  martyr  to 
the  broad  sheet  of  water  over  which  they  were  sailing.  They  passed  up  the 
river  which  afterward  received  the  same  name,  and  mooring  their  ships  at  Que- 
bec,2 proceeded  in  a  pinnace  and  boats  to  Hochelaga,  where  Montreal  now 
stands,  then  the  capital  of  the  Huron  king.3  The  natives  were  everywhere 
friendly  and  hospitable. 

The  land  in  all  that  region  was  very  level,  except  a  high  mountain  in  the 
rear  of  the  Indian  town.  Cartier  ascended  to  its  summit,  and  was  so  impressed 
with  the  glorious  view  that  he  called  'it  Mont-Real  (royal  mountain),  which 
name  the  fine  city  at  its  base  yet  retains.  After  exchanging  presents  and 
friendly  salutations  with  the  Indians,  they  returned  to  Quebec,  and  passed  the 
severe  winter  on  board  their  ships.  In  the  spring,  after  setting  up  a  cross,  and 


ARMS  OF  FRANCE. 


1  Some  authors  say  that  Yerrazani  landed  where  the  lower  extremity  of  New  York  city  is,  and 
giving  the  natives  some  spirituous  liquors,  made  many  of  them  drunk.  The  Indians  called  the 
place  Manna-ha-ta,  or  "place  of  drunkenness,''  and  they  were  afterward  called  Manna-ha-tans. 
But  this  scene  of  intoxication  probably  occurred  on  board  the  Half -Mow  the  exploring  ship  of 
Hendrick  Hudson.  See  page  59.  2  Pronounced  Ke-bec.  3  page  23. 


FR2XC1I  NOBLEMAN 


1609.]  ENGLISH    AND    FRENCH    DISCOVERIES.  49 

taking  formal  possession  of  the  country,  they  returned  to  France,  having  lost 
twenty-five  seamen  with  the  scurvy,  a  disease  until  then  unknown.  Their  de- 
parture was  disgraced  by  an  act  of  treachery,  which  planted  the  seeds  of  hatred 
of  the  white  people  among  the  natives  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Cartier,  under 
pretense  of  friendship,  decoyed  the  hospitable  Huron  king  on  board  one  of  his 
vessels  and  carried  him  off  to  France. 

The  results  of  this  voyage  were  little  else  than  a  series 
of  disappointments.  Cartier 's  report  of  the  rigors  of  the  win- 
ter and  the  barrenness  of  the  land  in  precious  stones  and 
metals,  was  discouraging,  and  four  years  elapsed  before  an- 
other expedition  was  planned.  At  length,  Francis  de  la 
Roque,  better  known  as  lord  of  Robertval,  in  Picardy,  ob- 
tained permission  of  the  king  to  make  further  discoveries,  and 
to  plant  settlements  in  NEW  FRANCE/  The  king  invested 
him  with  the  empty  title  of  Viceroy  of  the  whole  country. 
Carriers  services  being  indispensable,  he,  too,  was  commis- 
sioned, but  for  subordinate  command.  He  was  ready  long 
before  RobertvaVs  extensive  preparations  were  completed,  IX  1540. 

and  being  unwilling  to  bow  to  the  new  Viceroy's  authority, 
he  sailed,  with  five  ships,  in  June,  1541,  some  months  before  the  departure  of 
his  official  superior.  He  had  intended  to  take  the  Huron  king  back  with  him, 
but  the  broken-hearted  monarch  had  died  in  France.  It  was  an  unfortunate 
occurrence.  The  natives  received  Cartier  first  with  coldness,  and  then  showed 
open  hostility.  Fearing  the  Indians,  the  French  built  a  fort  upon  the  island 
of  Orleans,  a  little  below  Quebec.  There  they  passed  the  winter  without 
accomplishing  any  important  achievement^  and  in  June  following  [1542],  de- 
parted for  France,  just  as  Robertval  arrived  at  Newfoundland,  with  two  hun- 
dred persons.  Robertval  passed  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  built  two  more  forts 
near  Quebec,  endured  a  winter  of  great  distress,  and,  abandoning  the  idea  of 
settlement,  returned  to  France  in  the  spring  of  1543.  Six  years  afterward,  he 
again  sailed  for  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  was  never  heard  of  again.  The  discov- 
eries of  Verrazani  and  Cartier,  and  also  of  French  fishermen,  served  as  the  found- 
ation for  a  claim  by  France  to  the  northern  portion  of  the  American  continent. 

France  was  now  convulsed  by  the  conflicts  of  religious  opinions.  It  was 
the  era  of  the  Reformation  there.2  The  doctrines  and  the  teachings  of  Calvin 
and  others,  in  opposition  to  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  had  already  arrayed  great  masses  of  the  people  in  violent  hostility  to 
each  other.  The  religious  war  was  an  absorbing  idea,  and  for  fifty  years  the 
French  government  made  no  further  attempts  at  discovery  or  colonization. 
But  private  enterprise  sought  to  plant  a  French  settlement  in  the  land  discovered 
by  D' Ay  lion.3  The  Huguenots,  or  French  Protestants,  who  maintained  the 
faith  of  early  Christianity,  were  the  weaker  party  in  number,  and  felt  the  heavy 
heel  of  oppression.  They  had  a  powerful  friend  in  Jasper  Coligny,  admiral  of 
France,  but  a  weak  protector  in  the  reigning  monarch,  Charles  the  Ninth. 

1  Page  48.  2  Note  14,  page  62.  3  Page  42. 


50  DISCOVERIES.  [1492. 

The  fires  of  persecution  were  continually  burning,  and  at  length  Coligny 
conceived  the  noble  idea  of  providing  a  place  of  refuge  for  his  Protestant 
brethren,  beyond  the  Atlantic.  The  king  granted  him  a  commission  for  that 
purpose ;  and  early  in  1562  [Feb.  28],  a  squadron,  under  John  Ribault, 
sailed  for  America.  The  little  Huguenot  fleet  touched  first  near  the  harbor 
of  St.  Augustine,  in  Florida.1  Sailing  northward,  they  saw  the  mouth  of  the 
beautiful  St.  John's  River  [May,  1562],  and,  it  being  the  fifth  month  of  the 
year,  they  named  it  the  "  River  of  May.*'  Making  their  way  along  the  coast, 
they  discovered  Port  Royal  entrance,  were  charmed  witli  the  beauty  of  the 
scene,  chose  the  spot  for  their  future  home,  and  built  a  small  fort,  which  they 
named  Carolina,  in  honor  of  the  king.  Leaving  a  garrison  of  twenty-six  men 
to  defend  it,  Ribault  went  back  to  France  with  the  ships,  for  reinforcements. 
Bitter  disappointment  ensued.  Civil  war  was  raging  in  France,  and  Coligny 
was  almost  powerless.  The  reinforcements  were  not  supplied,  and  the  little 
garrison,  though  treated  with  hospitality  by  the  Indians,  became  very  discon- 
tented. Despairing  of  relief,  they  built  a  frail  vessel,  and,  with  insufficient 
stores,  they  embarked  for  France.  Tempests  assailed  them,  and  famine  was 
menacing  them  with  death,  when  they  were  picked  up  by  an  English  bark,  and 
conveyed  to  Great  Britain.  Thus  perished  the  first  seeds  of  religious  freedom 
which  the  storms  of  persecution  bore  to  the  New  World. 

The  noble  Coligny  was  not  discouraged  ;  and,  during  a  lull  in  the  tempest 
of  civil  commotion,  another  expedition  was  sent  to  America,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Laudonniere,  who  had  accompanied  Ribault  on  his  first  voyage. 
They  arrived  in  July,  1564,  pitched  their  tents  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  John's 
River  (River  of  May),  and  built  another  Fort  Carolina.  But  there  were  ele- 
ments of  dissolution  among  these  immigrants.  Many  were  idle,  vicious,  and 
improvident ;  and  provisions  soon  became  scarce.  Under  pretext  of  returning 
to  France,  to  escape  famine,  quite  a  large  party  sailed,  in  December,  in  one  of 
the  vessels.  They  turned  pirates,  and  depredated  extensively  upon  Spanish 
property  in  the  West  Indies.  The  remainder  became  discontented,  and  were 
about  to  embark  for  France,  when  Ribault  arrived  with  immigrants  and  sup- 
plies, and  took  command.3 

Spanish  jealousy  and  bigotry  were  now  aroused,  and  when  the  monarch  of 
Spain,  the  narrow  Philip  the  Second,  heard  of  the  settlement  of  the  French 
Protestants  within  his  claimed  territory,  and  of  the  piracies  of  some  of  the 
party,  he  adopted  measures  for  their  expulsion  and  punishment.  Pedro  Melen- 
dez,  a  brave  but  cruel  military  chief,  was  appointed  Governor  of  Florida,  on 
condition  that  he  would  expel  the  Frenchmen  from  the  soil,  conquer  the  natives, 
and  plant  a  colony  there  within  three  years.  That  was  an  enterprise  exactly 
suited  to  the  character  of  Melendez.  He  came  with  a  strong  force,  consisting 
of  three  hundred  soldiers  furnished  by  the  king,  and  twenty-two  hundred  vol- 

1  Page  42. 

2  James  Le  Moyne,  a  skillful  painter,  was  sent  with  this  expedition,  with  instructions  to  make 
colored  drawings  of  every  object  worthy  of  preservation.     His  illustrations  of  the  costume  and  cus- 
toms of  the  natives  are  very  interesting,  because  authentic. 


1609.J  ENGLISH   AND    FRENCH    DISCOVERIES.  51 

unteers — priests,  sailors,  mechanics,  laborers,  women,  and  children.  The  fleet 
was  scattered  by  storms,  and  with  only  one  third  of  his  original  number,  Me- 
lendez  landed  in  a  fine  harbor  on  the  coast  of  Florida.  There  he  laid  the 
foundations  of  a  city,  which  he  named  St.  Augustine  [Sept.  17,  1565],  and 
formally  proclaimed  the  king  of  Spain  to  be  monarch  of  all  North  America. 
On  hearing  of  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  a  large  party  of  the  French,  under 
Ribault,  proceeded  from  the  St.  John's,  by  water,  to  attack  them.  A  tempest 
wrecked  every  vessel ;  and  most  of  the  survivors,  who  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards,  were  put  to  death.  In  the  mean  while,  Melendez  made  his  way 
through  the  swamps  and  forests  with  a  strong  force,  to  the  defenseless  French 
settlement,  where,  he  massacred  about  nine  hundred  men,  wTomen,  and  children, 
and  over  their  dead  bodies  placed  an  inscription,  avowing  that  he  slew  them,  not 
"because  they  were  Frenchmen,  but  Lutherans."1  Upon  that  field  of  blood 
the  monster  erected  a  cross,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  Christian  church  to 
commemorate  the  deed ! 

Charles  the  Ninth  of  France  was  not  only  a  weak  monarch,  but  an  enemy  ' 
to  the  Huguenots.  He  therefore  took  no  steps  to  avenge  the  outrage,  per- 
petrated under  the  sanction  of  the  bigot  of  Spain.  But  one  of  his  subjects,  a 
fiery  soldier  of  Gascony,  named  Dominic  de  Gourges,  obtained  permission  to 
inflict  retribution.  He  had  suffered  Spanish  bondage  and  Spanish  cruelty,  and 
panted  for  revenge.  He  fitted  out  three  ships  at  his  own  expense,  and  with  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  sailed  for  Florida.  He  attacked  the  Spaniards  upon  the 
St.  John's,  surprised  and  captured  Fort  Carolina,  which  they  occupied,  made 
two  hundred  prisoners,  and  hanging  his  captives  upon  the  trees  almost  upon  the 
spot  where  his  countrymen  had  been  murdered,  he  placed  over  them  the  inscrip- 
tion— "  I  do  not  this  as  unto  Spaniards  or  mariners,  but  unto  traitors,  robbers, 
and  murderers."  Too  weak  to  brave  the  vengeance  of  Melendez.  who  was  at  St. 
Augustine,  De  Gourges  immediately  left  the  coast,  and  returned  to  France. 
The  natives  were  delighted  at  seeing  their  common  enemies  thus  destroy- 
ing each  other.  The  Spaniards,  however,  held  possession,  and  a  Spanish 
settlement  was  ever  afterward  maintained  at  St.  Augustine,  except  during  a 
few  years. 

It  was  now  more  than  three  quarters  of  a  century  since  Columbus  discov- 
ered the  West  India  Islands,  and  yet  no  real  progress  toward  a  permanent 
European  settlement,  within  the  domain  of  the  United  States,  had  been  made. 
Although  the  English  seem  not  to  have  wholly  relinquished  the  idea  of  plant- 
ing settlements  in  America,  it  was  not  until  the  twentieth  year  of  the  brilliant 
reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  almost  eighty  years  after  the  discovery  of  the 
continent  by  Cabot,2  that  healthy  efforts  to  found  colonies  in  the  New  World, 
were  made.  Sir  Martin  Frobisher3  (an  eminent  navigator)  and  others  had 

^  !  The  Protestants  were  often  called  by  the  general  name  of  Lutherans,  because  the  later  Reform- 
ation was  commenced  by  the  bold  opposition  of  Martin  Luther  to  the  corrupt  practices  of  the  Romish 
Church.  Note  14,  page  62.  2  page  46. 

3  Born  in  Yorkshire,  England ;  was  trained  in  the  navigator's  art ;  made  several  voyages  for 
discovery ;  and  died  of  wounds  received  in  a  naval  battle  near  Brest,  on  the  French  'coast,  in 
1594. 


52  DISCOVERIES.  [1492. 

explored  the  north-western  coast  of  North  America,  to  the  dreary  region  north 
of  Hudson's  Bay,1  in  search  of  precious  metals  and  a  north-west  passage  to 
India,2  but  without  beneficial  results.  Newfoundland  was  visited  every  year 
by  numerous  English  and  French  fishing- vessels,  and  the  neighboring  continent 
was  frequently  touched  by  the  hardy  mariners.  Yet  no  feasible  plans  for  col- 
onization were  matured.  Finally,  when  the  public  mind  of  England  was  turned 
from  the  cold  regions  of  Labrador  and  the  fancied  mineral  wealth  in  its  rugged 
mountains,  to  the  milder  South,  and  the  more  solid  benefits  to  be  derived  from 
plantations  than  mi?t  s,  a  new  and  brilliant  era  in  the  history  of  civilization 
began.  This  change  was  produced  incidentally  by  the  Huguenot  adventurers.3 
The  remnant  of  Coligny's  first  colony,  who  were  picked  up  at  sea  and  taken  to 
England,  informed  the  queen  of  the  glory  of  the  climate,  and  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  of  Carolina.  When  De  Gourges  returned  from  his  foray  upon  the 
Spaniards,4  Walter  Raleigh,  then  a  young  man  of  much  promise,  was  learning 
the  art  of  Avar  with  Coligny,  in  France,  and  he  communicated  to  his  friends  in 
England  that  chevalier's  account  of  Florida,  which  was  yet  a  wilderness  free 
for  the  sons  of  toil.  Enterprise  was  powerfully  aroused  by  the  promises  of  that 
warm  and  beautiful  land,  and  the  Protestant5  feeling  of  England  was  strongly 
stirred  by  the  cruelties  of  Mclendez.  These  dissimilar,  but  auxiliary  causes, 
produced  great  effects,  and  soon  many  minds  were  employed  in  planning 
schemes  for  colonizing  the  pleasant  middle  regions  of  North  America.  The 
first  healthy  plan  for  settlement  there  was  proposed  by  the  learned  Sir  Humph- 
rey Gilbert,  a  step-brother  of  Walter  Raleigh.  He  had  served  with  honor  in 
the  wars  of  Ireland,  France,  and  the  Low  Countries,  and  then  was  not  only  prac- 
tically engaged  in  maritime  affairs,  but  had  written  and  published  a  treatise  on 
the  north-west  passage  to  India.  Having  lost  money  in  a  vain  endeavor  to 
transmute  baser  metals  into  gold,  he  resolved  to  attempt  to  retrieve  his  fortune 
by  planting  a  colony  in  the  New  World.  In  June,  1578,  he  obtained  a  liberal 
patent  or  grant  from  the  queen.  Raleigh  gave  him  the  aid  of  his  hand  and  for- 
tune ;  and  early  in  1579,  Gilbert  sailed  for  America,  with  a  small  squadron, 
accompanied  by  his  step-brother.  Heavy  storms  and  Spanish  war- vessels  com- 
pelled them  to  return,  and  the  scheme  was  abandoned  for  a  time.  Four  years 
afterward  [1583]  Gilbert  sailed  with  another  squadron  ;  and  after  a  series  of 
disasters,  he  reached  the  harbor  of  St.  John's,  Newfoundland.  There  he  set  up 
a  pillar  with  the  English  arms  upon  it,0  proclaimed  the  sovereignty  of  his 
queen,  and  then  proceeded  to  explorq  the  coast  southward.  After  being  ter- 
ribly beaten  by  tempests  off  the  shores  of  Nova  Scotia  and  Maine,  and  losing 
his  largest  ship,  he  turned  his  vessel  toward  England.  At  midnight,  in  Sep- 
tember, during  a  gale,  his  own  little  bark  of  ten  tons  went  down,  with  all  on 
board,  and  only  one  vessel  of  the  expedition  returned  to  England  to  relate  the 
dreadful  narrative. 

The  melancholy  fate  of  the  second  expedition  did  not  dismay  the  heart  of 


1  Note  8,  page  59.  2  Page  47.  3  Page  50. 

*  Page  51.  "  Note  14,  page  62.  6  Note  2,  page  40. 


RALEIGH'S  EXPEDITION  AT  RUANOKE. 


1609.] 


ENGLISH    AND    FRENCH    DISCOVERIES. 


RALEIGH. 


Raleigh.  He  was  a  young  man  of  great  spirit,  "the  most  restless,  and  am- 
bitious, as  he  was  the  most  versatile  and  accomplished,  of  all  Elizabeth's  court- 
iers." He  now  obtained  a  patent  for  himself  [April, 
1584],  which  made  him  lord  proprietor  of  all  lands 
that  might  be  discovered  by  him  in  America,  be- 
tween the  Santee  and  Delaware  Rivers.  He  dis- 
patched Philip  Amidas  and  Arthur  Barlow,  with 
two  well-furnished  ships,  to  explore  the  American 
coast.  They  approached  the  shores  of  Carolina,1 
in  July,  and  landing  upon  the  islands  of  Wocoken 
and  Roanoke,  which  separate  the  waters  of  Pamlico 
and  Albemarle  Sounds  from  the  Atlantic,  they  took 
possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  Elizabeth. 
They  remained  a  few  weeks,  exploring  the  Sounds  and  trafficking  with  tho 
natives,  and  then  returned  to  England  with  two  sons  of  the  forest.2  The  glow- 
ing accounts  of  the  newly-discovered  country  filled  Raleigh's3  heart  with  joy ; 
and  the  queen  declared  the  event  to  be  (what  it  really  was)  one  of  the  most 
glorious  of  her  reign.  In  memorial  of  her  unmarried  state,  she  gave  the  name 
of  VIRGINIA  to  the  enchanting  region.  Raleigh  was  knighted,  his  patent  was 
confirmed  by  act  of  Parliament,  and  the  queen  gave  him  a  monopoly  in  the  sale 
of  sweet  wines,  as  a  means  for  enriching  him. 

The  ardent  and  ever  hopeful  Raleigh  now  indulged 
in  brilliant  dreams  of  wealth  and  power  to  be  derived 
from  the  New  World,  and  he  made  immediate  prepar- 
ations for  planting  settlements  on  his  trans- Atlantic 
domains.  He  dispatched  a  fleet  of  seven  vessels  on 
the  19th  of  April,  1585,  under  the  command  of  Sir 
Richard  Grenville.  He  was  accompanied  by  Ralph 
Lane,  the  appointed  governor  of  the  colony,  with 
learned  companions ;  and  also  by  Manteo,  the  native 
chief.  They  narrowly  escaped  shipwreck  on  the  Caro- 
lina coast,  in  June,  and  in  consequence  of  that  danger, 

they  named  the  land  where  their  peril  was  greatest,  Cape  Fear.  Entering 
Ocracock  Inlet,  they  landed  upon  the  island  of  Roanoke,  in  Albemarle  Sound, 
and  there  prepared  for  a  permanent  residence.4 


RALEIGH  S   SHIPS. 


1  The  French  Protestants  had  given  the  name  of  Carolina  to  the  region  where  they  attempted 
settlement,  and  it  has  ever  since  retained  it.     See  page  50. 

2  Manteo  and  Wanchese,  natives  of  the  adjacent  continent:  probably  of  the  Hatteras  tribe. 

3  Born  in  Devonshire,  England,  1552.     He  was  one  of  the  most  illustrious  men  of  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  which  was  remarkable  for  brilliant  minds.     His  efforts  to  plant  colonies  in  Amer- 
ica, were  evidences  of  a  great  genius  and  indomitable  courage  and  perseverance.     He  was  also  a 
fine  scholar,  as  well  as  a  statesman,  mariner,  and  soldier.     His  name  will  ever  be  held  in  reverence 
by  all  who  can  appreciate  true  greatness.     He  wrote  a  History  of  the  World,  while  in  prison  under 
a  false  charge  of  high  treason,  and  was  beheaded  in  London,  October  29,  1628. 

4  The  picture  of  the  meeting  of  the  English  and  natives  of  Roanoke,  on  page  53,  exhibits 
truthful  delineations  of  the  persons  and  costumes  of  the  Indians  found  there.     They  were  copied 
and  grouped  from  Harriot's  "  Brief  and  True  Report  of  the  new  found  land  of  Virginia,"  which  was 
published  in  1590.     Harriot  accompanied  the  expedition  as  historian  and  naturalist,  remained  a 


56  DISCOVERIES.  [1492. 

The  English  made  some  fatal  mistakes  at  the  outset.  Instead  of  looking  to 
the  fruition  of  seed-time  for  true  riches,  they  turned  from  the  wealthy  soil  upon 
which  they  stood,  and  went  upon  vain  searches  for  gold  in  the  forests  of  the 
adjoining  continent.  Instead  of  reciprocating  the  hospitable  friendship  of  the 
natives,  they  returned  harshness  for  kindness,  and  treachery  for  confidence, 
until  a  flame  of  revenge  was  kindled  among  the  Indians  which  nothing  but  the 
blood  of  Englishmen  could  quench.  Schemes  for  tho  destruction  of  the  white 
intruders  were  speedily  planned,  and  tribes  in  the  interior  stood  ready  to  aid 
their  brethren  upon  the  seaboard.  As  soon  as  Grenville  departed  with  the 
ships,  for  England,  the  natives  withheld  supplies  of  food,  drew  the  English  into 
perilous  positions  by  tales  of  gold-bearing  shores  along  the  Roanoke  River,  and 
finally  reduced  the  colony  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  At  that  moment,  Sir  Francis 
Drake  arrived  from  the  West  Indies,  with  his  fleet,  and  aiforded  them  relief. 
But  misfortune  and  fear  made  them  anxious  to  leave  the  country,  and  the  emi- 
grants were  all  conveyed  to  England,  in  June,  1586,  by  Drake.  A  few  days 
after  their  departure,  a  well-furnished  vessel,  sent  by  Raleigh,  arrived ;  arid  a 
fortnight  later,  Grenvillo  entered  the  inlet  with  three  ships  well  provisioned. 
After  searching  for  the  departed  colony,  Grenville  sailed  for  England,  leaving 
fifteen  men  upon  Roanoke. 

The  intrepid  Raleigh  was  still  undismayed  by  misfortune.  He  adopted  a 
wise  policy,  and  instead  of  sending  out  mere  fortune-hunters,1  he  collected  a 
band  of  agriculturists  and  artisans,  with  their  families,  and  dispatched  them 
[April  26,  1587],  to  found  an  industrial  State  in  Virginia.  .He  gave  them  a 
charter  of  incorporation  for  the  settlement ;  and  John  White,  who  accompanied 
them,  was  appointed  governor  of  the  colony.  They  reached  Roanoke  in  July  ; 
but  instead  of  the  expected  greetings  of  the  men  left  by  Grenville,  they  encoun- 
tered utter  desolation.  The  bones  of  the  fifteen  lay  bleaching  on  the  ground. 
Their  rude  tenements  were  in  ruins,  and  wild  deer  were  feeding  in  their  little 
gardens.  They  had  been  murdered  by  the  Indians,  and  not  one  was  left. 
Manteo2  did  not  share  in  the  Indian  hatred  of  the  white  people,  and  like  Massa- 
soit  of  New  England,3  he  remained  their  friend.  By  command  of  Raleigh,  he 
received  Christian  baptism,  and  was  invested,  by  White,  with  the  title  of  Lord 
of  Roanoke,  the  first  and  last  peerage  ever  created  in  America.  Yet  Manteo 
could  not  avert  nor  control  the  storm  that  lowered  among  the  Indian  tribes,  and 
menaced  the  English  with  destruction.  The  colonists  were  conscious  that  fear- 
ful perils  were  gathering,  and  White  hastened  to  England  toward  the  close  of 
the  year  for  reinforcements  and  provisions,  leaving  behind  him  his  daughter, 
Eleanor  Dare  (wife  of  one  of  his  lieutenants),  who  had  just  given  birth  to  a 
child  [August  18,  1587],  whom  they  named  Virginia.  VIRGINIA  DARE  was 
the  first  offspring  of  English  parents  born  within  the  territory  of  the  United 
States.4 


year  in  Virginia,  and  had  correct  drawings  made  of  the  inhabitants,  their  dwellings,  their  gardens, 
and  every  thing  of  interest  pertaining  to  their  costumes,  customs,  and  general  characteristics.  The 
picture  may  be  accepted  as  historically  correct.  J  Page  52.  2  Note  2,  page  55. 

3  Page  114.  •    4  Note  6,  page  78. 


ENGLISH  GEXTLE- 


1G09.]  ENGLISH    AND    FRENCH    DISCOVERIES.  57 

The  great  Spanish  Armada1  was  preparing  for  an  invasion  of  Great  Britain, 
when  White  reached  England ;  and  Raleigh,  Grenville,  and  others,  were  deeply 
engaged  in  public  affairs.  It  was  not  until  the  following  May 
[1589],  that  White  departed,  with  two  ships,  for  Virginia. 
According  to  custom,  he  went  by  the  way  of  the  West  Indies, 
and  depredated  upon  Spanish  property  found  afloat.  He  was 
beaten  in  an  engagement,  lost  one  of  his  vessels,  and  was 
obliged  to  return  to  England.  Raleigh's  fortune  being  mate- 
rially impaired  by  his  munificence  in  eiforts  at  colonization,  he 
assigned  his  proprietary  rights  to  others ;  and  it  was  not  until 
1590  that  White  was  allowed  to  return  to  Roanoke  in  search 
of  his  daughter  and  the  colony  he  had  left.  Both  had  then 
disappeared.  Roanoke  was  a  desolation ;  and,  though  Raleigh, 
who  had  abandoned  all  thoughts  of  colonization,  had  five  times 

T  T  1          r*  ,-[  •  J1.JN  tjljiSJrL    UJ^Ml 

sent  mariners,  good  and  true,  to  search  for  the  emigrants,  MAN  1580 
they  were  never  found.2  Eighty  years  later,  the  Corees3  told 
the  English  settlers  upon  the  Cape  Fear  River,  that  their  lost  kindred  had  been 
adopted  by  the  once  powerful  Hatteras  tribe,4  and  became  amalgamated  with 
the  children  of  the  wilderness.  The  English  made  no  further  attempts  at  colo- 
nization at  that  time :  and  so,  a  century  after  Columbus  sailed  for  America, 
there  was  no  European  settlement  upon  the  North  American  Continent.  Sir 
Francis  Drake  had  broken  up  the  military  post  at  St.  Augustine  [1585],  and 
the  Red  Men  were  a^ain  sole  masters  of  the  vast  domain. 

O 

A  dozen  years  after  the  failure  of  Raleigh's  colonization  efforts,  Bartholo- 
mew Gosnold,  who  had  been  to  America,  and  was  a  friend  of  the  late  proprietor 
of  Virginia,  sailed  in  a  small  bark  [March  26,  1G02]  directly  across  the  Atlan- 
tic for  the  American  coast.  After  a  voyage  of  seven  weeks,  he  discovered  the 
Continent  near  Nahant  [May  14,  1602],  and  sailing  southward,  he  landed 
upon  a  sandy  point  which  he  named  Cape  Cod,  on  account  of  the  great  number 
of  those  fishes  in  that  vicinity.  Continuing  southward,  he  discovered  Nan- 
tucket,  Martha's  Vineyard,  and  the  group  known  as  Elizabeth  Islands.  Upon 
one  of  them,  which  he  named  Elizabeth,  in  honor  of  his  sovereign,  Gosnold  and 
his  company  prepared  to  found  a  settlement.  Upon  an  islet,  in  a  tiny  laKe, 
they  built  a  fort  and  store-house.5  Becoming  alarmed  at  the  menaces  of  the 
Indians  and  the  want  of  supplies,  they  freighted  their  vessel  with  sassafras 


1  This  was  a  great  naval  armament,  fitted  out  by  Spain,  for  the  invasion  of-  England,  in  the 
summer  of  1588.     It  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  ships,  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty 
great  guns,   and  thirty  thousand  soldiers  and  sailors.     It  was  defeated  [July  20]  by  Admirals 
Drake  and  Howard. 

2  While  Raleigh  was  making  these  fruitless  searches,  the   Marquis  de  la  Roche,  a  wealthy 
French  nobleman,  attempted  to  plant  a  French  colony  in  America.     He  was  commissioned  by  the 
King  of  France  for  the  purpose,  and  in  1598  sailed  for  America  with  a  colony,  chiefly  drawn  from 
the  prisons  of  Paris.     Upon  the  almost  desert  island  of  Sable,  near  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  La 
Roche  left  forty  men,  while  he  returned  to  France  for  supplies.     He  died  soon  afterward,  and  for 
seven  years  the  poor  emigrants  were  neglected.     When  a  vessel  was  finally  sent  for  them,  only 
twelve  survived.     They  were  taken  to  France,  their  crimes  were  pardoned  by  the  knig,  and  their 
immediate  wants  were  supplied.  3  Page  20.  4  Note  5,  page  20. 

•5  Dr.  Jeremy  Belknap,  the  historian  of  New  Hampshire,  discovered  the  cellar  of  this  storehouse, 
in  1797. 


58  DISCOVERIES.  L1492. 

roots,  and  returned  to  England  in  June,  1602.  The  glowing  accounts  of  the 
country  which  Gosnold  gave,  awakened  the  enterprise  of  some  Bristol  mer- 
chants,1 and  the  following  year  [1603]  they  fitted  out  two  vessels  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exploration  and  traffic  with  the  natives.  The  command  was  given  to 
Martin  Pring,  a  friend  of  both  Raleigh  and  Gosnold.  Following  the  track  of 
the  latter,  he  discovered  the  shores  of  Maine,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot 
[June],  and  coasting  westward,  he  entered  and  explored  several  of  the  larger 
rivers  of  that  State.  He  continued  sailing  along  the  coast  as  far  as  Martha's 
Vineyard,  trading  with  the  natives  ;  and  from  that  island  he  returned  to  En- 
gland, after  an  absence  of  only  six  months.  Pring  made  another  voyage  to 
Maine,  in  1606,  and  more  thoroughly  explored  the  country.  Maine  was  also 
visited  in  1605,  by  Captain  George  Weymouth,  who  had  explored  the  coast  of 
Labrador,  in  search  of  a  north-west  passage  to  India.2  He  entered  the  Saga- 
dahock,  and  took  formal  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  King  James. 
There  he  decoyed  five  natives  on  board  his  vessel,  and  then  sailed  for  England. 
These  forest  children  excited  much  curiosity ;  and  the  narratives  of  other  mari- 
ners of  the  west  of  England,  who  visited  these  regions  at  about  the  same  time, 
gave  a  new  stimulus  to  colonizing  efforts. 

The  French  now  began  to  turn  their  attention  toward  the  New  World 
again.  In  1603,  De  Monts,  a  wealthy  French  Huguenot,3  obtained  a  commission 
of  viceroyalty  over  six  degrees  of  latitude  in  New  France,4  extending  from  Cape 
May  to  Quebec.  He  prepared  an  expedition  for  settlement,  and  arrived  at 
Nova  Scotia,5  with  two  vessels,  in  May,  1604. 6  He  passed  the  summer  there, 
trafficking  with  the  natives  ;  and  in  the  autumn  he  crossed  over  to  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  Croix  (the  eastern  boundary  of  Maine),  and  erected  a  fort  there.  He 
had  left  a  few  settlers  at  Port  Royal  (now  Annapolis),  under  Poutrincourt. 
These  De  Monts  joined  the  following  spring  [1605],  and  organized  a  perma- 
nent colony.  He  named  the  place  Port  Royal ;  and  the  territory  now  included 
in  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  and  the  adjacent  islands,  he  called  ACADIE/ 
His  efforts  promised  much  success;  but  he  was  thwarted  by  jealous  men.  In 
1608,  he  was  deprived  of  his  vice-royal  commission,  when  he  obtained  a  grant 
of  the  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade  upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  for  one  year,  and 
another  commission,  to  plant  a  colony  elsewhere  in  New  France.  The  new 
expedition  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Samuel  Champlain  (who  accom- 
panied the  viceroy  on  his  first  voyage),  and  on  the  3d  of  June,  1608,  he 
arrived,  with  two  vessels,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay,  on  the  St.  Lawrence. 
They  ascended  the  great  river,  and  on  the  site  of  Quebec,  near  where  Cartier 
built  his  fort  almost  seventy  years  before,8  they  planted  the  first  permanent 

1  Page  46.  2  Page  510.  3  Page  49.          <  Page  48.          5  Note  2.  page  80. 

6  De  Monts  first  brought  swine,  and  other  domestic  animals,   into  this  portion  of  America. 
Some  were  also  taken  from  thence  to  French  settlements  planted  in  Canada  a  few  years  later.     The 
company  of  which  he  was  chief,  fitted  out  four  vessels.     De  Monts  commanded  the  two  here  men- 
tioned, assisted  by  Champlain  and  Poutrincourt. 

7  In  1613,  Samuel  Argall  made  a  piratical  visit  to  these  coasts,  under  the  direction  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  Virginia  colony.     He  destroyed  the  remnant  of  De  Monts'  settlement  at  St.  Croix, 
broke  up  the  peaceful  colony  at  Port  Royal,  and  plundered  the  people  of  every  thing  of  value.     See 
page  72.  3  Page  49. 


1609.] 


ENGLISH    AND    FRENCH    DISCOVERIES. 


59 


HENRY   HUDSON. 


French  settlement  in  the   New  World.      The  following  summer,   Champlain 
ascended  the  Richelieu  or  Sorel  River,  the  outlet  of  Lake  Champlain,  with  a 
war  party  of  Huron1  and  Algonquin3  Indians,  and  discovered  the  beautiful  lake 
which  bears  his  name,  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  State  of  New  York.3 
The  English  were  not  idle  while  the  French  were 

o 

exploring,  and  making  efforts  at  settlement  in  the 
direction  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Several  private  enter- 
prises were  in  progress,  among  the  most  important  of 
which  was  that  of  a  company  of  London  merchants 
who  sent  Henry  Hudson,  an  intimate  friend  of  Captain 
Smith,*  to  search  for  a  supposed  north-eastern  ocean 
passage  to  India.  He  made  two  unsuccessful  voyages 
to  the  regions  of  polar  ice  [1607-8],  when  the  attempt 
was  abandoned.  Anxious  to  win  the  honor  of  first 
reaching  India  by  the  northern  seas,  Hudson  applied 

to  the  Dutch  East  India  Company5  for  aid.     The  Amsterdam  directors  afforded 
it,  and  on  the  4th  of  April,  1609,  Hudson  departed  from  Amsterdam,  in  com- 
mand of  the  Half-Moon,  a  yacht  of  eighty  tons.     He 
sought  a  north-eastern  passage ;  but  after  doubling  the 
capes  of  Norway,  the  ice  was  impassable.     Turning  his 
prow,  he  steered  across  the  Atlantic,  and  first  touching 
the  continent  on   the   shores   of  Penobscot    Bay,   he 
arrived  in  sight  of  the  capes  of  Virginia  in  August, 
1609.     Proceeding  northward,  he  entered  the  mouths 
of  several  large  rivers,  and  finally  passed  the  Narrows6 
and  anchored  in  New  York  Bay.     He  proceeded  almost 
sixty  leagues  up  the  river  that  bears  his  name,  and 
according  to  the  formula  of  the  age.  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name 
of  the  States  General  of  Holland.7      He  returned  to  Europe8   in  November 

1  Page  22.  2  page  17^ 

3  Champlain  penetrated  southward  as  far  as  Crown  Point ;  perhaps  south  of  Ticonderoga.  It 
was  at  about  the  same  time  that  Hudson  went  up  the  river  that  bears  his  name,  as  far  as  Water- 
ford  ,  so  that  these  eminent  navigators,  exploring  at  different  points,  came  very  near  meeting  in  the 
wilderness.  Six  years  afterward  Champlain  discovered  Lake  Huron,  and  there  he  joined  some 
Huron  Indians  in  an  expedition  against  one  of  the  Five  Nations  in  Western  New  York.  They  had 
a  severe  battle  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present  village  of  Canandaigua.  Champlain  published 
an  account  of  his  first  voyage,  in  1613,  and  a  continuation  in  1620.  He  published  a  new  edition 
of  these  in  1632,  which  contains  a  history  of  New  France,  from  the  discovery  of  Verrazani  to  the 
year  1631.  Champlain  died  in  1634.  <  Page  65. 

5  Dutch  mariners,  following  the  track  of  the  Portuguese,  opened  a  successful  traffic  with  East- 
ern Asia,  about  the  year  1594.     The  various  Dutch  adventurers,  in  the  India  trade,  were  united  in 
one  corporate  body  in  1602,  with  a  capital  of  over  a  million  of  dollars,  to  whom  were  given  the 
exclusive  privilege  of  trading  in  the  seas  east  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.     Tins  was  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company. 

6  Entrance  to  New  York  Bay  between  Long  and  Staten  Islands. 

7  This  was  the  title  of  the  Government  of  Holland,  answering,  in  a  degree,  to  our  Congress. 

8  Hudson,  while  on  another  voyage  in  search  of  a  north-west  passage,  discovered  the  great  Bay 
in  the  northern  regions,  which  bears  his  name.     He  was  there  frozen  in  the  ice  during  the  winter 
of  1610-11.     While  endeavoring  to  make  his  way  homeward  in  the  spring,  his  crew  became  muti- 
nous.    They  finally  seized  Hudson,  bound  his  arms,  and  placing  him  ana  his  son,  and  seven  sick 
companions,  in  an  open  boat,  set  them  adrift  upon  the  cold  waters.     They  were  never  heard  of 
afterward 


THE   HALF-MOON. 


60  DISCOVERIES.  [1492. 

1609,  and  liis  report  of  the  goodly  land  he  had  discovered  set  in  motion  those 
commercial  measures  which  resulted  in  the  founding  of  a  Dutch  empire  in  the 
New  World. 

With  these  discoveries  commenced  the  epoch  of  settlements.  The  whole 
Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  had  been  thoroughly  or  partially  explored,  the 
general  character  and  resources  of  the  soil  had  become  known,  and  henceforth 
the  leading  commercial  nations  of  Western  Europe — England,  France,  Spain, 
and  Holland — regarded  the  transatlantic  continent,  not  as  merely  a  rich  garden 
without  a  wall,  where  depredators  from  every  shore  might  come,  and,  without 
hinderance,  bear  away  its  choicest  fruit,  but  as  a  land  where  the  permanent 
foundations  of  vast  colonial  empires  might  be  laid,  from  which  parent  states 
would  receive  almost  unlimited  tribute  to  national  wealth  and  national  glory. 

When  we  contemplate  these  voyages  across  the  stormy  Atlantic,  and  con- 
sider the  limited  geographical  knowledge  of  the  navigators,  the  frailty  of  their 
vessels1  and  equipments,  the  vast  labors  and  constant  privations  endured  by 
them,  and  the  dangers  to  which  they  were  continually  exposed,  we  can  not  but 
feel  the  highest  respect  and  reverence  for  all  who  were  thus  engaged  in  opening 
the  treasures  of  the  New  World  to  the  advancing  nations  of  Europe.  Although 
acquisitiveness,  or  the  desire  for  worldly  possessions,  was  the  chief  incentive  to 
action,  and  gave  strength  to  resolution,  yet  it  could  not  inspire  courage  to 
encounter  the  great  dangers  of  the  deep  and  the  wilderness,  nor  fill  the  heart 
with  faith  in  prophecies  of  success.  These  sentiments  must  have  been  innate  : 
and  those  who  braved  the  multitude  of  perils  were  men  of  true  courage,  and  their 
faith  came  from  the  teachings  of  the  science  of  their  day.  History  and  Song, 
Painting  and  Sculpture,  have  all  commemorated  their  deeds.  If  Alexander  the 
Great  was  thought  worthy  of  having  the  granite  body  of  Mount  Athos  hewn 
into  a  colossal  image  of  himself,2  might  not  Europe  and  America  appropriately 
join  in  the  labor  of  fashioning  some  lofty  summit  of  the  Alleghanies3  into  a  huge 
monument  to  the  memory  of  the  NAVIGATORS  who  lifted  the  vail  of  forgetful- 
ness  from  the  face  of  the  New  World?1 


1  The  first  ships  wore  generally  of  less  than  one  hundred  tons  burden.     Two  of  the  vessels  of 
Columbus  were  without  decks ;  and  the  one  in  which  Frobisher  sailed  was  only  twenty-live  tons 
burden. 

2  Dinocrates,  a  celebrated  architect,  offered  to  cut  Mount  Athos  into  a  statue  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  so  large,  that  it  might  hold  a  city  in  its  right  hand,  and  in  its  left  a  basin  of  sufficient  capa- 
city to  hold  all  the  waters  that  poured  from  the  mountain.  3  Note  3,  page  19. 

4  Page  47.  There  has  been  much  discussion  concerning  the  claims  of  certain  navigators,  to  the 
honor  of  first  discovering  the  Continent  of  America.  A  ''  Memoir  of  Sebastian  Cabot,"  illustrated  by 
documents  from  the  Rolls,  published  in  London  «in  1832,  appears  to  prove  conclusively  that  he,  and 
not  his  father,  was  the  navigator  who  discovered  North  America.  John  Cabot  was  a  man  of  science, 
and  a  merchant,  and  may  have  accompanied  his  son,  in  his 'first  voyage  in  1497.  Yet,  in  the  patent 
of  February,  1498,  in  which  the  first  voyage  is  referred  to,  are  the  words,  "the  land  and  isles  of  late 
found  by  the  said  John,  in  our  name,  and  by  our  commandment."  The  first  commission  being  issued 
in  the  name  of  John  Cabot,  the  discoveries  made  by  those  employed  by  him,  would  of  course  be  in 
his  name.  A  little  work,  entitled  "  Researches  respecting  Americus  Vespucius,  and  his  Voyages," 
prepared  by  Viscount  Santarem,  ex-prime  minister  of  Portugal,  casts  just  doubts  upon  the  statements 
of  Vespucius,  concerning  his  command  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  when,  he  claims,  he  discovered 
South  America  [page  41]  in  1499.  He  was  doubtless  an  officer  under  Ojeda;  and  it  is  quite  cer- 
tain that  he  got  possession  of  the  narratives  of  Ojeda  and  published  them  as  his  own.  The  most 
accessible  works  on  American  discoveries,  are  Irving's  "Life  of  Columbus;"  Prescott's  "Ferdinand 
and  Isabella;"  Lives  of  Cabot  and  Hudson,  in  Sparks's  "American  Biography,"  and  Histories  of  the 
United  States  by  Bancroft  and  Hiidreth. 


THIRD    PERIOD 

SETTLEMENTS. 


"  ^'     ~r          !~' r;-    ""7  £N? 


CHAPTER    I . 


JOHN   SMITH. 


THERE  is  a  distinction  to  be  observed 
in  considering  settlements  and  colonies. 
The  act  of  forming  a  settlement  is  not 

equivalent  to  the  establishment  of  a  colony  or  the  founding  of  a  State.  It  is, 
the  initiatory  step  toward  such  an  end,  and  may  or  may  not  exhibit  permanent 
results.  A  colony  becomes  such  only  when  settlements  assume  permanency, 
and  organic  laws/  subservient  to  those  of  a  parent  government,  arc  framed  for 
the  guidance  of  the  people.  It  seems  proper,  therefore,  to  consider  the  era  of 
settlements  as  distinct  from  that  of  colonial  organization. 

The  period  of  settlements  within  the  bounds  of  the  thirteen  original  colonies 
which  formed  the  Confederacy  in  the  War  for  Independence,1  extends  from  1607 
to  1733.  For  fifty  years  previous  to  the  debarkation  [1607]  at  Jamestown,2 
fishing  stations  had  been  established  at  various  points  on  the  Atlantic  coast : 
and  at  St.  Augustine,3  the  Spaniards  had  kept  a  sort  of  military  post  alive. 
Yet  the  time  of  the  appearance  of  the  English  in  the  James  River,  is  the  true 
point  from  which  to  date  the  inception  or  beginning  of  our  great  confederacy  of 


Page  229. 


2  Page  64. 


3  Page  51.. 


(32  SETTLEMENTS.  [1G07. 

free  States.  Twelve  years  [1607  to  1619]  were  spent  by  English  adven- 
turers in  efforts  to  plant  a  permanent  settlement  in  Virginia.1  For  seventeen 
years  [1609  to  16231  Dutch  traders  were  trafficking  on  the  Hudson  River, 
before  a  permanent  settlement  was  established  in  New  York.2  Fourteen  years 
[1606  to  1620]  were  necessary  to  effect  a  permanent  settlement  in  Massachu- 
setts ;3  and  for  nine  years  [1622  to  1631]  adventurers  struggled  for  a  foothold 
in  New  Hampshire.1  The  Roman  Catholics  were  only  one  year  [1634-5]  in 
laying  the  foundation  of  the  Maryland  colony.6  Seven  years  [1632  to  1639] 
were  employed  in  effecting  permanent  settlements  in  Connecticut  ;6  eight  years 
[1636  to  1643]  in  organizing  colonial  government  in  Rhode  Island  ;7  and  about 
fifty  years  [1631  to  1682]  elapsed  from  the  landing  of  the  Swedes  on  South 
River,8  before  Delaware,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania  (whose  several  histo- 
ries of  settlements  are  interwoven),  presented  colonial  features.9  Almost  sixty 
years  [1622  to  1680]  passed  by  before  the  first  settlements  in  the  Carolinas 
became  fully  developed  colonies;10  but  Georgia,  the  youngest  of  the  thirteen 
States,  had  the  foundation  of  its  colonial  government  laid  when  Oglethorpe, 
with  the  first  company  of  settlers,  began  to  build  Savannah  in  the  winter  of 
1733. "  The  first  permanent  settlement  within  the  bounds  of  the  original 
colonies,  was  in 

VIRGINIA.     [1607—1619]. 

A  century  had  not  elapsed  after  the  discoveries  of  Columbus  [1492], ia 
before  a  great  social  and  political  revolution  had  been  effected  in  Europe. 
Commerce,  hitherto  confined  to  inland  seas  and  along  the  coasts,  was  sending 
its  ships  across  oceans.  The  art  of  printing  had  begun  its  wonderful  work  ;13 
and,  through  its  instrumentality,  intelligence  had  become  generally  diffused. 
Mind  thus  acting  upon  mind,  in  vastly  multiplied  opportunities,  had  awakened 
a  great  moral  and  intellectual  power,  whose  presence  and  strength  had  not  been 
suspected.  The  Protestant  Reformation14  had  weakened  the  bonds  of  spiritual 
dominion,  and  allowed  the  moral  faculties  fuller  play  ;  and  the  shadows  of  feudal 
institutions,15  so  chilling  to  individual  effort,  were  rapidly  disappearing  before 

1  Page  71.  2  Page  73.  3  Page  79.  «  Page  80. 

5  Page  82.  6  Page  89.  7  page  91.  s  page  92. 

9  Page  97.  10  Page  99.  n«Page  103  12  Page  40. 

13  About  the  year  1450.  Eude  printing  from  engraved  blocks  was  done  before  that  time;  but 
when  Peter  Schceffer  cast  the  first  metal  types,  each  letter  separately,  at  about  1450,  the  art  of 
printing  truly  had  birth.  John  Faust  established  a  printing-office  at  Mentz,  in  1442.  John  Gutten- 
berg  invented  cut  metal  types,  arid  used  them  in  printing  a  Bible  which  was  commenced  in  1445, 
and  finished  in  1460.  The  names  of  these  three  men  are  usually  associated  as  the  inventors  of 
printing. 

'*  Commenced  by  "Wickliffe,  in  England,  in  1360;  by  Huss,  in  Bohemia,  in  1405;  by  Luther, 
in  Germany,  in  1517.  From  this  period  until  1562,  the  movement  was  general  throughout  Europe. 
It  was  an  effort  to  purge  the  Christian  Church  of  great  impurities,  by  reforming  its  doctrine  and 
ritual.  The  Reformers  protested  against  the  practices  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  the  title 
of  the  movement  was,  therefore,  the  Protestant  Reformation.  The  name  of  Protestants  was  first 
given  to  Luther  and  others,  in  1529. 

15  The  nature  of  feudal  laws  may  be  illustrated  by  a  single  example :  William,  the  Norman 
conqueror  of  England,  divided  the  land  of  that  country  into  parts  called  baronies,  and  gave  them 
to  certain  of  his  favorites,  who  became  masters  of  the  conquered  people  on  their  respective  estates. 
For  these  gifts,  and  certain  privileges,  the  Imrons,  or  masters,  were  to  furnish  the  king  with  a  stipu- 


1019.]  VIRGINIA.  68 

the  rising  sun  of  the  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Freedom  of  thought 
and  action  expanded  the  area  of  ideas,  and  gave  birth  to  those  tolerant  princi- 
ples which  lead  to  brotherhood  of  feeling.  The  new  impulse  developed  nobler 
motives  for  human  action  than  the  acquisition  of  wealth  and  power,  and  these 
soon  engendered  healthy  schemes  for  founding  industrial  empires  in  the  New 
World.  Aspirations  for  civil  freedom,  awakened  by  greater  religious  liberty, 
had  begun  the  work,  especially  in  England,  where  the  Protestants  were  already 
divided  into  two  distinct  parties,  called,  respectively,  Churchmen  and  Puritans. 
The  former  supported  the  throne  and  all  monarchic  ideas ;  the  latter  were 
more  republican ;  and  from  their  pulpits  went  forth  doctrines  inimical  to  kingly 
power.  These  religious  differences  had  begun  to  form  a  basis  of  political 
parties,  and  finally  became  prime  elements  of  colonization. 

Another  event,  favorable  to  the  new  impulse,  now  exerted  a  powerful  influ- 
ence. A  long  contest  between  England  and  France  ceased  in  1604.  Soldiers, 
an  active,  restless  class  in  England,  were  deprived  of  employment-,  and  would 
soon  become  dangerous  to  the  public  peace.  While  population  and  general 
prosperity  had  greatly  increased,  there  was  another  large  class,  who,  by  idle- 
ness and  dissipation,  had  squandered  fortunes,  and  had  become  desperate  men. 
The  soldiers  needed  employment,  either  in  their  own  art,  or  in  equally  exciting 
adventures ;  and  the  impoverished  spendthrifts  were  ready  for  any  thing  which 
promised  gain.  Such  were  the  men  who  stood  ready  to  brave  ocean  perils  and 
the  greater  dangers  of  the  Western  World,  when  such  minds  as  those  of  Fer- 
nando Gorges,  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  Chief  Justice  Popham,  Richard  Hakluyt, 
Captain  John  Smith,  and  others,  devised  new  schemes  for  colonization.  The 
weak  and  timid  James  the  First,1  who  desired  and  maintained  peace  with  other 
nations  during  his  reign,  was  glad  to  perceive*  a  new  field  for  restless  and 
adventurous  men  to  go  to,  and  he  readily  granted  a  liberal  patent  [April  20, 
1606]  to  the  first  company  formed  after  his  accession  to  the  throne,  for  planting 
settlements  in  Virginia,  The  English  then  claimed  dominion  over  a-  belt  of 
territory  extending  from  Cape  Fear,  in  North  Carolina,  to  Halifax,  in  Nova 
Scotia,  and  indefinitely  westward.  This  was  divided  into  two  districts.  One 
extended  from  the  vicinity  of  New  York  city  northward  to  the  present  southern 
boundary  of  Canada,  including  the  whole  of  New  England,  and  westward  of  it, 
and  was  called  NORTH  VIRGINIA.  This  territory  was  granted  to  a  company 
of  "knights,  gentlemen,  and  merchants"  in  the  west  of  England,  called  the 
Plymouth  Company:1  The  other  district  extended  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Potomac  southward  to  Cape  Fear,  and  was  called  SOUTH  VIRGINIA.  It  was 

lated  amount  of  money,  and  a  stated  number  of  men  for  soldiers,  when  required.  The  peopk  had  no 
voice  in  this  matter,  nor  in  any  public  affairs,  and  were  made  essentially  slaves  to  the  barons.  Out 
of  this  state  of  things  originated  the  exclusive  privileges  yet  enjoyed  by  the  nobility  of  Europe. 
Except  in  Russia,  the  people  have  been  emancipated  from  this  vassalage,  and  the  ancient  forms  of 
feudal  power  have  disappeared. 

1  He  was  the  Sixth  James  of  Scotland,  of  the  house  of  Stuart,  and  son  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scot- 
land, by  Lord  Darnley.     The  crowns  of  England  and  Scotland  were  united  by  his  'accession  to  the 
tn>,^ne  of  the  former  kingdom,  in  March,  1603. 

2  The  chief  members  of  the  company  were  Thomas  Hanham,  Sir  John  and  Raleigh  Gilbert  (sons 
of  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert),  William  Parker,  George  Popham,  Sir  John  Popham  (Lord  Chief  Justice 
of  England),  and  Sir  Fernando  Gorges,  Governor  of  Plymouth  Fort. 


64  SETTLEMENTS.  [1607. 

granted  to  a  company  of  "  noblemen,  gentlemen  and  merchants,"  chiefly  resi- 
dents of  London,  called  the  London  Company. l  The  intermediate  domain  of 
almost  two  hundred  miles,  was  a  dividing  line,  so  broad  that  disputes  about 
territory  could  not  occur,  as  neither  company  was  allowed  to  make  settlements 
more  than  fifty  miles  beyond  its  own  boundary. 

The  idea  of  popular  freedom  was  as  yet  the  heritage  of  a  favored  few,  and 
the  political  character  of  the  first  colonial  charter,  under  which  a  permanent 
settlement  was  made  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  was  unfavorable 
to  the  best  interests  of  all.  The  king  reserved  to  himself  the  right  of  appoint- 
ing all  officers,  and  of  exercising  all  executive  and  legislative  power.  The 
colonists  were  to  pay  homage  to  the  sovereign,  and  a  tribute  of  one  fifth  of  the 
net  products  of  gold  and  silver  found  in  Virginia ;  yet  they  possessed  no  rights 
of  self-government.  They  were  to  be  governed  by  a  council  of  seven  appointed 
by  the  king,  who  were  allowed  to  choose  a  president  from  among  themselves. 
There  was  also  a  Supreme  Council  in  England,  appointed  by  the  king,  who  had 
the  general  supervision  of  the  colonies,  under  the  direction  of  the  monarch. 
That  charter  was  the  conception  _  of  a  narrow  mind,  and  despotic  temper,  and 
proved  totally  inadequate  as  a  constitution  of  government  for  a  free  people. 

The  North  Virginia,  or  Plymouth  Company,  made  the  first  attempt  at  set- 
tlement, and  failed.3  The  South  Virginia,  or  London  Company,  sent  Captain 
Christopher  Newport,  with  three  vessels  and  one  hundred  and  five  emigrants 
[Dec.,  1606 J,  to  make  a  settlement  upon  Roanoke  Island,3  where  Raleigh's 
colony  had  perished  almost  twenty  years  before.  Among  them  was  Bartholo- 
mew Gosnold,  the  projector  of  the  expedition.  They  possessed  very  poor 
materials  for  a  colony.  There  was  HQ  family  among  them,  and  only  "twelve 
laborers  and  a  few  mechanics."  The  remainder  were  "  gentlemen,"4  many  of 
whom  were  vicious,  dissolute  men,  totally  unfit  for  such  an  enterprise,  and 
quite  unworthy  to  be  actors  in  the  glorious  events  anticipated  by  Gosnold  and 
his  enlightened  associates  at  home.  The  voyage  was  a  long  and  tedious  one. 
Newport  pursued  the  old  route  by  the  Canaries  and  the  West  Indies,  and  did 
not  arrive  upon  the  American  coast  until  April,  160T,  when  a  storm  drove  his 
vessels  into  Chesapeake  Bay,  where  he  found  a  good  harbor.  He  named  the 
capes  at  the  entrance,  Charles  and  Henry,  in  honor  of  the  king's  sons.  A 
pleasant  point  of  the  Virginia  peninsula,  between  the  York  and  James  Rivers, 
which  they  next  landed  upon  and  enjoyed  repose,  he  named  Point  Comfort ;  and 
the  noble  Powhatan  River  which  he  soon  afterward  entered  he  called  James. 
Sailing  up  the  broad  stream  about  fifty  miles,  the  immigrants  landed  upon  a 
beautiful,  shaded  peninsula,5  where  they  chose  a  site  for  the  capital  of  the  new 
empire,  and  called  it  JAMESTOWN. 

1  The  chief  members  of  the  company  were  Sir  Thomas  Gates.  Sir  George  Somers,  Richard  Hak- 
luyt  (the  historian),  and  Edward  Maria  Wingfield,  who  was  the  -first  governor  of  Virginia. 

3  Page  73.  ^  Page  55. 

4  This  name  was  given  to  wealthy  men,  who  were  not  engaged  in  any  industrial  pursuit,  and 
often  spent  their  lives  in  idleness  and  dissipation  ;  a  class  which,  in  our  day  and  country,  number, 
happily,  very  few.     Labor  is  worthily  honored  as  more  noble  than  idleness. 

5  This  may  be  called  an  island,  for  the  marsh  which  connects  it  with  the  mainland  is  often  over- 
flowed.    The  currents  of  the  river  have  washed  away  large  portions  of  the  original  island. 


1619.]  VIRGINIA.  65 

111  feelings  had  been  engendered  before  they  reached  the  Canary  Islands, 
and  violent  disputes  had  arisen  during  the  long  voyage.  As  the  silly  king  had 
placed  the  names  of  the  colonial  council  in  a  sealed  box,  with  instructions  not 
to  open  it  until  their  arrival  in  Virginia,  there  was  no  competent  authority  on 
board  to  restore  harmony.  Captain  Smith,1  who  was  the  most  able  man  among 
them,  excited  the  envy  of  his  companions  ;  and  being  charged  with  a  design  to 
murder  the  council,  usurp  government,  and  proclaim  himself  king,  he  was 
placed  in  confinement.  On  opening  the  sealed  box,  it  was  discovered  that 
Smith  was  one  of  the  council.  He  was  released  from  confinement;  but, 
through  the  influence  of  Wingfield,  an  avaricious,  unprincipled,  but  talented 
man,  he  was  excluded  from  office.  Smith  demanded  a  trial  upon  the  absurd 
charges.  The  accusation  was  withdrawn,  and  he  took  his  seat  in  the  council, 
over  which  Wingfield  was  chosen  to  preside. 

Soon  after  landing,  Newport,  Smith,  and  twenty  others,  ascended  the 
James  River  to  the  Falls  at  Richmond,  and  visited  the  emperor  of  the  Powhat- 
ans,2  whose  residence  was  a  mile  below  the  foot  of  the  rapids.  The  title  of  the 
emperor  was  Powhatan,  which  signified  supreme  ruler,  as  did  Pharaoh  in  the 
antient  Egyptian  language — the  chief  man  in  Egypt.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
ability,  and  commanded  the  reverence  of  the  whole  confederation.  He  appeared 
friendly  to  the  English,  notwithstanding  his  people  murmured  at  their  presence ; 
and  the  visitors  returned  to  Jamestown  much  gratified. 

Early  in  June,  1607,  Newport  sailed  for  England,  to  obtain  more  settlers 
and  provisions.  The  little  band  of  emigrants  soon  perceived  the  perils  of  their 
situation.  A  large  portion  of  their  provisions  had  been  spoiled  during  the 
voyage.  They  had  not  planted,  therefore  they  could  not  reap.  The  neighboring 
tribes  evinced  hostility,  and  withheld  supplies.  Poisonous  vapor  arose  from 
the  marshes ;  and  before  the  close  of  summer,  one  half  of  the  adventurers  per- 
ished by  disease  and  famine.  Among  the  victims  was  Gosnold.  The  settlers, 
in  their  despair,  reproached  themselves  and  the  leaders  of  the  expedition,  and 
longed  to  depart  for  the  Old  World.  In  the  midst  of  their  despondency,  the 
survivors  discovered  that  president  Wingfield  was  living  on  choice  stores,  and 
was  preparing  to  abandon  the  colony  and  escape  to  the  West  Indies  in  the  pin- 
nace3 left  by  Newport.  Their  indignation  was  thoroughly  aroused,  and  he  was 
deposed.  Ratclifie,  a  man  as  weak  and  wicked  as  Wingfield,  was  chosen  his 
successor.  He,  too,  was  speedily  dismissed ;  and  the  settlers,  with  one  con- 
sent, wisely  turned  to  Smith  as  ruler. 

It  was  a  happy  hour  for  the  Virginia  settlers  when  Captain  Smith  took  the 
reins  of  government.  All  was  confusion  ;  but  he  soon  restored  order  ;  and  by 
his  courage  and  energy,  inspired  the  Indians  with  awe,  and  compelled  them  to 
bring  him  supplies  of  food.  In  October,  wild  game  became  plentiful ;  and  at 
the  beginning  of  November,  the  abundant  harvest  of  Indian  corn  was  gathered 

1  See  portrait  at  the  head  of  this  Chapter.     Smith  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his- 
time.     He  was  born  in  Lincolnshire,  England ;  and  after  many  adventures  in  Europe,  went  to 
America.     He  died  in  1631.     He  wrote  a  History  of  Virginia,  and  several  other  works. 

2  Page  20.  3  A  small,  light  vessel,  with  sails  and  oars. 

5 


66 


SETTLEMENTS. 


[1607. 


by  the  natives,  and  they  supplied  the  settlers  with  all  they  needed.  Having 
established  a  degree  of  comfort  and  prosperity,  Smith  started,  with  some  com- 
panions, to  explore  the  surrounding  country.  He  ascended  the  Chickahomminy 
River  fifty  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  then,  with  two  companions,  penetrated 
the  vast  forest  that  covered  the  land.  His  companions  were  slain  by  the  na- 
tives, and  he  was  made  a  captive.  After  being  exhibited  in  several  villages,  he 
was  taken  to  Opechancanough,1  the  eldest  brother  of  Powhatan,  who,  regarding 
Smith  as  a  superior  being,  spared  his  life,  and  conducted  him  to  the  emperor, 
then  at  Weroworomoco,  on  the  York  River.2  A  solemn  council  decided  that 
the  captive  must  die,  and  Smith  was  prepared  for  execution.  His  head  was 
placed  upon  a  stone,  and  the  heavy  clubs  of  the  executioners  were  raised  to 
crush  it,  when  Pocahontas,  a  child  of  "ten  or  twelve  years,"3  the  favorite 


POCAHONTAS. 

daughter  of  Powhatan,  rushed  from  her  father's  side,  and  casting  herself  upon 
the  captive,  besought  the  king  to  spare  his  life.  Powhatan  consented,  and 
Smith  was  conducted  in  safety  to  Jamestown  by  a  guard  of  twelve  men,  after 
an  absence  of  seven  weeks. 

God,  in  his  providence,  overrules  every  thing  for  good.  It  is  seen  in  this 
event,  for  Smith's  captivity  was  a  public  benefit.  He  had  acquired  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  Indian  character,  and  of  the  country  and  its  resources,  and  also  had 
formed  friendly  relations  with  the  sachems  and  chiefs.  Had  his  companions 

1  Note  5,  page  106. 

2  At  Shelly,  nearly  opposite  the  mouth  of  Queen's  Creek,  Gloucester  County,  Virginia. 
2  Page  70. 


1619.]  VIRGINIA.  67 

possessed  half  as  much  energy  and  honesty  as  Smith,  all  would  have  been  well. 
But  they  were  idle,  improvident,  and  dissolute.  As  usual,  he  found  every 
thing  in  disorder  on  his  return  from  the  forest.  Only  forty  men  were  living, 
and  a  greater  portion  of  them  were  on  the  point  of  escaping  to  the  West  Indies 
in  the  pinnace;  but  the  courage  and  energy  of  Smith  compelled  them  to  re- 
main. Conscious  of  the  purity  of  their  ruler  and  the  wickedness  of  themselves, 
they  hated  him  intensely,  and  from  that  time  they  plotted  for  his  destruction, 
or  the  overthrow  of  his  power. 

Captain  Newport  arrived  with  supplies  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  im- 
migrants, early  in  1608.  These  were  no  better  than  the  first  adventurers. 
Instead  of  agriculturalists  and  mechanics,  with  families,  they  were  idle  ' '  gentle- 
men," "packed  hither,"  as  Smith  said,  "by  their  friends,  to  escape  ill  destin- 
ies." There  were  also  several  unskillful  goldsmiths,  the  very  men  least  needed 
in  the  colony.  Some  glittering  earth  in  the  vicinity  of  Jamestown,  was  by  them 
mistaken  for  gold  ;  and  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  Smith,  the  whole  indus- 
try of  the  colony  was  directed  to  the  supposed  treasure.  i '  There  was  no  talk, 
no  hope,  no  work,  but  dig  gold,  work  gold,  refine  gold,  load  gold."  Newport 
loaded  his  vessel  with  the  worthless  earth,  and  returned  to  England,  believing 
himself  exceedingly  rich  ;  but  science  soon  pronounced  him  miserably  poor  in 
useful  knoAvledge  and  well-earned  reputation. 

The  gold-fever  had  taken  strong  hold  upon  the  indolent  dreamers,  and 
Smith  remonstrated  against  idleness  and  pleaded  for  industry,  in  vain.  He 
implored  the  settlers  to  plow  and  sow,  that  they  might  reap  and  be  happy. 
They  refused  to  listen,  and  he  turned  from  Jamestown  with  disgust.  With  a 
few  sensible  men,  he  went  to  explore  the  Chesapeake  in  an  open  boat,  and 
every  bay.  inlet,  and  creek,  received  his  attention.  He  went  up  the  Potomac 
to  the  falls  above  Washington  city ;  and  then,  after  exploring  the  shores  of  the 
Rappahannock  to  the  site  of  Fredericsburg,  he  returned  to  Jamestown.  A 
few  days  afterward  he  returned  again  to  the  Chesapeake,  carefully  explored 
each  shore  above  the  mouth  of  the  Potomac,  and  entered  the  Patapsco,  and  ate 
Indian  corn  on  the  site  of  Baltimore.  He  also  went  up  the  Susquehannah  to 
the  beautiful  vale  of  Wyoming,1  and  penetrated  the  forests  even  to  the  territory 
of  the  Five  Nations,2  and  established  friendly  relations  with  the  dusky  tribes. 
Within  three  months  he  traveled  full  three  thousand  miles.  It  was  one  of  the 
most  wonderful  of  exploring  expeditions,  considered  in  all  its  aspects,  ever  re- 
corded by  the  pen  of  history ;  and  the  map  of  the  country,  which  Smith  con- 
structed on  his  return,  is  yet  in  existence  in  England,  and  is  remarkable  for  its 
general  accuracy. 

Captain  Smith  returned  to  Jamestown  on  the  7th  of  September,  1608,  and 
three  days  afterward  he  was  formally  made  president  of  the  settlement.  New- 
port arrived  soon  afterward,  with  seventy  immigrants,  among  whom  were  two 
females,  the  first  English  women  ever  seen  upon  the  James  River.3  To  the 
soil  they  were  compelled  to  look,  chiefly,  for  their  food,  and  Smith  exerted  all 


290.  3  Page  23.  3  Page  105. 


68  SETTLEMENTS.  [1607. 

his  energies  to  turn  the  little  industry  of  the  settlers  to  agriculture.  He  suc- 
ceeded, in  a  degree,  but  he  had  poor  materials  out  of  which  to  form  a  healthy, 
self-sustaining  commonwealth.  He  wrote  to  the  Supreme  Council1  to  send  over 
a  different  class  of  men.  "I  entreat  you,"  he  said,  "rather  send  but  thirty 
carpenters,  husbandmen,  gardeners,  fishermen,  blacksmiths,  masons,  and  diggers 
of  trees'  roots,  well  provided,  than  a  thousand  such  as  we  have."  Yet,  with  all 
his  exertions,  idleness  and  improvidence  prevailed.  At  the  end  of  two  years 
from  the  first  landing  at  Jamestown,  and  when  the  settlement  numbered  two 
hundred  strong  men,  not  more  than  forty  acres  were  under  cultivation.  To  the 
Indians  the  white  people  were  compelled  to  look  for  their  chief  supply  of  food. 

The  London  Company  were  disappointed,  for  the  anticipations  of  sudden 
wealth,  in  which  they  had  indulged,  were  not  realized,  and  they  sought  and  ob- 
tained a  new  charter  [June  2,  1609],  which  gave  them  more  ample  privileges. 
The  territory  of  SOUTH  VIRGINIA-  was  extended  northward  to  the  head  of  the 
Chesapeake.  The  Supremo  Council  was  vested  with  power  to  fill  vacancies  in 
its  own  body,  and  to  appoint  a  governor  for  Virginia,  whose  rule  was  made  ab- 
solute. The  lives,  liberties,  and  property  of  the  settlers  were  at  his  disposal, 
and  they  were  compelled  to  contribute  a  certain  share  of  their  earnings  to  the 
proprietors.  Thus  they  were  mere  vassals  at  will,  under  a  petty  despotism, 
without  any  inherent  power,  then  recognized,  to  cast  off  the  yoke. 

Under  that  charter,  Lord  De  la  Warr  (Delaware),  an  enlightened  peer, 
was  appointed  governor  of  Virginia,  for  life,  and  soon  afterward  Newport  sailed 
for  America  [June  12,  1609],  with  nine  ships,  and  more  than  five  hundred 
emigrants.3  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  the  governor's  deputy,  embarked  with  New- 
port, accompanied  by  Sir  George  Somers.  Gates,  Newport,  and  Somers, 
were  commissioned  to  administer  the  government  until  the  arrival  of  Delaware. 
When  near  the  .coast,  a  hurricane  dispersed  the  fleet,  and  the  vessel  bearing  the 
commissioners  was  wrecked  on  one  of  the  Bermuda  Islands.  Seven  vessels  of 
the  squadron  reached  the  James  River  in  safety.  The  colony  would  have  been 
the  gainer  had  these  never  arrived,  for  a  greater  portion  of  the  new  immigrants 
were  more  profligate,  if  possible,  than  the  first.  They  were  dissolute  scions  of 
wealthy  families,  and  many  of  them  came  to  avoid  punishment  for  crimes  at 
home.  They  regarded  Virginia  as  a  paradise  for  libertines,  and  believed  the 
colony  to  be  without  a  head  until  the  arrival  of  the  governor  or  his  deputy. 
Smith,  on  the  contrary,  boldly  asserted  his  authority  as  president,  and  main- 
tained it  until  an  accident  in  autumn  compelled  him  to  go  to  England  for  sur- 
gical aid,4  when  he  delegated  his  authority  to  George  Percy,  brother  of  the 
duke  of  Northumberland. 

When  the  idle  and  profligate  settlers  were  released  from  the  control  of 

1  Page  64.  2  Page  63. 

3  Domestic  animals  were  now  first  taken  to  Virginia.     They  consisted  of  six  mares,  one  horse, 
six  hundred  swine,  a  few  sheep  and  goats,  and  five  hundred  domestic  fowls.     Two,  years  later  one 
hundred  cows  and  some  other  cattle  were  brought  over. 

4  "While  passing  down  the  James  River,  in  a  boat,  from  the  Falls,  Smith's  bag  of  powder  ignited, 
and  the  explosion  almost  killed  him.     His  wounds  were  so  severe  as  to  require  the  most  skillful 
surgery. 


1619.]  VIRGINIA.  (59 

Smith,  they  gave  themselves  up  to  every  irregularity  of  life.  Their  ample 
stock  of  provisions  was  rapidly  consumed.  The  Indians  had  great  respect  for 
Smith,  and  were  friendly  while  he  remained,  but  after  his  departure,  they 
openly  showed  their  contempt  for  the  English,  withheld  supplies  of  provisions, 
and  conceived  a  plan  for  the  total  extermination  of  the  white  intruders.  Fam- 
ine ensued,  and  the  winter  and  spring  of  1610  were  long  remembered  as  "the 
starving  time."  Those  who  went  to  the  cabins  of  the  Indians,  for  food,  were 
treacherously  murdered ;  and  finally  a  plan  was  matured  by  the  natives  for 
striking  a  blow  of  utter  extermination.  Again  Pocahontas  performed  the  part 
of  a  guardian  angel.1  On  a  dark  and  stormy  night  she  hastened  to  Jamestown, 
revealed  the  plot,  and  was  back  to  her  couch  before  the  dawn.  Thus,  she  saved 
the  colonists  by  placing  them  on  their  guard.  Yet  death  hovered  over  them. 
The  horrors  of  destitution  increased,  and  the  settlement  which  numbered  five 
hundred  persons  when  Smith  left,  was  reduced  to  sixty  within  six  months  after 
his  departure.  The  commissioners2  finally  arrived.  They  constructed  a  rude 
vessel  upon  the  barren  island  where  they  were  wrecked,  and  in  it  reached 
Virginia,  in  June,  1610.  Instead  of  being  greeted  by  a  flourishing  people, 
they  were  met  by  a  mere  remnant,  almost  famished.  There  appeared  no  way 
to  obtain  food,  and  Gates  determined  to  sail  immediately  for  Newfoundland,3 
and  distribute  the  immigrants  among  the  English  fishing  vessels  there.  James- 
town was  utterly  abandoned,  and  toward  Hampton  Roads4  the  dejected  settlers 
sailed  in  four  pinnaces.  Early  the  next  morning  white  sails  greeted  their 
vision.  Lord  Delaware  had  arrived  with  provisions  and  immigrants ;  and  that 
very  night,  Jamestown,  abandoned  to  pagans  in  the  morning,  was  made  vocal 
with  hymns  of  thanksgiving  to  the  true  God,  by  the  returned  settlers. 

Governor  Delaware  was  a  virtuous  and  prudent  man,  and  under  his  admin- 
istration the  colony  began  to  prosper.  Failing  health  compelled  him  to  return 
to  England  the  following  spring  [March,  1611]  ;  and  he  left  the  government 
in  the  hands  of  Percy,  Smith's  successor,  who  managed  with  prudence  until  the 
arrival  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  with  supplies.5  Dale  was  an  experienced  soldier, 
and,  assuming  the  government,  he  ruled  by  martial  law.  Early  in  September 
following,  Sir  Thomas  Gates  arrived  with  six  well-furnished  ships,  and  three 
hundred  immigrants.  With  this  arrival  came  hope  for  the  colony.  A  large 
portion  of  the  new  settlers  were  sober,  industrious  men,  and  their  arrival  gave 
great  joy  to  the  four  hundred  colonists  at  Jamestown.  Gates  assumed  the 
functions  of  governor,  and  Dale  went  up  the  river  to  plant  new  settlements  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Appomattox  and  near  the  Falls.6  And  now  a  wise  change  in 
the  domestic  policy  of  the  colony  was  made.  Hitherto  the  land  had  been 
worked  in  common,  and  the  product  of  labor  was  deposited  in  public  storehouses, 
for  the  good  of  the  community.  The  industrious  created  food  for  the  indolent, 
and  an  incentive  to  effort  was  wanting.  That  incentive  was  necessary ;  and  it 
was  found  in  the  plan  of  making  an  assignment  of  a  few  acres  of  land  to  each 

1  Page  66.  2  Page  68.  3  Page  47.  4  Note  3,  page  297. 

5  Delaware  afterward  sailed  for  -Virginia,  to  resume  the  reins  of  government,  but  died  on  the 
voyage.  G  Near  the  present  City  Point,  and  Richmond. 


70  SETTLEMENTS.  [1607. 

man,  to  be  cultivated  for  his  own  private  benefit.  This  regulation  gave  a  pow- 
erful impulse  to  industry.  Larger  assignments  were  made,  and  soon  the  com- 
munity system  was  abandoned,  and  industry  on  private  account  created  an 
ample  supply  of  food  for  all.1 

A  third  charter  was  obtained  by  the  London  Company,  on  the  22d 
of  March,  1612,  by  which  the  control  of  the  king  was  annulled.  The 
Supreme  Council  was  abolished,  and  the  whole  company,  sitting  as  a  demo- 
cratic assembly,  elected  the  officers,  and  ordained  the  laws,  for  the  colony. 
Yet  no  political  privilege  was  granted  to  the  settlers.  Their  very  exist- 
ence as  a  body  politic,  was  completely  ignored.  They  had  no  voice  in  the 
choice  of  rulers  and  the  enactment  of  lawrs.  Yet  they  were  contented  :  and  at 
the  beginning  of  1613  there  were  a  thousand  Englishmen  in  Virginia.  At 
about  this  time  an  event  occurred,  which  proved  of  permanent  benefit  to  the 
settlement.  Powhatan  had  continued  to  manifest  hostile  feelings  ever  since  the 
departure  of  Smith.  For  the  purpose  of  extorting  advantageous  terms  of  peace 
from  the  Indian  king,  Captain  Argall  (a  sort  of  buccaneer),2  bribed  an  Indian 
chief,  with  a  copper  kettle,  to  betray  the  trusting  Pocahontas  into  his  hands. 
She  was  induced  to  go  on  board  his  vessel,  where  she  was  detained  as  a  prisoner 
for  several  months,  until  Powhatan  ransomed  her.  In  the  mean  while,  a  mutual 
attachment  had  grown  up  between  the  maiden  and  John  Rolfe,  a  young  En- 
glishman of  good  family.  He  had  instructed  her  in  letters  and  religion  ;  and, 
with  the  consent  of  Powhatan,  she  received  the  rite  of  Christian  baptism,  and 
became  the  wife  of  Rolfe,  in  April,  1613.  This  union  brought  peace,  and 
Powhatan  was  ever  afterward  the  friend  of  the  English. 

Prosperity  now  smiled  upon  the  settlement,  yet  the  elements  of  a  perma- 
nent State  were  wanting.  There  were  no  families  in  Virginia,  and  all  the 
settlers  indulged  in  anticipations  of  returning  to  England,  which  they  regarded 
as  home.  Gates  went  thither  in  March,  1614,  leaving  the  administration  of 
government  with  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  who  ruled  with  wisdom  and  energy  for 
about  two  years,  and  then  departed,  after  appointing  George  Yeardley  deputy- 
governor.  During  Yeardley's  administration,  the  culture  of  the  tobacco  plant3 
was  promoted,  and  so  rapidly  did  it  gain  in  favor,  that  it  soon  became,  not  only 
the  principal  article  of  export,  but  the  currency  of  the  colony.  And  now 
[161 7 J  Argall,  the  buccaneer,  was  appointed  deputy- governor.  He  was  a  des- 
pot in  feelings  and  practice,  and  soon  disgusted  the  people.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Yeardley,  who  was  appointed  governor  in  1619 ;  and  then  dawned  the  natal 
morning  of  Virginia  as  a  Republican  State.  Yeardley  abolished  martial  law, 

1  A  similar  result  was  seen  in  the  operations  of  the  Plymouth  colony.     See  page  116. 

2  Note  7,  page  58. 

3  This  plant,  yet  very  extensively  cultivated  in  Virginia  and  the  adjoining  States,  was  fir.<=1 
discovered  by  Sir  Francis  Drake,  near  Tabaco,  in  Yucatan :  hence  its  name.     Drake  arid  Raleign 
first  introduced  it  into  England.     King  James  conceived  a  great  hatred  of  it,  and  wrote  a  treatise 
against  its  use.     He  forbade  its  cultivation  in  England,  but  could  not  prevent  its  importation  from 
Virginia,     It  became  a  very  profitable  article  of  commerce,  and  the  streets  of  Jamestown  were 
planted  with  it.     Other  agricultural  productions  were  neglected,  and  while  cargoes  of  tobacco  were 
preparing  for  England,  the  necessaries  of  life  were  wanting.     The  money  value  of  tobacco  was  about 
sixty-six  cents  a  pound. 


1619.]  NEW    YORK.  71 

released  the  planters  from  feudal  service  to  the  colony,1  and  established  repre- 
sentative government.2  The  settlement  was  divided  into  eleven  boroughs,  and 
two  representatives,  called  burgesses,  were  chosen  by  the  people  for  each. 
These,  with  the  governor  and  council,  constituted  the  colonial  government. 
The  burgesses  were  allowed  to  debate  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  good  of  the 
colony  ;  but  their  enactments  were  not  legal  until  sanctioned  by  the  company 
in  England.  The  most  important  event  of  that  year  occurred  on  the  28th  of 
June.  On  that  day,  the  first  representative  assembly  ever  convened  in  Amer- 
ica, met  at  Jamestown.  Then  and  there,  the  foundations  of  the  VIRGINIA 
commonwealth  were  laid.  The  people  now  began  to  regard  Virginia  as  their 
home,  and  "fell  to  building  houses  and  planting  corn."  Within  two  years 
afterward,  one  hundred  and  fifty  reputable  young  women  were  sent  over  to 
become  wives  to  the  planters.3  the  tribe  of  gold-seekers  and  "gentlemen"  was 
extinct,  for  ' t  it  was  not  the  will  of  God  that  the  new  State  should  be  formed 
of  such  material ;  that  such  men  should  be  the  fathers  of  a  progeny  born  on  the 
American  soil,  who  were  one  day  to  assert  American  liberty  by  their  eloquence, 
and  defend  it  by  their  valor."  4 


CHAPTER    II. 

NEW     YORK      [1G09  — 1G23]. 

IN  a  preceding  chapter,5  we  have  considered  the  discovery  and  exploration 
of  the  river,  bearing  his  name,  by  Henry  Hudson,  then  in  the  service  of  the 
Dutch  East  India  Company.  On  his  return  to  England  [Nov.  1609],  he  for- 
warded to  his  employers  in  Amsterdam,0  a  brilliant  account  of  his  discoveries  in 
America.  Jealous  of  the  maritime  enterprise  and  growing  power  of  the  Dutch, 
the  British  king  would  not  allow  Hudson  to  go  to  Holland,  fearing  he  might  be 
employed  in  making  further  discoveries,  or  in  planting  settlements  in  America. 
This  narrow  and  selfish  policy  of  James  was  of  no  avail,  for  the  ocean  pathway 
to  new  and  fertile  regions,  once  opened,  could  easily  be  traversed  by  inferior 
navigators.  This  fact  was  soon  demonstrated.  In  1610,  some  wealthy  mer- 
chants of  Amsterdam,  directors  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company.7  sent  a  ship 
from  the  Texel,  laden  with  merchandise,  to  traffic  with  the  Indians  upon  the 
Mauritius,8  as  the  present  Hudson  River  was  then  called.  Hudson's  ship  (the 
Half-Moon^  was  also  sent  hither  the  same  year  on  a  like  errand ;  and  for  three 

1  Page  68. 

2  Yeardley  found  the  people  possessed  with   an  intense  desire  for  that   freedom  which  the 
English  constitution  gave  to  every  subject  of  the  realm,  and  it  was  impossible  to  reconcile  that  feel- 
ing with  the  exercise  of  the  arbitrary  power  which  had  hitherto  prevailed.     He.  therefore,  formed 
a  plan  for  a  popular  assembly  as  similar  to  the  English  parliament  as  circumstances  would  allow. 

3  Page  105.  *  Bancroft.  5  Page  59.  6  Page  59. 
7  Note  5,  page  59.          8  g0  named,  in  honor  of  Prince  Maurice,  of  Nassau.  9  Page  59. 


72  SETTLEMENTS.  [1609. 

years  afterward,  private  enterprise  dispatched  many  vessels  from  Holland,  to 
traffic  for  furs  and  peltries.  Among  other  commanders  came  the  bold  Adrian 
Block,  the  first  navigator  of  the  dangerous  strait  in  the  East  River,  called 
Hell-Gate.  Block's  vessel  was  accidentally  burned  in  the  autumn  of  1613, 
when  he  and  his  companions  erected  some  rude  huts  for  shelter,  near  the  site 
of  the  Bowling  Green,  at  the  foot  of  Broadway,  New  York.  These  huts  formed 
the  germ  of  our  great  commercial  metropolis.  During  the  ensuing  winter 
they  constructed  a  vessel  from  the  fine  timber  which  grew  upon  Manhattan 
Island,  and  early  in  the  spring  they  sailed  up  Long  Island  Sound  on  a  voyage 
of  discovery  which  extended  to  Nahant.  Block  first  discovered  the  Connecticut 
and  Thames  Rivers,  and  penetrated  Narraganset  Bay  to  the  site  of  Provi- 
dence. 

Intent  upon  gain,  Dutch  trading  vessels  now  frequently  ascended  the  Mau- 
ritius, and  a  brisk  trade  in  furs  and  peltries  was  opened  with  the  Indian  tribes, 
almost  two  hundred  miles  from  the  ocean.  The  traders  built  a  fort  and  store- 
house upon  a  little  island  just  below  Albany,  in  1614,  which  they  called  Fort 
Nassau ;  and  nine  years  later,  Fort  Orange  was  erected  near  the  river,  a  little 
south  of  the  foot  of  the  present  State-street,  in  Albany,  on  the  site  of  Albany. 
There  is  a  doubt  about  a  fort  being  erected  on  the  southern  extremity  of  Man- 
hattan Island,  at  this  time,  as  some  chroniclers  have  asserted.  It  is  probable 
the  trading-house  erected  there  was  palisaded,  as  a  precautionary  measure,  for 
they  could  not  well  determine  the  disposition  of  the  Indians. 

On  the  llth  of  October,  1614,  a  special  charter  was  granted  to  a  company 
of  Amsterdam  merchants,  giving  them  the  monopoly  of  trade  in  the  New 
World,  from  the  latitude  of  Cape  May  to  that  of  Nova  Scotia,  for  three  years. 
The  territory  was  named  NEW  NETHERLAND,  in  the  charter,  which  title  it  held 
until  it  became  an  English  province  in  1664.1  Notwithstanding  it  was  included 
in  the  grant  of  James  to  the  Plymouth  company,2  no  territorial  jurisdiction 
being  claimed,  and  no  English  settlements  having  been  made  northward  of 
Richmond,  in  Virginia,  the  Dutch  were  not  disturbed  in  their  traffic.  The 
popular  story,  that  Argall  entered  the  Bay  of  New  York  on  his  return  from 
Acadie  in  1618,  and  made  the  Dutch  traders  promptly  surrender  the  place  to 
the  English  crown,  seems  unsusceptible  of  proof.3 

Success  attended  the  Dutch  from  the  beginning.  The  trade  in  furs  and 
peltries  became  very  lucrative,  and  the  company  made  an  unsuccessful  applica- 
tion for  a  renewal  of  their  charter.  More  extensive  operations  were  in  contem- 
plation; and  on  the  3d  of  June,  1621,  the  States  General  of  Holland4 
incorporated  the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  and  invested  it  with  almost 
regal  powers,  for  planting  settlements  in  America  from  Cape  Horn  to  New- 
foundland ;  and  in  Africa,  between  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  the  Tropic  of 
Cancer,  The  special  object  of  its  enterprise  was  New  Netherland,  and  espe- 
cially the  region  of  the  Mauritius.5  The  company  was  not  completely  organized 

1  Page  144.  2  Page  63. 

3  See  Brodhead's  "  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,"  Appendix  E,  where  the  matter  is  dis- 
cussed at  some  length.  4  Note  7,  page  59.  5  Page  71. 


1620.] 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


73 


until  the  spring  of  1623,  when  it  commenced  operations  with  vigor.  Its  first 
efforts  were  to  plant  a  permanent  colony,  and  thus  establish  a  plausible  pretext 
for  territorial  jurisdiction,  for  now  the  English  had  built  rude  cabins  on  the 
shores  of  Massachusetts  Bay.1  In  April,  1623,  thirty  families,  chiefly  Wal- 
loons (French  Protestants  who  had  fled  to  Holland),  arrived  at  Manhattan, 
under  the  charge  of  Cornelius  Jacobsen  May,  who  was  sent  to  reside  in  New 
Netherland,  as  first  director,  or  governor.  Eight  of  the  fam- 
ilies went  up  the  Mauritius  or  Hudson  River,  and  settled  at 
Albany ;  the  remainder  chose  their  place  of  abode  across  the 
channel  of  the  East  River,  and  settled  upon  lands  now  cov- 
ered by  the  eastern  portions  of  Brooklyn,  and  the  Navy 
Yard.2  Then  were  planted  the  fruitful  seeds  of  a  Dutch 
colony — then  were  laid  the  foundations  of  the  future  com- 
monwealth of  NEW  YORK.3  The  territory  was  erected  into 
a  province  and  the  armorial  distinction  of  a  count  was 
granted.4 


SEAL  OP  NEW  NETH- 
ERLAND. 


CHAPTER     III. 


MASSACHUSETTS     [1GOG— 1G20]. 

after  obtaining  their  charter,  in  1606,  the  PLYMOUTH  COMPANY5 
dispatched  an  agent  in  a  small  vessel,  with  two  captive  Indians,  to  examine 
North  Virginia.  This  vessel  was  captured  by  a  Spanish  cruiser.  Another  ves- 
sel, fitted  out  at  the  sole  expense  of  Sir  John  Popham,  and  commanded  by 
Martin  Pring,  was  sent,  and  reached  America.  Pring  confirmed  the  accounts 
of  Gosnold  and  others,0  concerning  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  New  England 
region.  The  following  year  [1607],  George  Popham7  came,  with  one  hundred 
immigrants,  and  landing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sagadahoc  or  Kennebec  [August 
21],  they  erected  there  a  small  stockade,  a  storehouse,  and  a  few  huts.  All 
but  forty-five  returned  to  England  in  the  vessels ;  those  remained,  and  named 
their  settlement  St.  George.  A  terrible  winter  ensued.  Fire  consumed  their 
store-house  and  some  of  their  provisions,  and  the  keen  frosts  and  deep  snows 

1  Pago  78. 

2  The  first  white  child  born  in  New  Netherland  was  Sarah  Rapelje,  daughter  of  one  of  the 
"Walloon  settlers.     Her  birth  occurred  on  the  7th  of  June,  1625.     She  has  a  number  of  descendants 
on  Long  Island.  3  Page  144. 

4  Several  hundred  years  ago,  there  were  large  districts  of  country  in  England,  and  on  the  con- 
tinent, governed  by  Earls,  who  were  subject  to  the  crown,  however.  These  districts  were  called 
counties,  and  the  name  is  still  retained,  even  in  the  United  States,  and  indicates  certain  judicial  and 
other  jurisdiction.  New  Netherland  was  constituted  a  county  of  Holland,  having  all  the  individual 
privileges  appertaining  to  an  earldom,  or  separate  government.  The  armorial  distinction  of  an  earl, 
or  count,  was  a  kind  of  cap,  called  coronet,  seen  over  the  shield  in  the  above  engraved  repre- 
sentation of  the  seal  of  New  Netherland.  The  figure  of  a  beaver,  on  the  shield,  is  emblematic  of 
the  Hudson  River  regions  (where  that  animal  then  abounded),  and  of  one  of  the  grand  objects  of 
settlement  there,  the  trade  in  furs.  6  Page  G3.  °  Page  58.  7  Note  2,  page  G3. 


74  SETTLEMENTS.  [1606. 

locked  the  waters  and  the  forests  against  the  fisherman  and  hunter.  Famine 
menaced  them,  but  relief  came  before  any  were  made  victims.  Of  all  the  com- 
pany, only  Popham,  their  president,  died.  Lacking  courage  to  brave  the  perils 
of  the  wilderness,  the  settlement  was  abandoned,  and  the  immigrants  went  back 
to  England  [  1608]  at  the  very  time  when  the  Frenchmen,  who  were  to  build 
Quebec,1  were  upon  the  ocean.  Traffic  with  the  Indian  tribes  was  continued, 
but  settlements  were  not  again  attempted  for  several  years.2 

Only  the  coast  of  the  extensive  country  was  seen  by  the  several  navigators 
who  visited  it.  The  vast  interior,  now  called  NEW  ENGLAND,  was  an  unknown 
land,  until  Captain  John  Smith,  with  the  mind  of  a  philosopher  and  the  courage 
of  a  hero,  came,  in  1614,  and  explored,  not  only  the  shores  but  the  rivers 
which  penetrated  the  wilderness.  Only  himself  and  four  London  merchants 
had  an  interest  in  the  expedition,  which  proved  highly  successful,  not  only  in 
discoveries,  but  in  trade.  With  only  eight  men,  Smith  examined  the  region 
between  Cape  Cod  and  the  Penobscot,  constructed  a  map  of  the  country,  and 
after  an  absence  of  less  than  seven  months,  he  returned  to  England,  and  laid  a 
report  before  Prince  Charles  (afterward  the  unfortunate  king  who  lost  his  head), 
the  heir  apparent  to  the  throne.  The  prince,  delighted  with  the  whole  account, 
confirmed  the  title  which  Smith  had  given  to  the  territory  delineated  on  the 
map,  and  it  was  named  NEW  ENGLAND.  Crime,  as  usual,  dimmed  the  luster 
of  the  discovery.  Hunt,  commander  of  one  of  the  vessels  of  the  expedition, 
kidnapped  twenty-seven  of  the  Indians,  with  Squanto,3  their  chief,  as  soon  as 
Smith  had  departed,  took  them  to  Spain  and  sold  some  of  them  into  slavery.4 
And  now,  at  various  points  from  Florida  to  Newfoundland,  men-stealers  of  dif- 
ferent nations,  had  planted  the  seeds  of  hatred  and  distrust,5  whose  fruits,  in 
after  years  were  wars,  and  complicated  troubles. 

At  the  close  of  1614,  the  Plymouth  company  employed  Smith  to  make 
further  explorations  in  America  and  to  plant  a  colony.  He  sailed  in  the  spring 
of  1615,  but  was  driven  back  by  a  tempest.  He  sailed  again  on  the  4th  of 
July  following.  His  crew  became  mutinous,  and  finally  his  vessel  was  cap- 
tured by  a  French  pirate,  and  they  were  all  taken  to  France.  Smith  escaped 
to  England,  in  an  open  boat,  and  arousing  the  sluggish  energies  of  the  Ply- 
mouth company  and  others,  they  planned  vast  schemes  of  colonization,  and  he 
was  made  admiral  for  life.  Eager  for  gains,  some  of  the  members,  joining 
with  others,  applied  for  a  new  charter.  It  was  withheld  for  a  long  time. 
Finally,  the  king  granted  a  charter  [November  3, 1620]  to  forty  of  the  wealth- 
iest and  most  powerful  men  in  the  realm,  who  assumed  the  corporate  title  of  THE 
COUNCIL  OF  PLYMOUTH,  and  superseded  the  original  PLYMOUTH  COMPANY.S 
The  vast  domain  of  more  than  a  million  of  square  miles,  lying  between  the  fortieth 
and  forty-eighth  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  westward  to  the  South  Sea,7 


1  Page  49. 

2  The  celebrated  Lord  Bacon,  and  others,  fitted  out  an  expedition  to  Newfoundland  in  1610, 
but  it  was  unsuccessful.  3  Page  114 

4  When  some  benevolent  friars  heard  of  Hunt's  intentions,  they  took  all  of  the  Indians  not  yet 
sold,  to  instruct  them  as  missionaries.     Among  them  was  Squanto. 

0  See  pages  42  and  49.  6  Page  63.  7  page  42. 


1620.]  MASSACHUSETTS.  75 

was  conveyed  to  them,  as  absolute  owners  of  the  soil.  It  was  the  finest  portion 
of  the  Continent,  and  now  embraces  the  most  flourishing  States  and  Territories 
of  our  confederacy.  This  vast  monopoly  was  unpropitious,  in  all  its  elements, 
to  the  founding  of  an  empire.  It  was  not  the  will  of  God  that  mere  speculators 
and  mercenary  adventurers  like  these  should  people  this  broad  land.  The  same 
year  when  that  great  commercial  monopoly  was  formed  [1620],  a  company  of 
devout  men  and  women  in  Holland,  who  had  been  driven  from  England  by  a 
persecuting  government,  came  to  the  wilderness  of  the  New  World,  not  to  seek 
gold  and  return,  but  to  erect  a  tabernacle,  where  they  might  worship  the  Great 
God  in  honest  simplicity  and  freedom,  and  to  plant  in  the  wilderness  the  found- 
ation of  a  commonwealth,  based  upon  truth  and  justice.  Who  were  they? 
Let  History  answer. 

Because  the  pope  of  Rome  would  not  sanction  one  of  the  most  flagrant  of 
his  social  crimes,  Henry  the  Eighth  of  England  defied  the  authority  of  the 
head  of  the  Church,1  and  by  the  Act  of  Supremacy?  Parliament  also  cast 
off  the  papal  yoke.  The  people  were  not  benefited,  for  the  king  was  pope  of 
Great  Britain,  and  they  were  his  slaves.  They  enjoyed  no  religious  freedom. 
Heresy  was  a  high  crime ;  and  expressions  of  freedom  of  thought  and  opinion 
were  not  tolerated.  The  doctrines  and  rituals  of  the  Romish  church  were 
enforced,  while  the  authority  of  the  pope  was  denied.  The  people  discovered 
that  in  exchanging  spiritual  masters,  they  had  gained  nothing,  except  that  the 
thunders  of  excommunication3  had  lost  their  effect  upon  the  public  mind,  and 
thus  one  step  toward  emancipation  was  gained.  Henry's  son,  Edward,  estab- 
lished a  more  liberal  Protestantism  in  England  [1574],  and 
soon  the  followers  of  Luther  and  Calvin4  drew  the  tangible 
line  of  doctrinal  difference  which  existed  between  them.  The 
former  retained  or  allowed  many  of  the  ceremonials  of  the 
church  of  Rome ;  the  latter  were  more  austere,  and  demanded 
extreme  simplicity  in  worship,  and  great  purity  of  life.  For 
this  they  were  called  PURITANS,  in  derision ;  a  name  which 
soon  became  honorable.  When  Parliament  established  a 
liturgy  for  the  church,  the  Puritans  refused  conformity,  for 
they  acknowledged  no  authority  but  the  Bible  in  matters  of 
religion.  They  became  a  distinct  and  influential  party  in 
the  State  [1550],  and  were  specially  commended  by  the  con- 
tinental reformers. 

1  The  vicious  king  asked  Pope  Julius  III.  to  divorce  him  from  his  queen,  Catherine  of  Arragon, 
in  order  that  he  might  marry  the  beautiful  Anne  Boleyn.     The  Pope  properly  refused  to  give  his 
sanction  to  the  crime;  and  the  licentious  monarch,  who  had  been  so  much  of  a  friend  with  the 
Roman  Pontiff  as  to  receive  the  title  of  "  Defender  of  the  Faith,"  quarreled  with  the  Pontiff,  and 
professed  Protestantism.     See  Note  14,  page  62. 

2  An  Act  of  Parliament,  adopted  in  1534,  which  declared  the  king  of  England  the  superior  head 
of  the  Church  in  that  realm,  and  made  Protestantism  the  established  religion  of  England. 

3  The  Pope  of  Rome  assumes  the  right  to  excommunicate,  or  expel  ffom  Christian  communion, 
whomsoever  he  pleases.     In  former  times,  even  kings  were  not  exempt.     An  excommunicated 
person  lost  social  caste ;  and  for  centuries  this  was  an  iron  rod  in  the  hand  of  ecclesiastics  to  keep 
the  people  in  submission  to  spiritual  authority.    Happily  for  mankind,  this  species  of  despotism  has 
lost  its  power,  and  commands  the  obedience  of  only  the  ignorant  and  enslaved. 

4  See  note  14,  page  62.     Calvin  was  the  leading  French  Reformer. 


76  SETTLEMENTS.  [1606. 

Romanism  was  re-established  in  England  in  1553,  by  Mary,  the  daughter 
and  successor  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  who  was  a  bigoted  persecutor  of  Protestants 
of  every  name.  Lutherans  and  Calvinists  were  equally  in  peril.  The  fires  of 
persecution  were  lighted,  and  the  first  Protestant  martyrs  were  consumed  at  the 
stake.1  Her  reign  was  short,  and  she  is  known  in  history  as  the  bloody  Mary. 
She  was  succeeded  by  her  half-sister,  Elizabeth,  in  1558,  who  was  a  professed 
Protestant,  and  the  flames  were  extinguished.  Elizabeth  was  no  Puritan. 
She  endeavored  to  reconcile  the  magnificent  rituals  of  the  Romish  Church  with 
the  simple  requisitions  of  the  gospel.  There  was  no  affinity,  and  trouble 
ensued.  The  Puritans,  struggling  for  power,  asserted,  in  all  its  grandeur,  the 
doctrine  of  private  judgment  in  religious  matters,  and  of  untrammeled  religious 
liberty.  From  this  high  position,  it  was  but  a  step  to  the  broad  rock  of  civil 
freedom.  The  Puritan  pulpits  became  the  pulpits  of  the  common  people,  and 
the  preachers  often  promulgated  the  doctrine,  that  the  sovereign  was  amenable 
to  public  opinion  when  fairly  expressed.  This  was  the  very  essence  of  demo- 
cratic doctrine,  and  evinced  a  boldness  hitherto  unparalleled.  The  jealousy 
and  the  fears  of  the  queen  were  aroused ;  and  after  several  years  of  effort,  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles  of  belief,  which  constitute  the  rule  of  faith  in  the  Church 
of  England,  were  confirmed  [1571]  by  an  Act  of  Parliament. 

And  now  bigotry  in  power  began  its  wicked  work.  In  1583,  a  court  of 
high  commission  was  established,  for  the  detection  and  punishment  of  Non- 
Conformists,2  with  powers  almost  as  absolute  as  the  Roman  Inquisition.  Per- 
secution began  its  work  in  earnest,  and  continued  active  for  twenty  years.  The 
Puritans  looked  to  the  accession  of  James  of  Scotland,  which  took  place  in 
1604, 3  with  hope,  but  were  disappointed.  Ho  was  the  most  contemptible  mon- 
arch that  ever  disgraced  the  chair  of  supreme  government  in  England.  A 
brilliant  English  writer4  says,.  "He  was  cunning,  covetous,  wasteful,  idle, 
drunken,  greedy,  dirty,  cowardly,  a,  great  swearer,  and  the  most  conceited  man 
on  earth."  The  pure  in  heart  could  expect  no  consideration  from  such  a  man. 
When  he  was  fairly  seated  on  tlio  English  throne,  he  said  of  the  Puritans,  "  I 
will  make  them  conform  or  I  will  liarrie  them  out  of  the  land."  There  were 
then  more  than  thirty  thousand  of  them  in  England.  During  the  first  year  of 
James's  reign,  three  hundred  of  their  ministers  were  silenced,  imprisoned,  or 
exiled.  The  long  struggle  of  the  established  church  with  the  Roman  Catholics 
on  one  hand,  and  the  Puritans  on  the  other,  was  now  decided.  It  had  been  a 
struggle  of  three  quarters  of  a  century,  not  so  much  for  toleration  as  for 
supremacy ;  and  the  Church  of  England  was  the  final  victor.  During  these 
trials,  England  lost  some  of  her  best  men.  Among  the  devout  ones  who  fled 


1  John  Rogers,  a  pious,  minister,  and  John  Hooper,  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  were  the  first  who 
suffered. 

2  This  was  the  title  of  all  those  Protestants  in  England  who  refused  to  conform  to  the  doctrines 
and  ceremonials  of  the  Established  Church,     This  name  was  first  given  in  1572.     Ninety  years 
afterward  [1G62],  2,000  ministers  of  the  Established  Church,  unwilling  to  subscribe  to  the  Thirty- 
nine  Articles,  seceded,  and  were  called  Dissenters ;  a  name  yet  applied  to  all  British  Protestants 
who  are  riot  attached  to  the  Church  of  England. 

3  Sec  note  1,  page  03.  *  Charles  Dickens. 


1620.]  MASSACHUSETTS.  77 

from  persecution,  was  the  Reverend  John  Robinson,  pastor  of  a  flock  gathered 
in  the  northern  counties.  Informed  that  there  was  "freedom  of  religion  for  all 
men  in  Holland,7'  he  fled  thither,  with  his  people,  in  1608,  and  established  a 
church  at  Leyden.  They  were  soon  joined  by  others  from  their  native  country. 
Their  purity  of  life  and  lofty  independence  commanded  the  admiration  of  the 
Dutch  ;  and  their  loyalty  to  the  country  from  which  they  had  been  driven,  was 
respected  as  a  noble  virtue.  There  they  learned  many  of  those  sound  political 
maxims  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  our  own  government ;  for  there  those 
principles  of  civil  liberty,  which  lay  almost  dormant  in  theory,  in  England, 
were  found  in  daily  practice. 

At  Leyden,  the  English  exiles  were  charmed  by  the  narratives  of  the  Dutch 
voyagers  to  America.  They  felt  that  they  had  now  no  home,  no  abiding  place 
— that  they  were  only  PILGRIMS — and  they  resolved  to  go  to  the  New  World, 
far  away  from  persecutions,  where  they  might  establish  a  colony,  with  religious 
freedom  for  its  basis.  A  deputation  went  to  England  in  1617, i  and  through  the 
influence  of  powerful  friends,2  obtained  the  consent  of  the  Plymouth  Company 
to  settle  in  North  Virginia,3  and  also  a  promise  from  the  king  that  he  would 
wink  at  their  heresy,  and  let  them  alone  in  their  new  home.  They  asked  no 
more.  Some  London  merchants  formed  a  partnership  with  them,  and  furnished 
capital  for  the  expedition.4  Captain  John  Smith, 
the  founder  of  Virginia  and  explorer  of  New  En- 
gland, offered  his  services,  but  on  account  of  his 
aristocratic  notions,  they  were  declined.  Two 
ships  (Speedwell  and  May-Flower)  were  pur- 
chased and  furnished,5  and  in  the  summer  of  1620, 
a  portion  of  the  Pilgrims  in  Holland — "the 
youngest  and  strongest" — embarked  from  Delft- 
Haven  for  England.5  Robinson  and  the  larger 
portion  of  his  flock  remained  at  Leyden  till  a  more  M \Y-FLOWER 

convenient  season,7  and  elder  Brewster  accompanied 

the  voyagers  as  their  spiritual  guide.  The  two  ships  left  Southampton, 
in  England,  on  the  5th  of  August,  1620.  The  courage  of  the  captain  and 
company  of  the  Speedwell  failed,  and  the  vessels  put  back  to  port.  The  sails 
of  the  May- Flower  were  again  spread,  in  the  harbor  of  Plymouth,  on  the  6th 


1  John  Carver  and  Robert  Cushman. 

2  Sir  Edward  Sandys  [page  105]  was  one  of  their  chief  advocates  in  England.       3  Page  G3. 

4  The  services  of  each  emigrant  were  valued  as  a  capital  of  ten  pounds,  and  belonged  to  the 
company.  All  profits  were  to  be  reserved  till  the  end  of  seven  years,  when  all  the  lands,  houses, 
and  every  production  of  their  joint  industry,  were  to  be  valued,  and  the  amount  divided  among  the 
shareholders,  according  to  their  respective  interests.  This  was  a  community  of  interest,  similar,  in 
character,  to  those  which  have  been  proposed  and  attempted  in  our  day,  under  the  respective  titles 
of  Communism,  Fourierism,  and  Socialism.  It  foiled  to  accomplish  its  intended  purpose,  and  was 
abandoned. 

6  The  Speedwell  was  a  vessel  of  60  tons;  the  May-Flower  of  180  tons. 

6  See  engraving  on  page  104.    This  is  a  copy  of  a  picture  of  The  Embarkation  of  the  Pilgrims, 
in  the  Rotunda  of  the  Federal  Capitol,  painted  by  Professor  Robert  TV.   Weir,  of  the  Military 
Academy,  at  West  Point,  New  York. 

7  Mr.  Robinson  was  never  permitted  to  see  America     Notes  3.  and  5,  page  116. 


78  SETTLEMENTS.  [1600. 

of  September,  and  forty-one  men,  most  of  them  with  families1  (one  hundred  and 
one  in  all) — the  winnowed  remnant  of  the  PILGRIMS  who  left  Delft-Haven— 
crossed  the  stormy  Atlantic.  These  were  they  who  came  to  the  New  World  to 
enjoy  liberty  of  conscience  and  freedom  of  action,  and  to  lay,  broad  and  deep,  a 
portion  of  the  foundations  of  our  happy  Republic.  After  a  boisterous  passage 
of  sixty-three  days,  thee  May-Flower  anchored  within  Cape  Cod.2  Before 
proceeding  to  the  shore,  the  PILGRIMS  agreed  upon  a  form  of  government,  and 
committed  it  to  writing.3  To  i^i  first  constitution  of  government  ever  sub- 
scribed by  a  whole  people,  the  forty-one  men  affixed  their  names,  and  then 
elected  John  Carver  to  be  their  governor.4  In  the  cabin  of  the  May-Flower 
the  first  republican  government  in  America  was  solemnly  inaugurated.  That 
vessel  thus  became  truly  the  cradle  of  liberty  in  America,  rocked  on  the  free 
waves  of  the  ocean. 

The  May-Flower  was  tossed  about  on  the  ocean  for  two  long  months,  and 
the  approach  to  land  was  a  joyful  event  for  the  settlers.  Exploring  parties 
were  sent  out,5  and  after  many  hardships,  they  selected  a  place  for  landing.  It 
was  on  the  22d  day  of  December,  1620,  that  the  PILGRIM  FATHERS  first  set 
foot  upon  a  bare  rock  on  the  bleak  coast  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  while  all 
around,  the  earth  was  covered  with  deep  snow.6  They  called  the  landing-place 


1  The  following  are  their  names:  John  Carver,  William  Bradford,  Edward  Winslow,  William 
Brewster,  Isaac  Allerton,  Captain  Miles  Standish.  John  Alden,  Samuel  Fuller,  Christopher  Martin, 
William  Mulhns,  William  White,  Richard  Warren,  John  Howland,  Stephen  Hopkins,  Kdward  Tilly, 
John  Tilly,  Peter  Brown,  Richard  Brittcridge,  George  Soule,  Richard  Clark,   Richard  Gardiner, 
Francis  Cook,  Thomas  Rogers,  Thomas  Tinker,  John  Ridgdale,  Edward  Fuller,  John  Turner,  Fran- 
cis Eaton.  James  Chilton,  John  Crackston,  John  Billington.  Moses  Fletcher,  John  Goodman,  Degory 
Priest,  Thomas  Williams,  Gilbert  Wirislow,  Edward  Margeson,  John  Allerton,  Thomas  English,  Ed- 
ward Dotey,  Edward  Leister.     Howland  was  Carver's  servant ;  Soule  was  Winslow's  servant;  and 
Dotey  and  Leister  were  servants  of  Hopkins. 

2  The  foolish  statement  has  often  been  made,  that  the  PILGRIMS  intended  to  land  at  Manhattan 
Island  (New  York),  but  the  commander  of  the  May-Flower,  having  been  bribed  by  the  Dutch  to  do 
so,  landed  them  further  east  beyond  the  Dutch  possessions.     The  story  is  a  fable.     Coppin,  the 
pilot,  had  been  on  the  coast  of  New  England  before,  and,  in  navigating  the  May-Flower,  he  only 
followed  his  old  track. 

3  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  instrument:   "  In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.     We,  whose  names 
are  underwritten,  the  loyal  subjects  of  our  dread  sovereign  lord,  king  James,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland,  king,  defender  of  the  faith,  etc.,  having  undertaken,  for  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  advancement  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  honor  of  our  king  arid  country,  a  voyage  to 
plant  the  first  colony  in  the  northern  parts  of  Virginia,  do,  by  these  presents,  solemnly  and  mutually, 
in  the  presence  of  God  and  of  one  another,  covenant  and  combine  ourselves  together  into  a  civil 
body  politic,  for  our  better  ordering  and  preservation,  and  furtherance  of  the  ends  aforesaid;  and  by 
virtue  hereof,  to  enact,  constitute,  and  frame  just  and  equal  laws,  ordinances,  acts,  constitutions, 
and  offices  from  time  to  time,  as  shall  be  thought  most  meet  and  convenient  for  the  general  good 
of  the  colony;  unto  which  wo  promise  all  due  submission  and  obedience.     In  witness  whereof  we 
have  hereto  subscribed  our  names,  at  Cape  Co*d,  the  1 1  th  of  November,  in  the  year  of  the  reign  of 
our  sovereign  Lord,  King  James  of  England,  France,  and  Ireland,  the  Eighteenth,  and  of  Scotland 
the  Fifty-fourth.     Anno  Domini,  1620." 

4  John  Carver  was  born  in  England,  went  with  Robinson  to  Holland,  and  on  the  3d  of  April, 
1621,  while  governor  of  the  Plymouth  colony,  he  died. 

6  Their  leader  was  Miles  Standish,  a  brave  soldier,  who  had  served  in  the  Netherlands.  He 
was  very  active  in  the  colony  as  military  commander-in-chief,  in  both  fighting  and  treating  with  the 
Indians,  and  is  called  "The  Hero  of  New  England.1'  He  was  a  magistrate  many  years,  and  died 
at  Duxbury,  Massachusetts,  in  1656. 

c  While  the  explorers  were  searching  for  a  landing-place,  the  wife  of  William  White,  a  bride  but 
a  short  time  before  leaving  Holland,  gave  birth  to  a  son,  "  the  first  Englishman  born  in  New  En- 
gland." They  named  him  Peregrine,  and  the  cradle  in  which  he  was  rocked  is  yet  preserved.  He 
died  in  Marshfield  in  1704. 


1680.]  NEW    HAMPSHIRE.  79 

New  Plymouth,  and  there  a  flourishing  village  is  now  spread  out.1  Dreary, 
indeed,  was  the  prospect  before  them.  Exposure  and  priva- 
tions had  prostrated  one  half  of  the  men  before  the  first  blow 
of  the  axe  had  been  struck  to  erect  a  habitation.  Faith  and 
hope  nerved  the  arms  of  the  healthy,  and  they  began  to  build. 
One  by  one  perished.  The  governor  and  his  wife  died  on 
the  3d  of  April,  1621 ;  and  on  the  first  of  that  month,  forty- 
six  of  the  one  hundred  immigrants  were  in  their  graves.  Nine- 

.1         n          .  •-     .  •  A  j.  x-  GOV.   CARVER'S 

teen  of  these  were  signers  to  the  Constitution.     At  one  time  CHAm.2 

only  seven  men  were  capable  of  assisting  the  sick.  Fortun- 
ately, the  neighboring  tribes,  weakened  by  a  pestilence,3  did  not  molest  them. 
Spring  and  summer  came.  Game  became  plenty  in  the  forest,  and  they  caught 
many  fishes  from  the  waters.  They  sowed  and  reaped,  and  soon  friends  from 
England  joined  them.4  The  settlement,  begun  with  so  much  sorrow  and  suffer- 
ing, became  permanent,  and  then  and  there  the  foundations  of  the  common- 
wealth of  MASSACHUSETTS  were  laid. 


C  IIAPTER    IV. 

NEW    HAMPSHIRE.      [1622-1680.] 

THE  enterprising  Sir  Fernando  Gorges,  who,  for  many  years,  had  been 
engaged  in  traffic  with  the  Indians  on  the  New  England  coast,  projected  a  set- 
tlement further  eastward  than  Plymouth,  and  for  that  purpose  became  associ- 
ated with  John  Mason,  a  merchant,  afterward  a  naval  commander,  and  always 
"a  man  of  action."  Mason  was  secretary  to  the  Plymouth  Council,  for  New 
England,5  and  was  well  acquainted  with  all  matters  pertaining  to  settlements  in 
the  New  World.  Gorges  and  Mason  obtained  a  grant  of  land  in  1622,  extend- 
ing from  the  Merrimac  to  the  Kennebec,  and  inland  to  the  St.  Lawrence. 
They  named  the  territory  LACONIA.  Mason  had  obtained  a  grant  the  previous 
year,  extending  from  Salem  to  the  mouth  of  the  Merrimac,  which  he  had  named 
MARIANA.  The  same  year,  a  colony  of  fishermen,  under  David  Thompson, 
seated  themselves  at  Little  Harbor,  on  the  Piscataqua  River,  just  below  Ports- 
mouth. Another  party,  under  two  brothers  named  Hilton,  London  fishmong- 
ers, commenced  a  settlement,  in  1623,  a  few  miles  above,  at  Dover ;  but  these 
were  only  fishing  stations,  and  did  not  flourish. 


1  "Plymouth  Rock"  is  famous.     It  is  now  [1856]  in  two  pieces.     One  part  remains  in  its  orig- 
inal position  at  Hedge's  Wharf,  Plymouth;  the  other  is  in  the  center  of  the  town,  surrounded  by  an 
iron  railing.     It  was  dragged  thither,  in  1774,  by  twenty  yoke  of  oxen,  and  over  it  the  Whigs  [note 
4,  page  226]  erected  a  liberty-pole. 

2  This  was  the  throne  upon  which  sat  the  first  Christian  monarch  of  New  England.     Governor 
Carver  was  at  the  head  of  a  new  State,  and,  as  chief  magistrate,  held  the  same  relative  position  as 
king  James  of  England,  whose  seat  was  richly  ornamented  and  covered  with  a  canopy  of  silk  and 
gold.  3  Page  114.  4  Page  115.  6  Page  74. 


80  SETTLEMENTS.  [1634. 

In  the  year  1629,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wheelwright  (a  brother-in-law  of  the  cele- 
brated Anne  Hutchinson,  who  was  banished  from  the  Massachusetts  colony  on 
a  charge  of  sedition,  in  1637)  purchased  from  the  Indians  the  wilderness  be- 
tween the  Merrimac  and  the  Piscataqua,  and  founded  Exeter.  The  same  year 
Mason  obtained  from  Gorges  exclusive  ownership  of  that  same  portion  of  LA- 
CONIA.  He  named  the  domain  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  and  in  1631  built  a  house 
upon  the  site  of  Portsmouth,  the  name  which  he  gave  to  the  spot.1  Other  set- 
tlements upon  the  Piscataqua,  and  along  the  present  coast  of  Maine,  as  far  as 
Portland,  were  attempted.  At  the  latter  place  a  company  had  a  grant  of  land 
forty  miles  square,  and  formed  an  agricultural  settlement  in  1631,  called 
LiGONiA.2  Pemaquid  Point  was  another  settlement,  which  remained  an  inde- 
pendent community  for  almost  forty  years.  Trading  houses  were  established 
as  far  east  as  Machias,  but  they  were  broken  up  by  the  French,  and  the  west- 
ern limits  of  Acadie  were  fixed  at  Pemaquid  Point,  about  half  way  from 
the  Penobscot  to  the  Kennebec.  The  several  feeble  and  scattered  settlements 
in  New  Hampshire  formed  a  coalition  with  the  flourishing  Massachusetts  colony 
in  1641,  and  remained  dependencies  of  that  province  until  1680,  when  they 
were  separated  by  order  of  the  king,  and  New  Hampshire  became  a  royal  prov- 
ince. Its  first  government  consisted  of  a  governor  and  council  appointed  by 
the  king,  and  a  house  of  representatives  elected  by  the  people.  Then  was 
founded  the  commonwealth  of  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


CHAPTER   Y. 

MARYLAND.       [1634] 

A  LARGE  portion  of  the  American  colonies  were  the  fruitful  growth  of  the 
seeds  of  civil  liberty,  wafted  hither  by  the  fierce  gales  of  oppression  in  some 


1  Mason  had  been  governor  of  Portsmouth,  in  Hampshire  County,  England,  and  these  names 
were  given  in  memory  of  his  former  residence. 

2  The  people  of  these  eastern  settlements,  which  formed  the  basis  of  the  present  commonwealth 
of  MAINE,  did  not  like  the  government  attempted  to  be  established  by  the  proprietor,  and,  taking 
political  power  into  their  own  hands,  placed  themselves  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts  in 
1652.     The  territory  was  erected  into  a  county,  and  called  Yorkshire.     In  1621,  king  James,  as 
sovereign  of  Scotland,  placed  the  Scottish  seal*  to  a  charter  granting  to  Sir  William  Alexander,  after- 
ward [1633]  earl  of  Stirling,  the  whole  territory  eastward  of  the  State  of  Maine,  under  the  title  of 
Nova  Scotia,  or  New  Scotland.    The  French  had  already  occupied  places  along  the  coast,  and  called 
the  country  Acadie.     The  Scotch  proprietor  never  attempted  settlements,  either  in  this  territory  or  in 
Canada  which  Charles  the  First  had  granted  to  him,  and  the  whole  country  had  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  French,  by  treaty.     The  earl  died  in  1640,  and  all  connection  of  his  family  with  Nova  Scotia 
ceased.     His  title  was  held  afterward  by  four  successors,  the  last  of  whom  died  in  1739.     In  1759, 
William  Alexander  (General  Lord  Stirling  during  our  War  for  Independence)  made  an  unsuccessful 
claim  to  the  title.     The  next  claimant  was  Alexander  Humphrey,  who  commenced  operations  in 
the  Scottish  courts  in  1815,  and  by  forgeries  and  frauds  was  partially  successful.     The  whole  was 
exposed  in  1833.     Humphrey  was  in  this  country  in  1852,  pressing  his  claims  to  the  monopoly  of 
the  Eastern  Fisheries,  by  virtue  of  the  grants  of  kings  Jarnes  and  Charles  more  than  two  hundred 
years  ago! 


1634.]  MARYLAND.  81 

form.  Maryland,  occupying  a  space  between  North  and  South  Virginia,1  was 
first  settled  by  persecuted  Roman  Catholics  from  England  and  Ireland.  While 
king  James  worried  the  Puritans  on  one  hand,  for  non-conformity.2  the  Roman 
Catholics,  at  the  other  end  of  the  religious  scale,  were  subjected  to  even  more 
severe  penalties.  As  the  Puritans  increased  in  numbers  and  influence,  their 
cry  against  the  Roman  Catholics  grew  louder  and  fiercer ;  and,  while  defend- 
ing themselves  from  persecution  with  one  hand,  they  were  inflicting  as  severe  a 
lash  upon  the  Romanists  with  the  other.  Thus  subjected  to  twofold  opposition, 
the  condition  of  the  Roman  Catholics  became  deplorable,  and,  in  common  with 
other  sufferers  for  opinion's  sake,  their  eyes  were  turned  toward  free  America. 
Among  the  most  influential  professors  of  Catholicism  was  George  Calvert,  an 
active  member  of  the  London  Company,3  and  Secretary  of  State  at  the  time 
when  the  PILGRIMS'  were  preparing  to  emigrate  to  America.  He  was  so  much 
more  loyal  in  action  to  his  sovereign  than  to  his  faith,  that  he  did  not  lose  the 
king's  favor,  although  frankly  professing  to  be  a  Roman  Catholic ;  and  for  his 
services  he  was  created  an  Irish  peer  in  1621,  with  the  title  of  Lord  Baltimore. 
He  also  obtained  from  James,  a  grant  [1622]  to  plant  a  Roman  Catholic  colony 
on  a  portion  of  Newfoundland.  He  called  the  territory  AVALOX,  but  his  scheme 
was  not  successful.  The  barren  soil,  and  French  aggressors  from  Acadie.  were 
too  much  for  the  industry  and  courage  of  his  colonists,  and  the  settlement  was 
abandoned. 

Foiled  in  his  projects  in  the  east,  Lord  Baltimore  went  to  Virginia  in  1628, 
with  a  view  of  establishing  a  colony  of  his  brethren  there.  But  he  found  the 
Virginians  as  intolerant  as  the  crown  or  the  Puritans,  and  he  turned  his  back 
upon  their  narrow  prejudices,  and  went  to  examine  the  beautiful,  unoccupied 
region  beyond  the  Potomac.  He  was  pleased  with  the  country,  and  applied  for 
a  charter  to  establish  a  colony  there.  The  London  Company  was  now  dis- 
solved,5 and  the  soil  had  become  the  property  of  the  monarch.  King  Charles 
the  First,  then  on  the  throne,  readily  granted  a  charter,  but  before  it  was  com- 
pleted, Lord  Baltimore  died.  This  event  occurred  on  the  25th  of  April,  1632, 
and  on  the  20th  of  June  following,  the  patent  was  issued  to  Cecil,  his  son  and 
heir.  In  honor  of  the  queen,  Henrietta  Maria,6  the 
province  was  called  MARYLAND.  The  territory  de- 
fined in  the  charter  extended  along  each  side  of 
Chesapeake  Bay,  from  the  30th  to  the  45th  degree 
of  north  latitude,  its  western  line  being  the  waters  of 
the  Potomac. 

It  is  believed  that  the  Maryland  charter  was 
drawn  by  the  first  Lord  Baltimore's  own  hand.  It 
was  the  most  liberal  one  yet  granted  by  an  English 
monarch,  both  in  respect  of  the  proprietor  and  the 
settlers.  The  government  of  the  province  was  inde-  CECIL>  SECOXD  LORD  BALTIMORE- 


1  Page  63.  2  Note  2,  page  76.  3  Page  63.  4  Page  77.  5  Page  107. 

6  She  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  sister  of  Louis  the  Thirteenth  of  France. 


G 


82  SETTLEMENTS.  [1632. 

pendent  of  the  crown,  and  equality  in  religious  rights  and  civil  freedom  was 
secured  to  every  Christian  sect.  Unitarians,  or  those  who  denied  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity,  as  well  as  all  unbelievers  in  Divine  revelation,  were  not  covered 
by  this  mantle  of  toleration.  The  king  had  no  power  to  levy  the  smallest  tax 
upon  the  colonists,  and  all  laws  were  invalid  until  sanctioned  by  a  majority  of 
the  freemen,  or  their  deputies.  Under  such  a  wise  and  liberal  charter  the 
colony,  when  planted,  flourished  remarkably,  for  those  persecuted  by  the 
Puritans  in  New  England,  and  the  Churchmen  in  Virginia,  there  sought 
refuge,  and  found  peace. 

Emigration  to  Maryland  commenced  in  1633.  The  first  company,  mostly 
Roman  Catholics,  sailed  for  America  on  the  2d  of  December  of  that  year, 
under  Leonard  Calvert,  brother  of  the  proprietor,  and  appointed  governor  of 
the  province.  They  arrived  in  March,  1634,  and  after  sailing  up  the  Potomac, 
as  far  as  Mount  Vernon,  they  descended  the  stream,  almost  to  its  mouth. 
They  landed  upon  an  estuary  of  the  Chesapeake,  purchased  an  Indian  village, 
and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  town  [April,  1634 J,  which  they  named  St.  Mary.1 
The  honesty  of  Calvert,  in  paying  for  the  land,  secured  the  good  will  of  the 
Indians  ;  and,  unlike  the  first  settlers  of  most  of  the  other  colonies,  they  experi- 
enced no  sufferings  from  want,  or  the  hostilities  of  the  Aboriginals. 

Popular  government  was  first  organized  in  Maryland  on  the  8th  of  March, 
1635,  when  the  first  legislative  assembly  was  convened  at  St.  Mary.  Every 
freeman  being  allowed  to  vote,  it  was  a  purely  democratic  legislature.  As  the 
number  of  colonists  increased,  this  method  of  making  laws  was  found  to  be  in- 
convenient, and  in  1639,  a  representative  government  was  established,  the 
people  being  allowed  to  send  as  many  delegates  as  they  pleased.  The  first  rep- 
resentative assembly  made  a  declaration  of  rights,  defined  the  powers  of  the 
proprietor,  and  took  measures  to  secure  to  the  colonists  all  the  civil  liberties 
enjoyed  by  the  people  of  Old  England.  Then  was  founded  the  commonwealth 
of  MARYLAND. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

CONNECTICUT.     [1G32— 1639.] 

ADRIAN  BLOCK, 2  the  Dutch  navigator,  discovered  and  explored  the  Con- 
necticut River,  as  far  as  the  site  of  Hartford,  in  1614,  and  named  it  Versche, 


1  Trading  posts  were  established  a  little  earlier  than  this,  within  the  Maryland  province.  In 
1631,  William  Clayborne  obtained  a  license  from  the  king  to  traffic  with  the  Indians ;  and  when 
Calvert  and  his  company  came,  he  had  two  settlements,  one  on  Kent  Island,  nearly  opposite  An- 
napolis, and  another  at  the  present  Havre  de  Grace,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Susquehannah.  He  refused 
to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  Baltimore,  and  trouble  ensued.  He  collected  his  people  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  Maryland  in  1635,  with  a  determination  to  defend  his  claims  by  force  of  arms;  and 
in  May  quite  a  severe  skirmish  ensued  between  his  forces  and  those  of  the  colonists.  Clayborne's 
men  were  taken  prisoners,  and  he  fled  to  Virginia.  He  was  declared  guilty  of  treason,  and  sent  to 
England  for  trial.  His  estates  were  forfeited ;  but,  being  acquitted  of  the  charge,  he  returned  to 
Maryland  and  incited  a  rebellion.  See  page  151.  2  Page  72. 


HOOKER'S  EMIGRATION  TO  CONNECTICUT. 


1639.]  CONNECTICUT.  85 

or  Fresh  Water  River.1  Soon  afterward  Dutch  traders  were  upon  its  banks, 
and  might  have  carried  on  a  peaceful  and  profitable  traffic  with  the  Indians,  had 
honor  and  honesty  marked  their  course.  But  the  avaricious  agent  of  the  Dutch, 
imprisoned  an  Indian  chief  on  board  his  vessel,  and  would  not  release  him  until 
one  hundred  and  forty  fathoms  of  wampum2  had  been  paid.  The  exasperated 
Indians  menaced  the  traders,  and  near  the  site  of  Hartford,  at  a  place  yet  known 
as  Dutch  Point,  the  latter  commenced  the  erection  of  a  fort.  The  Indians  were 
finally  conciliated,  and,  at  their  request,  the  fort  was  abandoned  for  awhile. 

A  friendly  intercourse  was  opened  between  the  Dutch  of  New  Netherland 
and  the  Puritans  in  1627. 3  With  the  guise  of  friendship,  but  really  for  the 
purpose  of  strengthening  the  claims  of  the  Dutch  to  the  Connecticut  valley,  by 
having  an  English  settlement  there  under  the  jurisdiction  of  New  Netherland, 
Governor  Minuit1  advised  the  Puritans  to  leave  the  barren  land  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  and  settle  in  the  fertile  region  of  the  Fresh  Water  River.  In  1631,  a 
Mohegan  chief,  then  at  war  with  the  powerful  Pequocls,5  desirous  of  having  a 
strong  barrier  between  himself  and  his  foes,  urged  the  English  to  come  and 
settle  in  the  Connecticut  valley.  The  Puritans  clearly  perceived  the  selfish 
policy  of  both  parties,  and  hesitated  to  leave.  The  following  year  [1632], 
however,  Governor  Winslow,  of  the  Plymouth  colony,0  visited  that  fertile  region, 
and,  delighted  with  its  appearance,  resolved  to  promote  emigration  thither. 
In  the  mean  while,  the  Council  of  Plymouth7  had  granted  the  soil  of  Connecticut 
[1630]  to  the  Earl  of  Warwicke,  who,  in  1631,  transferred  his  interest  to  Lord 
Say-and-Seal,  Lord  Brooke,  John  Hampden,  and  others.  The  eastern  bound- 
ary of  the  territory  was  "  Narraganset  River,"  and  the  western  (like  all  other 
charters  at  that  time)  was  the  South  Sea,  or  Pacific  Ocean.8  The  Dutch 
became  apprised  of  these  movements  of  the  English  ;  and  perceiving  no  advan- 
tage (but  detriment)  to  themselves,  they  purchased  of  the  Indians  the  land  at 
Hartford  and  vicinity,  completed  their  fort,  and  placed  two  cannons  upon  it,  in 
1633,  with  the  intention  of  preventing  the  English  ascending  the  river. 

Although  the  Plymouth  people  were  aware  of  the  preparations  made  by 
the  Dutch,  to  defend  their  claim,  they  did  not  hesitate,  and  in  October,  1633, 
Captain  William  Holmes  and  a  chosen  company  arrived  in  the  Connecticut 
River,  in  a  sloop.  Holmes  bore  a  commission  from  Governor  Winslow  to  make 
a  settlement,  and  brought  with  him  the  frame  of  a  house.  When  he  approached 
the  Dutch  fort,  the  commander  menaced  him  with  destruction  if  he  attempted 
to  pass  it.  Holmes  was  not  intimidated,  and  sailing  by  unhurt,  he  landed  at 
the  site  of  Windsor,  and  there  erected  his  house.  Seventy  men  were  sent  by 
the  Dutch  the  following  year,  to  drive  him  from  the  country.  They  were  kept 
at  bay,  and  finally  a  parley  resulted  in  peaceful  relations.9  Holmes's  colony 
nourished,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1635,  a  party  of  sixty  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, from  the  Puritan  settlements,  commenced  a  journey  through  the  wilder- 


1  Connecticut  is  the  English  orthography  of  the  Indian  word  Quon-eh-ta-cut,  which  signifies  "the 
long  river."  2  Probably  about  four  hundred  dollars.     See  note  2,  page  13. 

3  Page  75.  4  Page  139.  6  Page  21.  G  Page  79. 

7  Page  74.  8  Page  42.  9  See'  note  ?,  page  142. 


86  SETTLEMENTS.  [1632. 

ness  [Oct.  25]  to  join  him.  With  their  cattle,1  they  made  their  slow  and  dreary 
way  a  hundred  miles  through  dark  forests  and  dismal  swamps ;  and  when  they 
arrived  upon  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut  [Nov.  25],  the  ground  was  covered 
with  deep  snow,  and  the  river  was  frozen.  It  was  a  winter  of  great  trial  for 
them.  Many  cattle  perished.2  A  vessel  bearing  food  for  the  colony  was  lost 
on  the  coast,  and  the  settlers  were  compelled  to  subsist  upon  acorns,  and  scanty 
supplies  of  Indian  corn  from  the  natives.  Many  of  them  made  their  way  to  the 
fort,  then  just  erected  at  Saybrook,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  returned 
to  Boston  by  water.  Spring  opened,  and  the  necessities  of 
those  who  remained  were  supplied.  They  erected  a  small 
house  for  worship  on  the  site  of  Hartford,  and  in  April, 
1686,  the  first  court,  or  organized  government  was  held 
there.  At  about  the  time  when  this  company  departed,  a 
son  of  Governor  Winthrop,3  of  Massachusetts,  Hugh  Peters, 
and  Henry  Vane,  arrived  at  Boston  from  England,  as  com- 
FIKST  MEETING-HOUSE,  missionei's  for  the  proprietors  of  Connecticut,  with  instruc- 
tions to  build  a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  that  name, 
and  to  plant  a  colony  there.  The  fort  was  speedily  built,  and  the  settlement 
was  named  Saybrook,  in  honor  of  the  two  peers  named  in  the  charter.4 

Another  migration  of  Puritans  to  the  Connecticut  valley,  more  important, 
and  with  better  results,  now  took  place.  In  June,  1636,  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker, 
the  "light  of  the  western  churches,"5  with  other  ministers,  their  families,  and 
flocks,  in  all  about  one  hundred,  left  the  vicinity  of  Boston  for  the  new  land 
of  promise.  It  was  a  toilsome  journey  through  the  swamps  and  forests.  They 
subsisted  upon  berries  and  the  milk  of  their  cows  which  they  took  with  them, 
and  on  the  4th  of  July,  they  stood  upon  the  beautiful  banks  of  the  Connecticut. 
On  the  9th,  Mr.  Hooker  preached  and  administered  the  communion  in  the  little 
meeting-house  at  Hartford,  and  there  a  great  portion  of  the  company  settled. 
Some  chose  Wethersfield  for  a  residence ;  and  others,  from  Roxbury,  went  up 
the  river  twenty  miles,  and  settled  at  Springfield.  There  were  now  five  dis- 
tinct English  settlements  upon  the  Connecticut  River,  yet  they  were  scattered 
and  weak. 

Clouds  soon  appeared  in  the  morning  sky,  and  the  settlers  in  the  Connecti- 
cut valley  perceived  the  gathering  of  a  fearful  storm.  The  powerful  Pequod 
Indians6  became  jealous  of  the  white  people,  because  they  appeared  to  be  the 
friends  of  their  enemies,  the  Mohegans  on  the  west,  and  of  their  more  powerful 
foes,  the  Narragansetts,  on  the  east.  They  first  commenced  petty  annoyances ; 
then  kidnapped  children,  murdered  men  in  the  forests,  and  attacked  families  on 


1  This  was  the  first  introduction  of  cattle  into  Connecticut. 

2  The  loss  in  cattle  was  estimated  at  about  one  thousand  dollars. 

3  Page  117.  4  Page  85. 

5  Thomas  Hooker  was  a  native  of  Leicestershire,  England,  where  he  was  born  in  1586.  He 
was  silenced,  because  of  his  non-conformity,  in  1630,  when  he  left  the  ministry,  and  founded  a 
grammar  school  at  Cambridge.  He  was  compelled  to  flee  to  Holland,  from  whence  he  came  to 
America  with  Mr.  Cotton,  in  1633.  He  was  a  man  of  great  benevolence,  and  was  eminently  use- 
ful. He  died  in  July,  1647,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one  years.  6  Page  21. 


1639.]  CONNECTICUT.  37 

the  outskirts  of  the  settlement  at  Saybrook.  Their  allies  of  Block  Island1  cap- 
tured a  Massachusetts  trading  vessel,  killed  the  captain2  [July,  1636],  and 
plundered  her.  The  Puritans  in  the  east  were  alarmed  and  indignant,  and  an 
inefficient  expedition  from  Boston  and  vicinity  penetrated  the  Pequod  country. 
It  did  more  harm  than  good,  for  it  resulted  only  in  increasing  the  hatred  and 
hostility  of  the  savages.  The  Pequods  became  bolder,  and  finally  sought  an 
alliance  with  their  enemies,  the  Narragansetts,  in  an  effort  to  exterminate  the 
white  people.  At  this  critical  moment  a  deliverer  appeared  when  least  expected. 
Roger  Williams,  who  for  his  tolerant  opinions  had  been  banished  from 
Massachusetts,3  was  now  a  friendly  resident  in  the  country  of  the  Narragan- 
setts. and  heard  of  the  proposed  alliance.  Forgetting  the  many  injuries  he  had 
received,  he  warned  the  doomed  people  of  the  Bay  colony,  of  impending  danger. 
At  the  risk  of  his  own  life,  he  descended  Narraganset  Bay  in  an  open  canoe, 
on  a  stormy  day,  and  visited  Miantonomoh,  the  renowned  sachem,  at  his 
seat  near  Newport,  while  the  Pequod  embassadors  were  there  in  council.  The 
latter  menaced  Williams  with  death ;  yet  that  good  man  remained  there  three 
days,  and  effectually  prevented  the  alliance.4  And  more — he  induced  the  Nar- 
ragansetts  to  renew  hostilities  with  the  Pequods.  By  this  generous  service  the 
infant  settlements  were  saved  from  destruction. 

Although  foiled  in  their  attempt  at  alliance,  the  Pequods  were  not  dis- 
heartened. During  the  ensuing  winter  they  continued  their  murderous  depre- 
dations. In  the  spring,  the  authorities  of  the  English  settlements  on  the 
Connecticut  declared  war  against  the  Pequods  [May,  1687],  and  the  Massachu- 
setts and  Plymouth  colonies  agreed  to  aid  them.  Soon,  Captain  Mason,  who 
Was  in  command  of  the  fort  at  Saybrook,5  and  Captain  John  Underbill,  a  brave 
and  restless  man,  sailed  in  some  pinnaces,  with  about  eighty  white  men  and 
seventy  Mohegan  Indians  under  Uncas,6  for  Narraganset  Bay.  There  Mian- 
tonomoh, with  two  hundred  warriors,  joined  them,  and  they  marched  for  the 
Pequod  country.  Their  ranks  were  swollen  by  the  brave  Niantics  and  others, 
until  five  hundred  "bowmen  and  spearmen"  were  in  the  train  of  Captains 
Mason  and  Underbill. 

The  chief  sachem  of  the  Pequods,  was  Sassacus,  a  fierce  warrior,  and  the 
terror  of  the  New  England  tribes.7  He  could  summon  almost  two  thousand 
warriors  to  the  field ;  and  feeling  confident  in  his  strength,  he  was  not  properly 
vigilant.  His  chief  fort  and  village  on  the  Mystic  River,  eight  miles  north- 
east of  New  London,  was  surprised  at  dawn  the  5th  of  June,  1637,  and 
before  sun-rise,  more  than  six  hundred  men,  women,  and  children,  perished  by 
fire  and  sword.  Only  seven  escaped  to  spread  the  dreadful  intelligence  abroad, 
and  arouse  the  surviving  warriors.  The  Narragansetts  turned  homeward,  and 
the  English,  aware  of  great  peril,  pressed  forward  to  Groton  on  the  Thames, 


1  This  island,  which  lies  nearly  south  from  the  eastern  border  of  Connecticut,  was  visited  by 
Adrian  Block,  the  Dutch  navigator,  and  was  called  by  his  name.     At  the  time  in  question,  it  was 
thickly  populated  with  fierce  Indians. 

2  John  Oldham,  the  first  overland  explorer  of  the  Connecticut  Paver.  3  Page  89. 
4  Page  91.                            5  Page  85.                             6  Page  21.                             7  Page  22. 


88  SETTLEMENTS.  [1632. 

and  there  embarked  for  Saybrook.  They  had  lost  only  two  killed,  and  less 
than  twenty  wounded. 

The  brave  Sassacus  had  hardly  recovered  from  this  shock,  when  almost  a 
hundred  armed  settlers,  from  Massachusetts,  under  Captain  Stoughton,  arrived 
at  Saybrook.  The  terrified  Pequods  made  no  resistance,  but  fled  in  dismay 
toward  the  wilderness  westward,  hotly  pursued  by  the  English.  Terrible  was 
the  destruction  in  the  path  of  the  pursuers.  Throughout  the  beautiful  country 
on  Long  Island  Sound,  from  Saybrook  to  New  Haven,  wigwams  and  cornfields 
were  destroyed,  and  helpless  wromen  and  children  were  slain.  With  Sassacus 
at  their  head,  the  Indians  flew  like  deer  before  the  hounds,  and  finally  took 
shelter  in  Sasco  swamp,  near  Fairfield,  where,  after  a  severe  battle,  they  all 
surrendered,  except  Sassacus  and  a  few  followers.  These  fled  to  the  Mohawks,1 
where  the  sachem  was  treacherously  murdered,  and  his  people  were  sold  into 
slavery,  or  incorporated  with  other  tribes.  The  blow  was  one  of  extermination, 
relentless  and  cruel.  tl  There  did  not  remain  a  sannup  or  squaw,  a  warrior  or 
child  of  the  Pequod  name.  A  nation  had  disappeared  in  a  day."  The  New 
England  tribes'  were  filled  with  awe,  and  for  forty  years  the  colonists  were 
unmolested  by  them. 

With  the  return  of  peace,  the  spirit  of  adventure  revived.  In  the  summer 
of  1637,  John  Davenport,  an  eminent  non-conformist3  minister  of  London,  with 
Theophilus  Eaton  and  Edward  Hopkins,  rich  merchants  who  represented  a 
wealthy  company,  arrived  at  Boston.  They  were  cordially  received,  and 
urgently  solicited  to  settle  in  that  colony.  The  Hutchinson  controversy4  was 
then  at  its  height ;  and  perceiving  the  religious  agitations  of  the  people,  they 
resolved  to  found  a  settlement  in  the  wilderness.  The  sagacious  Puritans, 
while  pursuing  the  Pequods,  had  discovered  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the 
country  along  the  Sound  from  the  Connecticut  to  Fairfield,  and  Davenport  and 
his  companions  heard  their  report  with  joy.  Eaton  and  a  few  others  explored 
the  coast  in  autumn,  and  erecting  a  hut6  near  the  Quinipiac  Creek  (the  site  of 
New  Haven),  they  passed  the  winter  there,  and  selected  it  for  a  settlement. 
In  the  spring  [April  13,  1638]  Davenport  and  others  followed,  and  under  a 
wide-spreading  oak,0  the  good  minister  preached  his  first  sermon.  They  pur- 
chased the  lands  at  Quinipiac  of  the  Indians,  and,  taking  the  Bible  for  their 
guide,  they  formed  an  independent  government,  or  "  plantation  covenant, "  upon 
strictly  religious  principles.  Prosperity  blessed  them,  and  they  laid  the  found- 
ations of  a  city,  and  called  it  NEW  HAVEX.  The  following  year,  the  settlers 
at  Windsor,  Hartford,  and  Wethersfield,  met  in  convention  at  Hartford  [Jan- 
uary 24,  1639],  and  adopted  a  written  constitution,  which  contained  very  liberal 
provisions.  It  ordained  that  the  governor  and  legislature  should  be  elected 
annually,  by  the  people,  and  they  were  required  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  commonwealth,  and  not  to  the  king.  The  General  Assembly,  alone, 


1  Page  23.  2  Page  22.  3  Note  2,  page  76.  4  Page  120. 

5  On  the  corner  of  Church  and  G-eorge-streets,  New  Haven. 

6  At  the  intersection  of  George  and  College-streets,  New  Haven. 


1636.]  RHODE     ISLAND.  89 

could  make  or  repeal  laws ;  and  in  every  matter  the  voice  of  the  people  was 
heard.  This  was  termed  the  CONNECTICUT  COLONY  ;  and,  notwithstanding  it 
and  the  New  Haven  colony  were  not  united  until  1665,  now  was  laid  the  found- 
ation of  the  commonwealth  of  CONNECTICUT,  which  was  governed  by  the 
Hartford  Constitution  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

RHODE     ISLAND.        [1  G  3  G— 1  G  4  3 .] 

THE  seed  of  the  Rhode  Island  commonwealth  was  planted  by  brave  hands, 
made  strong  by  persecution.  The  first  settler  in  Rhode  Island  was  William 
Blackstone,  a  non-conformist  minister,1  who  was  also  the  first  resident  upon  the 
peninsula  of  Shawmut,  where  Boston  now  stands.2  Not  liking  the  "  lords 
brethren"  in  Massachusetts  any  more  than  the  "lords  bishops"  of  England, 
from  whose  frowns  he  had  fled,  he  withdrew  to  the  wilderness,  and  dwelt  high 
up  on  the  Seekonk  or  Pawtucket  River,  which  portion  of  the  stream  still  bears 
his  name.  There  he  planted,  and  called  the  place  Rehoboth.3  Although  he 
was  the  first  settler,  Blackstone  was  not  the  founder  of  Rhode  Island.  He 
always  held  allegiance  to  Massachusetts,  and  did  not  aspire  to  a  higher  dignity 
than  that  of  an  exile  for  conscience'  sake. 

Roger  Williams,  an  ardent  young  minister  at  Salem,4  became  the  instru- 
ment of  establishing  the  foundations  of  a  new  commonwealth  in  the  wilderness. 
When  he  was  banished  from  Massachusetts,  toward  the  close  of  1635, 5  he 
crossed  the  borders  of  civilization,  and  found  liberty  and  toleration  among  the 
heathen.  After  his  sentence,6  his  bigoted  persecutors  began  to  dread  the  influ- 
ence of  his  enlightened  principles,  if  he  should  plant  a  settlement  beyond  the 
limits  of  existing  colonies,  and  they  resolved  to  detain  him.  Informed  of 
their  scheme,  he  withdrew  from  Salem  in  the  dead  of  winter  [Jan.,  1636],  and 
through  deep  snows  he  traversed  the  forests  alone,  for  fourteen  weeks,  sheltered 
only  by  the  rude  wigwam  of  the  Indian,  until  he  found  the  hospitable  cabin7  of 

1  Note  2,  page  76.  2  Page  118. 

3  Room.     The  name  was  significant  of  his  aim — he  wanted  room  outside  of  the  narrow  confines 
of  what  he  deemed  Puritan  intolerance. 

4  Roger  Williams  was  born  in  Wales,  in  1599,  and  was  educated  at  Oxford.    Persecution  drove 
him  to  America  in  1G31,  when  he  was  chosen  assistant  minister  at  Salem.     His  extreme  toleration 
did  not  find  there  a  genial  atmosphere,  and  he  went  to  Plymouth.     There,  too,  he  was  regarded 
with  suspicion.     He  returned  to  Salem  in  1634,  formed  a  separate  congregation,  and  in  1635,  the 
general  court  of  Massachusetts  passed  sentence  of  banishment  against  him.     He  labored  zealously 
in  founding  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island,  and  had  no  difficulty  with  any  people  who  came  there, 
except  the  Quakers.     He  died  at  Providence,  in  April,  1683,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years. 

6  Page  119. 

8  Williams  was  allowed  six  weeks  after  the  pronunciation  of  his  sentence  to  prepare  for  his 
departure. 

Massasoit  had  become  acquainted  with  the  manner  of  building  cabins  adopted  by  the  settlers 
at  fishing-stations  on  the  coast,  and  had  constructed  one  for  himself.  They  were  much  more  com- 
fortable than  wigwams.  See  page  13. 


90  SETTLEMENTS.  [163''.. 

Massasoit,  the  chief  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags,1  at  Mount  Hope.  There  he 
was  entertained  until  the  buds  appeared,  when,  being  joined  by  five  friends  from 
Boston,  he  seated  himself  upon  the  Seekonk,  some  distance  below  Blackstone's 
plantation.  He  found  himself  within  the  territory  of  the  Plymouth  Company.' 
Governor  Winslow3  advised  him  to  cross  into  the  Narragansett  country,  where 
he  could  not  be  molested.  With  his  companions  he  embarked  in  a  light  canoe, 
paddled  around  to  the  head  of  Narraganset  Bay,  and  upon  a  green  slope,  near 
a  spring,4  they  prayed,  and  chose  the  spot  for  a  settlement.  Williams  obtained 


a  grant  of  land  from  Canonicus,  chief  sachem  of  the  Narragansetts,  and  in  com- 
memoration of  "  God's  merciful  providence  to  him  in  his  distress,"  he  called  the 
place  PROVIDENCE. 

The  freedom  enjoyed  there  was  soon  spoken  of  at  Boston,  and  persecuted 
men  fled  thither  for  refuge.  Persons  of  every  creed  were  allowed  full  liberty 
of  conscience,  and  lived  together  happily.  The  same  liberty  was  allowed  in 
politics  as  in  religion;  and  a  pure  democracy  was  established  there.  Each 
settler  was  required  to  subscribe  to  an  agreement,  that  he  would  submit  to  such 
rules,  u  not  affecting  the  conscience,"  as  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  should 
adopt  for  the  public  good.  Williams  reserved  no  political  power  to  himself,  and 
the  leader  and  follower  had  equal  dignity  and  privileges.  The  government  was 


1  Page  22.  a  Page  G3.  3  Page  85. 

*  This  spring  is  now  [1856]  beneath  some  line  sycamores  on  the  west  side  of  Benefit  street,  in 
Providence. 


1643.]  RHODE     ISLAND.  91 

entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  Canonicus,  the  powerful  Narragansett 
chief,  became  much  attached  to  Williams,  and  his  influence  among  them,  as  we 
have  seen,1  was  very  great.  He  saved  his  persecutors  from  destruction,  yet 
they  had  not  the  Christian  manliness  to  remove  the  sentence  of  banishment,  and 
receive  him  to  their  bosoms  as  a  brother.  He  could  not  compress  his  enlarged 
views  into  the  narrow  compass  of  their  creed ;  and  so,  while  they  rejoiced  in 
their  deliverance,  they  anathematized  their  deliverer  as  a  heretic  and  an  outcast. 
But  he  enjoyed  the  favor  of  God.  His  settlement  was  entirely  unmolested 
during  the  Pequod  war,2  and  it  prospered  wonderfully. 

Roger  Williams  opened  his  arms  wide  to  the  persecuted.  Early  in  1638. 
while  Mrs.  Hutchinson  was  yet  in  prison  in  Boston,3  her  husband,  with  Wil- 
liam Coddington,  Dr.  John  Clarke,  and  sixteen  others,  of  concurrent  religious 
views,4  accepted  the  invitation  of  Williams  to  settle  in  his  vicinity.  Mianto- 
nomoh  gave  them  the  beautiful  island  of  Aquiday5  for  forty  fathoms  of  white 
wampum.6  They  called  it  Isle  of  Rhodes,  because  of  its  fancied  resemblance  to 
the  island  of  that  name  in  the  Levant,  and  upon  its  northern  verge  they  planted 
a  settlement,  and  named  it  Portsmouth.  A  covenar^t,  similar  to  the  one  used 
by  Williams,7  was  signed  by  the  settlers  ;  and,  in  imitation  of  the  Jewish  form 
of  government  under  the  judges,  Coddington  was  chosen  judge,  or  chief  ruler, 
with  three  assistants.  Others  soon  came  from  Boston  ;  and  in  1639,  Newport, 
toward  the  lower  extremity  of  the  island,  was  founded.  Liberty  of  conscience 
was  absolute  ;  love  was  the  social  and  political  bond,  and  upon  the  seal  which 
they  adopted  was  the  motto,  Amor  vlncit  omnia — "Love  is  all-powerful/' 
Although  the  Rhode  Island  and  the  Providence  plantations  were  separate  in 
government,  they  were  united  in  interest  and  aim.  Unwilling  to  acknowledge 
allegiance  to  either  Massachusetts  or  Plymouth,8  they  sought  an  independent 
charter.  For  that  purpose  Roger  Williams  went  to  England  in  1643.  The 
whole  parent  country  was  then  convulsed  with  civil  war.9  After  much  delay, 
he  obtained  from  Parliament  (which  was  then  contending  fiercely  with  the 
king)  a  free  charter  of  incorporation,  dated  March  24,  1644,  and  all  the  settle- 
ments were  united  under  the  general  title  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence 
Plantations.  Then  was  founded  the  commonwealth  of  RHODE  ISLAND. 


1  Page  87.  2  Page  87.  3  Page  120.  4  Note  2,  page  120. 

5  This  was  the  Indian  name  of  "Rhode  Island.     It  is  a  Narragansett  \vord,  signifying  Peacealli 
Isle.     It  is  sometimes  spelled  Aquitneck,  and  Aquitnet. 

6  Note  2,  page  13.     They  also  gave  the  Indians  ten  coats  and  twenty  hoes,  on  condition  th;it 
they  should  leave  the  island  before  the  next  winter. 

7  Page  90.     The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  government  compact:   "We,  whose  names  are 
underwritten,  do  swear  solemnly,  in  the  presence  of  Jehovah,  to  incorporate  ourselves  into  a  body 
politic,  and,  as  He  shall  help  ns,  will  submit  our  persons,  lives,  and  estates,  unto  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  Hosts,  and  to  all  those  most  perfect  and  absolute  laws  of  His, 
given  us  in  His  holy  Word  of  'truth,  to  be  guided  and  judged  thereby." 

8  This  unwillingness  caused  the  other  New  England  colonies  to  refuse  the  application  of  Rhode 
Island  to  become  one  of  the  Confederacy,  in  1643.     See  page  121. 

9  Note  3,  page  108. 


92  SETTLEMENTS.  [1631. 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

DELAWARE,   NEW  JERSEY,   AND  PENNSYLVANIA.      [1631—1682.] 

IT  is  difficult  to  draw  the  line  of  demarcation,  between  the  first  permanent 
settlements  in  the  provinces  of  Delaware,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  for 
they  bore  such  intimate  relations  to  each  other  that  they  may  be  appropriately 
considered  as  parts  of  one  episode  in  the  history  of  American  colonization.  We 
shall,  therefore,  consider  these  settlements,  in  close  connection,  in  one  chapter, 
commencing  with 

DELAWARE. 

It  was  claimed  by  the  Dutch,  that  the  territory  of  New  Netherland1  ex- 
tended southward  to  Cape  Henlopen.  In  June,  1629,  Samuel  Godyn  and 
others  purchased  of  the  natives  the  territory  between  the  Cape  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Delaware  River.  The  following  year,  two  ships,  fitted  out  by  Captain 
De  Vries  and  others,  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Peter  Heyes,  sailed 
from  the  Texel  [Dec.  12,  1630]  for  America.  One  vessel  was  captured ;  the 
other  arrived  in  April,  1631 ;  and  near  the  present  town  of  Lewiston,  in 
Delaware,  thirty  immigrants,  with  implements  and  cattle,  seated  themselves. 
Heyes  returned  to  Holland,  and  reported  to  Captain  De  Vries.2  That  mariner 
visited  America  early  the  following  year  [1632],  but  the  little  colony  left  by 
Heyes  was  not  to^be  found.  Difficulties  with  the  Indians  had  provoked  savage 
vengeance,  and  they  had  exterminated  the  white  people. 

Information  respecting  the  fine  country  along  the  Delaware  had  spread 
northward,  and  soon  a  competitor  for  a  place  on  the  South  River,  as  it  was 
called,  appeared.  Usselincx,  an  original  projector  of  the  Dutch  West  India 
Company,3  becoming  dissatisfied  with  his  associates,  visited  Sweden,  and  laid 
before  the  enlightened  monarch,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  well-arranged  plans  for  a 
Swedish  colony  in  the  New  World.  The  king  was  delighted,  for  his  attention 
had  already  been  turned  toward  America ;  and  his  benevolent  heart  was  full  of 
desires  to  plant  a  free  colony  there,  which  should  become  an  asylum  for  all 
persecuted  Christians.  While  his  scheme  was  ripening,  the  danger  which 
menaced  Protestantism  in  Germany,,  called  him  to  the  field,  to  contend  for  the 
principles  of  the  Reformation.4  He  marched  from  his  kingdom  with  a  strong 
army  to  oppose  the  Imperial  hosts  marshaled  under  the  banner  of  the  Pope  on 
the  fields  of  Germany.  Yet  the  care  and  tumults  of  the  camp  and  field  did  not 
make  him  forget  his  benevolent  designs ;  and  only  a  few  days  before  his  death, 

1  Page  72. 

2  De  Tries  was  an  eminent  navigator,  and  one  of  Godyn's  friends.     To  secure  his  valuable 
services,  the  purchasers  made  him  a  partner  in  their  enterprise,  with  patroon  [page  139]  privileges, 
and  the  first  expedition  was  arranged  by  him.     He  afterward  came  to  America,  and  was  one  of 
the  most  active  men  in  the  Dutch  colonies.     On  his  return  to  Holland,  he  published  an  account  of 
his  voyages.  3  Page  72.  4  Note  14,  page  62. 


1682.]  NEW     JERSEY.  93 

at  the  battle  of  Lutzen  [Nov.  6,  1632],  Gustavus  recommended  the  enterprise 
as  "  the  jewel  of  his  kingdom." 

The  successor  of  Gustavus  was  his  daughter  Christina,  then  only  six  years 
of  age.  The  government  was*  administered  by  a  regency,1  at  the  head  of  which 
was  Axel,  count  of  Oxenstierna.  He  was  the  earliest  and  most  ardent  sup- 
porter of  the  proposed  great  enterprise  of  Gustavus  ;  and  in  1634  he  issued  a 
charter  for  the  Swedish  West  India  Company.  Peter  Minuit,3  who  had  been 
recalled  from  the  governorship  of  New  Netherland,  and  was  also  dissatisfied 
with  the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  went  to  Stockholm,  and  offered  his  serv- 
ices to  the  new  corporation.  They  were  accepted,  and  toward  the  close  of  1637 
he  sailed  from  Gottenburg  with  fifty  emigrants,  to  plant  a  colony  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Delaware.  He  landed  on  the  site  of  New  Castle,  in  April,  1638, 
and  purchased  from  the  Indians3  the  territory  between  Cape  Henlopen  and  the 
Falls  of  the  Delaware,  at  Trenton.  They  built  a  church  and  fort  on  the  site 
of  Wilmington,  called  the  place  Christina,  and  gave  the  name  of  New  Sweden 
to  the  territory.  The  jealousy  of  the  Dutch  was  aroused  by  this  "intrusion," 
and  they  hurled  protests  and  menaces  against  the  Swedes.4  The  latter  contin- 
ued to  increase  by  immigration  ;  new  settlements  were  planted  ;  and  upon  Tin- 
icum  Island,  a  little  below  Philadelphia,  they  laid  the  foundations  of  a  capital 
for  a  Swedish  province.5  The  Dutch  West  India  Company6  finally  resolved  to 
expel  or  subdue  the  Swedes.  The  latter  made  hostile  demonstrations,  and 
defied  the  power  of  the  Dutch.  The  challenge  was  acted  upon ;  and  toward 
the  close  of  the  summer  of  1655,  governor  Stuyvesant,  with  a  squadron  of  seven 
vessels,  entered  Delaware  Bay.7  In  September  every  Swedish  fort  and  settle- 
ment was  brought  under  his  rule,  and  the  capital  on  Tinicum  Island  was 
destroyed.  The  Swedes  obtained  honorable  terms  of  capitulation  ;  and  for 
twenty-five  years  they  prospered  under  the  rule  of  the  Dutch  and  English  pro- 
prietors of  New  Netherland. 

NEW     JERSEY. 

All  the  territory  of  NOVA  CJESAREA,  as  New  Jersey  was  called  by  the 
English,  was  included  in  the  New  Netherland  charter,8  and  transient  trading 
settlements  were  made  [1622],  first  at  Bergen,  by  a  few  Danes,  and  then  on 
the  Delaware.  Early  in  1623,  the  Dutch  built  a  log  fort  near  the  mouth  of 
Timber  Creek,  a  few  miles  below  Camden,  and  called  it  Nassau.9  In  June, 

1  A  regent  is  one  who  exercises  the  power  of  king  or  emperor,  during  the  absence,  incapacity, 
or  childhood  of  the  latter.     For  many  years,  George  the  Third  of  England  was  incapable  of  ruling 
on  account  of  his  insanity,  and  his  son  who  was  to  be  his  successor  at  his  death,  was  called  the 
Prince  Regent,  because  Parliament  had  given  him  power  to  act  as  king,  in  the  place  of  his  father. 
In  the  case  of  Christina,  three  persons  were  appointed  regents,  or  rulers. 

2  Page  139.  3  The  Delaware?.     See  page  20.  4  Page  143. 
6  This  was  done  about  forty  years  before  William  Penn  became  proprietor  of  Pennsylvania. 

Page  72.  7  Page  143.  8  Page  72. 

9  It  was  built  under  the  direction  of  Captain  Jacobus  May,  who  had  observed  attempts  made 
by  a  French  sea-captain  to  set  up  the  arms  of  France  there.  The  fort  was  built  of  logs,  and  was 
little  else  than  a  rude  block-house,  with  palissades.  [See  note  1,  page  127.]  A  little  garrison,  left  to 
protect  it,  was  soon  scattered,  and  the  fort  was  abandoned. 


94  SETTLEMENTS.  [1631. 

1623,  four  couples,  who  had  been  married  on  the  voyage  from  Amsterdam, 
were  sent  to  plant  a  colony  on  the  Delaware.  They  seated  themselves  upon 
the  site  of  Gloucester,  a  little  below  Fort  Nassau,  and  this  was  the  commence- 
ment of  settlements  in  West  Jersey. 

Seven  years  later  [1630]  Michael  Pauw  bought  from  the  Indians  the  lands 
extending  from  Hoboken  to  the  Raritan,  and  also  the  whole  of  Staten  Island, 
and  named  the  territory  Pavonia.1  In  this  purchase,  Bergen  was  included. 
Other  settlements  were  attempted,  but  none  were  permanent.  In  1631,  Cap- 
tain Heyes,  after  establishing  the  Swedish  colony  at  Lewiston,'2  crossed  the 
Delaware,  and  purchased  Cape  May3  from  the  Indians ;  and  from  that  point  to 
Burlington,  traders'  huts  were  often  seen.  The  English  became  possessors  of 
New  Netherland  in  1664,  and  the  Duke  of  York,  to  whom  the  province  had 
been  given,4  conveyed  to  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret  [June  24, 
1664],  all  the  territory  between  the  North  and  South  (Hudson  and  Delaware) 
Rivers,  and  northward  to  the  line  of  forty-one  degrees  arid  forty  minutes,  under 
the  title  of  Nova  Cczsarea  or  NEW  JERSEY.  Soon  afterward  several  families 
from  Long  Island  settled  at  Elizabethtown,5  and  there  planted  the  first  fruitful 
seed  of  the  New  Jersey  colony,  for  the  one  at  Gloucester  withered  and  died. 
The  following  year,  Philip  Carteret,  who  had  been  appointed  governor  of  the 
new  province,  arrived  with  a  charter,  fair  and  liberal  in  all  its  provisions.  It 
provided  for  a  government  to  be  composed  of  a  representative  assembly0  chosen 
by  the  people,  and  a  governor  and  council.  The  legislative  powers  resided  in 
the  assembly;  the  executive  powers  were  intrusted  to  the  governor  and  his 
council.  Then  [1665]  was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  commonwealth  of  NEW 
JERSEY. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

A  new  religious  sect,  called  Quakers,7  arose  in  England  at  about  the  com- 
mencement of  the  civil  wars  [1642 — 1651]  which  resulted  in  the  death  of 
Charles  the  First.  Their  preachers  were  the  boldest,  and  yet  the  meekest  of 
all  non-conformists.8  Purer  than  all  other  sects,  they  were  hated  and  perse- 
cuted by  all.  Those  who  came  to  America  for  "  conscience'  sake"  were  perse- 
cuted by  the  Puritans  of  New  England,9  the  Churchmen  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland,  and  in  a  degree  by  the  Dutch  of  New  Amsterdam ;  and  only  in 
Rhode  Island  did  they  enjoy  freedom,  and  even  there  they  did  not  always  dwell 
in  peace.  In  1673,  George  Fox,  the  founder  of  the  Quaker  sect,  visited  all  his 
brethren  in  America.  He  found  them  a  despised  people  everywhere,  and  his 


1  Until  the  period  of  our  War  for  Independence,  the  point  of  land  in  Pavonia,  on  which  Jersey 
City,  opposite  New  York,  now  stands,  was  called  Paulus'  Hook.     Here  was  the  scene  of  a  bo1 
exploit  by  Americans,  under  Major  Henry  Lee,  in  1779.     See  page  298. 

2  Page  92.  3  Named  in  honor  of  Captain  Jacobus  Mey,  or  May.  4  Page  159. 
5  Page  159.                                                                                                      6  Note  3,  page  159. 

7  This  name  was  given  by  Justice  Burnet,  of  Derby,  in  1650,  who  was  admonished  by  George 
Fox,  when  he  was  cited  before  the  magistrate,  to  tremble  and  quake  at  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  at  the 
same  time  Fox  quaked,  as  if  stirred  by  mighty  emotions.  See  page  90. 

h  Note  2,  page  76.  9  Page  75. 


1682.] 


PENNSYLVANIA. 


95 


heart  yearned  for  an  asylum  for  his  brethren.  Among  the  most  influential  of 
his  converts  was  William  Penn,1  son  of  the  renowned  admiral  of  that  name. 
Through  him  the  sect  gained  access  to  the  ears  of  the  nobility,  and  soon  the 
Quakers  possessed  the  western  half  of  New  Jersey,  by  purchase  from  Lord 
Berkeley. *  The  first  company  of  immigrants  landed  in  the  autumn  of  1675, 
and  named  the  place  of  debarkation  Salem*  They  established  a  democratic 
form  of  government ;  and,  in  November,  1681.  the  first  legislative  assembly  of 
Quakers  ever  convened,  met  at  Salem. 


While  these  events  were  progressing,  Penn,  who  had  been  chief  peace-maker 
when  disputes  arose  among  the  proprietors  and  the  people,  took  measures  to 
plant  a  new  colony  beyond  the  Delaware.  He  applied  to  Charles  the  Second 
for  a  charter.  The  king  remembered  the  services  of  Admiral  Penn,4  and  gave 
his  son  a  grant  [March  14,  1681]  of  "  three  degrees  of  latitude  by  five  degrees 


1  William  Penn  was  born  in  London,  in  October,  1644,  and  was  educated  at  Oxford.  He  was 
remarkable,  in  his  youth,  for  brilliant  talents ;  and  while  a  student,  having  heard  the  preaching  of 
Quakers,  he  was  drawn  to  them,  and  suffered  expulsion  from  his  father's  roof  in  consequence.  He 
went  abroad,  obtained  courtly  manners,  studied  law  after  his  return,  and  was  again  driven  from 
home  tor  associating  with  Quakers.  He  then  became  a  preacher  among  them,  and  remained  in 
that  connection  until  his  death.  After  a  life  of  great  activity  and  considerable  suffering,  he  died  in 
England,  in  1718,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years.  2  Page  119. 

*  Now  the  capital  of  Salem  county.  New  Jersey. 

He  was  a  very  efficient  naval  commander,  and'by  his  skill  contributed  to  the  defeat  of  the 
Dutch  in  1664.     The  king  gave  him  the  title  of  Baron  for  his  services.     Note  15,  page  62. 


96  SETTLEMENTS.  [1631. 

of  longitude  west  of  the  Delaware,"  and  named  the  province  Pennsylvania,  in 
honor  of  the  proprietor.  It  included  the  principal  settlements  of  the  Swedes. 
To  these  people,  and  others  within  the  domain,  Penn  sent  a  proclamation,  filled 
with  the  loftiest  sentiments  of  republicanism.  William  Markham,  who  bore  the 
proclamation,  was  appointed  deputy-governor  of  the  province,  and  with  him 
sailed  [May,  1681]  quite  a  large  company  of  immigrants,  who  were  members 
or  employees  of  the  Company  of  Free  Traders, '  who  had  purchased  lands  of 
the  proprietor.  In  May,  the  following  year,  Penn  published  a  frame  of  gov- 
ernment, and  sent  it  to  the  settlers  for  their  approval.  It  was  not  a  constitu- 
tion, but  a  code  of  wholesome  regulations  for  the  people  of  the  colony.2  He 
soon  afterward  obtained  by  grant  and  purchase  [Aug.  1682]  the  domain  of  the 
present  State  of  Delaware,  which  the  Duke  of  York  claimed,  notwithstanding  it 
was  clearly  not  his  own.  It  comprised  three  counties,  Newcastle,  Kent,  and 
Sussex,  called  The  Territories. 

Penn  had  been  anxious,  for  some  time,  to  visit  his  colony,  and  toward  the 
close  of  August,  1682,  he  sailed  in  the  Welcome  for  America,  with  about  one 
hundred  emigrants.  The  voyage  was  long  and  tedious ;  and  when  he  arrived 
at  Newcastle,  in  Delaware  [Nov.  6],  he  found  almost  a  thousand  new  comers 
there,  some  of  whom  had  sailed  before,  and  some  after  his  departure  from  En- 
gland. He  was  joyfully  received  by  the  old  settlers,  who  then  numbered  almost 
three  thousand.  The  Swedes  said,  "It  is  the  best  day  we  have  ever  seen;7' 
and  they  all  gathered  like  children  around  a  father.  A  few  days  afterward,  he 
proceeded  to  Shackamaxon  (now  Kensington  suburbs  of  Philadelphia),  where, 
under  a  wide-spreading  elm,  he  entered  into  an  honorable  treaty  with  the  In- 
dians, for  their  lands,  and  established  wuth  them  an  everlasting  covenant  of  peace 
and  friendship.  "We  meet,"  said  Penn,  "on  the  broad  pathway  of  good  faith 
and  good  will ;  no  advantage  shall  be  taken  on  either  side ;  but  all  shall  be 
openness  and  love."  And  so  it  was. 

"Thou'lt  find,"  said  the  Quaker,  u  in  me  and  in  mine, 
But  friends  and  brothers  to  thee  and  thine, 
Who  abuse  no  power  and  admit  no  line 

'Tv\ixt  the  red  man  and  the  white. 

And  bright  was  the  spot  where  the  Quaker  came, 
To  leave  his  hat,  his  drab,  and  his  name, 
That  will  sweetly  sound  from  the  trump  of  Fame, 
Till  its  final  blast  shall  die." 
f 

On  the  day  after  his  arrival,  Penn  received  from  the  agents  of  the  Duke  of 
York,3  in  the  presence  of  the  people,  a  formal  surrender  of  The  Territories  ; 


1  Lands  in  the  new  province  were  offered  for  about  ten  cents  an  acre.     Quite  a  number  of  pur- 
chasers united,  and  called  themselves  The  Company  of  Frte  Traders,  with  whom  Penn  entered  into 
an  agreement  concerning  the  occupation  of  the  soil,  laying  out  of  a  city,  &c. 

2  It  ordained  a  General  Assembly  or  court,  to  consist  of  a  governor,  a  council  of  seventy,  chosen 
by  the  freemen  of  the  colony,  and  a  house  of  delegates,  to  consist  of  not  less  than  two  hundred 
members,  nor  more  than  five  hundred.     These  were  also  to  be  chosen  by  the  people.     The  proprietor, 
or  his  deputy  (the  governor),  was  to  preside,  and  to  have  a  three-fold  voice  in  the  council ;  that  is,  on 
all  questions,  he  was  to  have  three  votes  for  every  one  of  the  councillors.  3  Page  144. 


1682.] 


THE     CAROLINAS. 


and  after  resting  a  few  days,  he  proceeded  to  visit 
his  brethren  in  New  Jersey,  and  the  authorities 
at  New  York.  On  his  return,  he  met  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  province  at  Chester,1  when  he 
declared  the  union  of  The  Territories  with  Pennsyl- 
He  made  a  more  judicious  organization  of  the 


vania. 


local  government,  and  then  were  permanently  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  commonwealth  of  PENNSYLVANIA. 


97 


THE   ASSEMBLY    HOUSE. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


THE    CAROLINAS.     [1622  —  1  G  80.] 

UNSUCCESSFUL  efforts  at  settlement  on  the  coast  of  Carolina,  were  made 
during  a  portion  of  the  sixteenth  century.  These  we  have  already  considered.3 
As  early  as  1609,  some  dissatisfied  people  from  Jamestown  settled  on  the 
Nansemond;  and  in  1622,  Porey,  then  Secretary  of  Virginia,  with  a  few 
friends,  penetrated  the  country  beyond  the  Roanoke.  In  1630,  Charles  the 
First  granted  to  Sir  Robert  Heath,  his  attorney-general,  a  domain  south  of 
Virginia,  six  degrees  of  latitude  in  width,  extending  from  Albemarle  Sound  to 
the  St.  John's  River,  in  Florida,  and,  as  usual,  westward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
No  settlements  were  made,  and  the  charter  was  forfeited.  At  that  time,  Dis- 
senters or  Nonconformists3  suffered  many  disabilities  in  Virginia,  and  looked  to 
the  wilderness  for  freedom.  In  1653,  Roger  Green  and  a  few  Presbyterians 
left  that  colony  and  settled  upon  the  Chowan  River,  near  the  present  village  of 
Edenton.  Other  dissenters  followed,  and  the  colony  nourished.  Governor 
Berkeley,  of  Virginia,4  wisely  organized  them  into  a  separate  political  commu- 
nity [1663],  and  William  Drummond,*  a  Scotch  Presbyterian  minister,  was 
appointed  their  governor.  They  received  the  name  of  Albemarle  County 
Colony,  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  who,  that  year,  became  a  proprietor 
of  the  territory.  Two  years  previously  [1661],  some  New  England6  adventur- 
ers settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Wilmington,  on  the  Cape  Fear  River,  but  many 
of  them  soon  abandoned  the  country  because  of  its  poverty. 

Charles  the  Second  was  famous  for  his  distribution  of  the  lands  in  the  New 
World,  among  his  friends  and  favorites,  regardless  of  any  other  claims,  Abo- 


1  The  picture  is  a  correct  representation  of  the  building  at  Chester,  in  Pennsylvania,  wherein 
the  Assembly  met.  It  was  yet  standing  in  1850.  Not  far  from  the  spot,  on  the  shore  of  the  Dela- 
ware, at  the  mouth  of  Chester  Creek,  was  also  a  solitary  pine-tree,  which  marked  the  place  where 
Penn  landed. 


2  Pages  55  to  57  inclusive.  3  Note  2,  page  76.  4  Page  78. 

5  Drummond  was  afterward  executed  on  account  of  his  participation  in  Bacon's  revolutionary 
acts.    See  note  5,  page  112.  6  P*°-A  lfts 

7 


Page  108. 


98  SETTLEMENTS.  [1622. 

riginal  or  European.  In  1663,  he  granted  the  whole  territory  named  in  Sir 
Robert  Heath's  charter,  to  eight  of  his  principal  friends,1  and  called  it  CARO- 
LINA.2 As  the  Chowan  settlement  was  not  within  the  limits  of  the  charter,  the 
boundary  was  extended  northward  to  the  present  line  between  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina,  and  also  southward,  so  as  to  include  the  whole  of  Florida, 
except  its  peninsula.  The  Bahama  Islands  were  granted  to  the  same  proprie- 
tors in  166  7. 3  Two  years  earlier  [1665],  a  company  of  Barbadoes  planters 
settled  upon  the  lands  first  occupied  by  the  New  England  people,  near  the 
present  Wilmington,  and  founded  a  permanent  settlement  there.  The  few 
settlers  yet  remaining  were  treated  kindly,  and  soon  an  independent  colony,  with 
Sir  John  Yeamans4  as  governor,  was  established.  It  was  called  the  Clarendon 
County  Colony,  in  honor  of  one  of  the  proprietors.  Yeamans  managed 
prudently,  but  the  poverty  of  the  soil  prevented  a  rapid  increase  in  the  popula- 
tion. The  settlers  applied  themselves  to  the  manufacture  of  boards,  shingles, 
and  staves,  which  they  shipped  to  the  West  Indies ;  and  that  business  is  yet  the 
staple  trade  of  that  region  of  pine  forests  and  sandy  levels.  Although  the 
settlement  did  not  flourish,  it  continued  to  exist ;  and  then  was  founded  the 
commonwealth  of  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  special  attention  of  the  proprietors  was  soon  turned  toward  the  more 
southerly  and  fertile  portion  of  their  domain,  and  in  January.  1670,  they  sent 
three  ships  with  emigrants,  under  the  direction  of  William  Sayle6  and  Joseph 
West,  to  plant  a  colony  below  Cape  Fear.  They  entered  Port  Royal,  landed 
on  Beaufort  Island  at  the  spot  where  the  Huguenots  built  Fort  Carolina  in 
1564, 6  and  there  Sayle  died  early  in  1671.  The  immigrants  soon  afterward 
abandoned  Beaufort,  and  sailing  into  the  Ashley  River,7  seated  themselves  on 
its  western  bank,  at  a  place  a  few  miles  above  Charleston,  now  known  as  Old 
Town.  There  they  planted  the  first  seeds  of  a  South  Carolina  colony.  West 
exercised  authority  as  chief  magistrate,  until  the  arrival  of  Sir  John  Yeamans, 
in  December,  1671,  who  was  appointed  governor.  He  came  with  fifty  families, 
and  a  large  number  of  slaves.8  Representative  government  was  instituted  in 
16729  under  the  title  of  the  Carteret  County  Colony.  It  was  so  called  in 
honor  of  one  of  the  proprietors.10  Ten  years  afterward  they  abandoned  the  spot ; 


1  Lord  Clarendon,  his  prime  minister ;  General  Monk,  just  created  Duke  of  Albemarle ;  Lord 
Ashley  Cooper,  afterward  Earl  of  Shaftesbury ;  Sir  George  Carteret  a  proprietor  of  New  Jersey ; 
Sir  William  Berkele}-,  Governor  of  Virginia;  "Lord  Berkeley,  Lord  Craven,  and  Sir  John  Colleton. 

2  It  will  be  perceived  [note  1.  page  55], that  the  name  of  Carolina,  given  to  territory  south  of 
Virginia,  was  bestowed  in  honor  of  two  kings  named  Charles,  one  of  France,  the  other  of  England. 

'  Samuel  Stephens  succeeded  Drummond  as  governor,  in  1667 ;  and  in  1668,  the  first  popular 
Assembly  in  North  Carolina  convened  at  Edenton. 

4  Yeamans  was  an  impoverished  English  baronet,  who  had  become  a  planter  in  Barbadoes,  to 
mend  his  fortune.  He  was  successful,  and  became  wealthy. 

6  Sayle  had  previously  explored  the  Carolina  coast.  Twenty  years  before,  he  had  attempted  to 
plant  an  "Eleutharia,"  or  place  dedicated  to  the  genius  of  Liberty  [see  Eleutheria,  Anthon's  Class- 
ical Dictionary],  in  the  isles  near  the  coast  of  Florida. 

6  Page  50.  7  Page  166. 

8  This  was  the  commencement  of  negro  slavery  in  South  Carolina.  Yeamans  brought  almost 
two  hundred  of  them  from  Barbadoes.  From  the  commencement,  South  Carolina  has  been  a 
planting  State.  9  Note  5,  page  165. 

10  He  was  also  one  of  the  proprietors  of  New  Jersey.     See  page  119. 


1680.]  GEORGIA.  99 

and  upon  Oyster  Point,  at  the  junction  of  Ashley  and  Cooper  Rivers,1  nearer 
the  sea,  they  founded  the  present  city  of  Charleston.'  Immigrants  came  from 
various  parts  of  Europe ;  and  many  Dutch  families,  dissatisfied  with  the  English 
rule  at  New  York,3  went  to  South  Carolina,  where  lands  were  freely  given 
them ;  and  soon,  along  the  Santee  and  the  Edisto,  the  wilderness  began  to 
blossom  under  the  hand  of  culture.  The  people  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
a  government  scheme  prepared  by  Shaftesbury  and  Locke,4  but  preferred  simple 
organic  laws  of  their  own  making.  Then  were  laid  the  foundations  of  the  com- 
monwealth of  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  although  the  history  of  the  two  States,  under 
the  same  proprietors,  is  inseparable,  until  the  period  of  their  dismemberment, 
in  1729.5 


C  1 1  A  P  T  E  R    X . 

GEORGIA.      [1733.] 

GEORGIA  was  the  latest  settled  of  the  thirteen  original  English  colonies  in 
America.  When  the  proprietors  of  the  Carolinas  surrendered  their  charter6  to 
the  crown  in  1729,  the  whole  country  southward  of  the  Savannah  River,  to 
the  vicinity  of  St.  Augustine,  was  a  wilderness  peopled  by  native  tribes,7  and 
claimed  by  the  Spaniards  as  part  of  their  territory  of  Florida.8  The  English 
disputed  this  claim,  and  South  Carolina  townships  were  ordered  to  be  marked 
out  as  far  south  as  the  Alatarnaha.  The  dispute  grew  warm  and  warlike,  and 
the  Indians,  instigated  by  the  Spaniards,  depredated  upon  the  frontier  English 
settlements.9  But,  while  the  clouds  of  hostility  were  gathering  in  the  firma- 
ment, and  grew  darker  every  hour,  it  was  lighted  up  by  a  bright  beam  of  be- 
nevolence, which  proved  the  harbinger  of  a  glorious  day.  It  came  from  England, 
where,  at  that  time,  poverty  was  often  considered  a  crime,  and  at  least  four 
thousand  unfortunate  debtors  were  yearly  consigned  to  loathsome  prisons.  The 
honest  and  true,  the  noble  and  the  educated,  as  well  as  the  ignorant  and  the 
vile,  groaned  within  prison  walls.  Their  wailings  at  length  reached  the  ears 
of  benevolent  men.  Foremost  among  these  was  James  Edward  Oglethorpe,10  a 
.brave  soldier  and  stanch  loyalist,  whose  voice  had  been  heard  often  in  Parlia- 
ment against  imprisonment  for  debt. 

A  committee  of  inquiry  into  the  subject  of  such  imprisonments,  was  ap- 


1  These  were  so  called  in  honor  of  Ashley  Cooper,  Earl  of  Shaftesbury.     The  Indian  name  of 
the  former  was  Kc-a-wah,  and  of  the  latter  E-ti-wan. 

2  Charleston  was  laid  out  in  1680  by  John  Culpepper,  who  had  been  surveyor-general  for 
North  Carolina.     See  page  166.  3  Page  164.  4  Page  144.  5  Page  171. 

6  Page  171.  7  Page  29.  8  Page  42.  fl  Page  170. 

10  See  portrait,  page  104.  General  Oglethorpe  was  born  in  Surrey,  England,  on  the  21st  of  De- 
cember, 1698.  He  was  a  soldier  by  profession.  In  1745,  he  was  made  a  brigadier-general,  and 
fought  against  Charles  Edward,  the  Pretender,  who  was  a  grandson  of  James  the  Second,  and 
claimed  rightful  heirship  to  the  throne  of  England.  Oglethorpe  refused  the  supreme  command  of 
the  British  army  destined  for  America  in  1775.  He  died,  June  30,  1785,  aged  eighty-seven  years. 


100  SETTLEMENTS.  [1733. 

pointed  by  Parliament,  and  General  Oglethorpe  was  made  chairman  of  it.  His 
report,  embodying  a  noble  scheme  of  benevolence,  attracted  attention  and 
admiration.  He  proposed  to  open  the  prison  doors  to  all  virtuous  men  within, 
who  would  accept  the  conditions,  and  with  these  and  other  sufferers  from  pov- 
erty and  oppression,  to  go  to  the  wilderness  of  America,  and  there  establish  a 
colony  of  freemen,  and  open  an  asylum  for  persecuted  Protestants1  of  all  lands. 
The  plan  met  warm  responses  in  Parliament,  and  received  the  hearty  approval 
of  George  the  Second,  then  [1730]  on  the  English  throne.  A  royal  charter  for 
twenty-one  years  was  granted  [June  9,  1732J  to  a  corporation  "  in  trust  for 
the  poor,"  to  establish  a  colony  within  the  disputed  territory  south  of  the  Sa- 
vannah, to  be  called  Georgia,  in  honor  of  the  king.2  Individuals  subscribed 
large  sums  to  defray  the  expenses  of  emigrants  hither  ;  and  within  two  years 
after  the  issuing  of  the  patent,  Parliament  had  appropriated  one  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand  dollars  for  the  same  purpose.3 

The  sagacious  and  brave  Oglethorpe  was  a  practical  philanthropist.  He 
offered  to  accompany  the  first  settlers  to  the  wilderness,  and  to  act  as  governor 
of  the  new  province.  With  one  hundred  and  twenty  emigrants  he  left  England 
[Nov.,  1732],  and  after  a  passage  of  fifty-seven  days,  touched  at  Charleston 
[Jan..  1733],  where  he  was  received  with  great  joy  by  the  inhabitants,  as  one 
who  was  about  to  plant  a  barrier  between  them  and  the  hostile  Indians  and 
Spaniards.4  Proceeding  to  Port  Royal,  Oglethorpe  landed  a  large  portion  of 
his  followers  there,  and  with  a  few  others,  he  coasted  to  the  Savannah  River. 
Sailing  up  that  stream  as  far  as  Yamacraw  Bluff,  he  landed,  and  chose  the  spot 
whereon  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  capital  of  a  future  State.5 

On  the  12th  of  February,  1733,  the  remainder  of  the  immigrants  arrived 
from  Port  Royal.  The  winter  air  was  genial,  and  with  cheerful  hearts  and 
willing  hands  they  constructed  a  rude  fortification,  and  commenced  the  erection 
of  a  town,  which  they  called  Savannah,  the  Indian  name  of  the  river.6  For 
almost  a  year  the  governor  dwelt  under  a  tent,  and  there  he  often  held  friendly 
intercourse  with  the  chiefs  of  neighboring  tribes.  At  length,  when  he  had 
mounted  cannons  upon  the  fort,  and  safety  was  thus  secured,  Oglethorpe  met 


1  Note  14,  page  62. 

2  The  domain  granted  by  the  charter  extended  along  the  coast  from  the  Savannah  to  the  Ala- 
tamaha,  and  westward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.     The  trustees  appointed  by  the  crown,  possessed  all 
legislative  and  executive  power ;  and,  therefore,  while  one  side  of  the  seal  of  the  new  province 
expressed  the  benevolent  character  of  the  scheme,  by  the  device  of  a  group  of  toiling  silkworms, 
and  the  motto,  Non  sibi,  sed  aliis  ;   the  other  side,  bearing,  between  two  urns  the   genius  of 
"Georgia  Augusta,"  with  a  cap  of  liberty  on  her  head,  a  spear,  and  a  horn  of  plenty,  was  a  false 
emblem.     There  was  no  political  liberty  ibr  the  people. 

3  Brilliant  visions  of  vast  vintages,  immense  productions  of  silk  for  British  looms,  and  all  the 
wealth  of  a  fertile  tropical  region,  were  presented  for  the  contemplation  of  the  commercial  acumen 
of  the  business  men  of  England.     These  considerations,  as  well  as  the  promptings  of  pure  benev- 
olence, made  donations  liberal  and  numerous.  4  Page  99. 

5  Some  historians  believe  that  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  while  on  his  way  to  South  America,  in  1595, 
went  up  the  Savannah  Hiver,  and  held  a  conference  with  the  Indians  on  this  very  spot.     This, 
probably,  is  an  error,  for  nothing  appears  in  the  writings  of  Raleigh  or  his  cotemporaries  to  warrant 
the  inference  that  he  ever  saw  the  North  American  continent. 

6  The  streets  were  laid  out  with  great  regularity;  public  squares  were  reserved;  and  the  houses 
were  all  built  on  one  model — twenty-four  by  sixteen  feet,  on  the  ground. 


OGLETIIORPE'S  FIRST  INTERVIEW  WITH  THE  INDIANS. 


1733.]  GEORGIA.  103 

fifty  chiefs  in  council  [May,  1733],  with  To-mo-chi-chi*  the  principal  sachem 
of  the  lower  Cree'v  confederacy.2  at  their  head,  to  treat  for  the  purchase  of 
lands.  Satisfactory  arrangements  were  made,  and  the  English  obtained  sover- 
eignty over  the  whole  domain  [June  1,  1733]  along  the  Atlantic  from  the  Sa- 
vannah to  the  St.  John's,  and  westward  to  the  Flint  and  the  head  waters  of  the 
Chattahoochee.  The  provisions  of  the  charter  formed  the  constitution  of  gov- 
ernment for  the  people ;  and  there,  upon  Yamacraw  Bluff,  where  the  nourishing 
city  of  Savannah  now  stands,  was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  commonwealth  of 
GEORGIA,  in  the  summer  of  1733.  Immigration  flowed  thither  in  a  strong  and 
continuous  stream,  for  all  were  free  in  religious  matters ;  yet  for  many  years 
the  colony  did  not  flourish.3 

Wonderful,  indeed,  were  the  events  connected  with  the  permanent  settle- 
ments in  the  New  World.  Never  in  the  history  of  the  race  was  greater  hero- 
ism displayed  than  the  seaboard  of  the  domain  of  the  United  States  exhibited 
during  the  period  of  settlements,  and  the  development  of  colonies.  Hardihood, 
faith,  courage,  indomitable  perseverance,  and  untiring  energy,  were  requisite 
to  accomplish  all  that  was  done  in  so  short  a  time,  and  under  such  unfavorable 
circumstances.  While  many  of  the  early  immigrants  were  mere  adventurers, 
and  sleep  in  deserved  oblivion,  because  they  were  recreant  to  the  great  duty 
which  they  had  self-imposed,  there  are  thousands  whose  names  ought  to  be  per- 
petuated in  brass  and  marble,  because  of  their  faithful  performance  of  the 
mighty  task  assigned  them.  They  came  here  as  sowers  of  the  prolific  seed  of 
human  liberty  ;  and  during  the  colonizing  period,  many  of  them  carefully  nur- 
tured the  tender  plant,  while  it  was  bursting  into  vigorous  life.  We,  who  are 
the  reapers,  ought  to  reverence  the  sowers  and  the  cultivators  with  grateful 
hearts. 

1  Tomo-chi-chi  was  then  an  aged  man,  and  at  his  first  interview  with  Oglethorpe,  he  presented 
him  with  a  buffalo  skin,  ornamented  with  the  picture  of  an  eagle.  "  Here,"  said  the  chief}  u  is  a  little 
present :  I  give  you  a  buffalo's  skin,  adorned  on  the  inside  with  the  head  and  feathers  of  an  eagle, 
which  I  desire  you  to  accept,  because  the  eagle  is  an  emblem  of  speed,  and  the  buffalo  of  strength. 
The  English  are  swift  as  the  bird,  and  strong  as  the  beast,  since,  like  the  former,  they  Hew  over 
vast  seas  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth ;  and  like  the  latter,  they  are  so  strong  that  nothing 
can  withstand  them.  The  feathers  of  an  eagle  are  soft,  and  signify  love ;  the  buffalo's  skin  is 
warm,  and  signifies  protection  ; — therefore  I  hope  the  English  will  protect  and  love  our  little  fam- 
ilies." Alas!  the  wishes  of  the  venerable  To-mo-chi-chi  were  never  realized,  for  the  white  people 
more  often  plundered  and  destroyed,  than  loved  and  protected  the  Indians. 

8  Page  30.  3  Pages  171  aad  173. 


JAMES   EDWARD   OGLETHOltPE. 


FOURTH  PERIOD. 
THE      COLONIES. 


CHAPTER    I. 

HAVING  briefly  traced  the  interesting 
events  which  resulted  in  the  founding  of  sev- 
eral colonies  by  settlements  we  will  now  con- 
sider the  more  important  acts  of  establishing  permanent  commonwealths,  all  of 
which  still  exist  and  flourish.  The  colonial  history  of  the  United  States  is 
comprised  within  the  period  commencing  when  the  several  settlements  along  the 
Atlantic  coasts  became  organized  into  political  communities,  and  ending  when 
representatives  of  these  colonies  mef  in  general  congress  in  1774, l  and  confeder- 
ated for  mutual  welfare.  There  was  an  earlier  union  of  interests  and  efforts. 
It  was  when  the  several  English  colonies  aided  the  mother  country  in  a  long 
war  against  the  combined  hostilities  of  the  French  and  Indians.  As  the  local 
histories  of  the  several  colonies  after  the  commencement  of  that  war  have  but 
little  interest  for  the  general  reader,  we  shall  trace  the  progress  of  each  colony 
only  to  that  period,  and  devote  a  chapter  to  the  narrative  of  the  French  and 
Indian  wrar.a 


1  Page  228. 


Page  179. 


1619.]  VIRGINIA.  1Q5 

As  we  have  already  observed,  a  settlement  acquires  the  character  of  a 
colony  only  when  it  has  become  permanent,  and  the  people,  acknowledging 
allegiance  to  a  parent  State,  are  governed  by  organic  laws.1  According  to 
these  conditions,  the  earliest  of  the  thirteen  colonies  represented  in  the  Con- 
gress of  1774,  was 

VIRGINIA.      [1  G  1  9.] 

That  was  an  auspicious  day  for  the  six  hundred  settlers  in  Virginia  when 
the  gold-seekers  disappeared,2  and  the  enlightened  George  Yeardley  became 
governor,  and  established  a  representative  assembly  [June  28,  1619] — the  first 
in  all  America.3  And  yet  a  prime  clement  of  happiness  and  prosperity  was 
wanting.  There  were  no  white  women  in  the  colony.  The  wise  Sandys,  the 
friend  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,*  was  then  treasurer  of  the  London  Company,5 
and  one  of  the  most  influential  and  zealous  promoters  of  emigration.  During 
the  same  year  when  the  Puritans  sailed  for  America  [1020],  he  sent  more  than 
twelve  hundred  emigrants  to  Virginia,  among  whom  were  ninety  young  women, 
"  pure  and  uncorrupt,"  who  were  disposed  of  for  the  cost  of  their  passage,  as 
wives  for  the  planters.6  The  following  year  sixty  more  were  sent.  The  fam- 
ily relation  was  soon  established ;  the  gentle  influence  of  woman  gave  refine- 
ment to  social  life  on  the  banks  of  the  Powhatan  ;7  new  and  powerful  incentives 
to  industry  and  thrift  were  created ;  and  the  mated  planters  no  longer  cherished 
the  prevailing  idea  of  returning  to  England.3  Vessel  after  vessel,  laden  with 
immigrants,  continued  to  arrive  in  the  James  River,  and  new  settlements  were 

C  ' 

planted,  even  so  remote  as  at  the  Falls,11  and  on  the  distant  banks  of  the  Poto- 
mac. The  germ  of  an  empire  was  rapidly  expanding  with  the  active  elements 
of  national  organization.  Verbal  instructions  would  no  longer  serve  the  pur- 
poses of  government,  and  in  August,  1621,  the  Company  granted  the  colonists 
a  written  Constitution,™  which  ratified  most  of  the  acts  of  Yeardley.11  Pro- 
vision was  made  for  the  appointment  of  a  governor  and  council  by  the  Company, 
and  a  popular  Assembly,  to  consist  of  two  burgesses  or  representatives  from 
each  borough,  chosen  by  the  people.  This  body,  and  the  council,  composed 
the  General  Assembly,  which  was  to  meet  once  a  year,  and  pass  laws  for  the 


1  Page  61.  2  Page  71.  3  Pago  71.  4  Pago  77.  5  Page  G4. 

6  Tobacco  had  already  become  a  circulating  medium,  or  currency,  in  Virginia.     The  price  of  a 
wife  varied  from  120  to  150  pounds  of  this  product,  equivalent,  in  money  value,  to  about  $90  and 
$112  each.     The  second  "  cargo"  were  sold  at  a  still  higher  price.     By  the  king's  special  order,  one 
hundred  dissolute  vagabonds,  called  "jail-birds"  by  the  colonists,  were  sent  over  the  same  year,  and 
sold  as  bond-servants  for  a  specified  time.     In  August,  the  same  year,  a  Dutch  trading  vessel  en- 
tered the  James  River  with  negro  slaves.     Twenty  of  them  were  sold  into  perpetual  slavery  to  the 
planters.     This  was  the  commencement  of  negro  slavery  in  the  English  colonies  [note  4,  page  177]. 
The  slave  population  of  the  United  States  in  1850,  according  to  the  census,  was  3,204,313. 

7  Page  64. 

*  Most  of  the  immigrants  hitherto  were  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  mere  adventurers.  They  came 
to  America  to  repair  shattered  fortunes,  or  to  gain  wealth,  with  the  ultimate  object  of  returning  to 
England  to  enjoy  it.  The  creation  of  families  made  the  planters  more  attached  to  the  soil  of  Vir- 
ginia. 

9  Near  the  site  of  the  city  of  Richmond.     The  falls,  or  rapids,  extend  about  six  miles. 

111  The  people  of  the  May-flower  formed  a  written  Constitution  for  themselves  [page  78].  That 
of  Virginia  was  modeled  after  the  Constitution  of  England.  "  Page  70. 


106  THE     COLONIES.  [1619. 

general  good.1  Such  laws  were  not  valid  until  approved  by  the  Company, 
neither  were  any  orders  of  the  Company  binding  upon  the  colonists  until 
ratified  by  the  General  Assembly.  Trial  by  jury  was  established,  and  courts 
of  law  conformable  to  those  of  England  were  organized.  Ever  afterward  claim- 
ing these  privileges  as  rights,  the  Virginians  look  back  to  the  summer  of  1621 
as  the  era  of  their  civil  freedom. 

The  excellent  Sir  Francis  Wyatt,  who  had  been  appointed  governor  under 
the  Constitution,  and  brought  the  instrument  with  him,  was  delighted  with  the 
aspect  of  affairs  in  Virginia.  But  a  dark  cloud  soon  arose  in  the  summer  sky. 
The  neighboring  Indian  tribes2  gathered  in  solemn  council.  Powhatan,  the 
friend  of  the  English  after  the  marriage  of  his  daughter.3  was  dead,  and  an 
enemy  of  the  white  people  ruled  the  dusky  nation.4  They  had  watched  the 
increasing  strength  of  the  English,  with  alarm.  The  white  people  were  now 
four  thousand  in  number,  and  rapidly  increasing.  The  Indians  read  their  des- 
tiny— annihilation — upon  the  face  of  every  new  comer ;  and,  prompted  by  the 
first  great  law  of  his  nature,  self-preservation,  the  red  man  resolved  to  strike  a 
blow  for  life.  A  conspiracy  was  accordingly  formed,  in  the  spring  of  1622.  to 
exterminate  the  white  people.  At  mid-day,  on  the  1st  of  April,  the  hatchet 
fell  upon  all  of  the  more  remote  settlements ;  and  within  an  hour,  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men,  women,  and  children,  were  slain.5  Jamestown6  and  neigh- 
boring plantations  were  saved  by  the  timely  warning  of  a  converted  Indian.7 
The  people  were  on  their  guard  and  escaped.  Those  far  away  in  the  forests 
defended  themselves  bravely,  and  when  they  had  beaten  back  the  foe,  they  fled 
to  Jamestown.  Within  a  few  days,  eighty  plantations  were  reduced  to  eight. 

The  people,  thus  concentrated  at  Jamestown  by  a  terrible  necessity,  pre- 
pared for  vengeance.  A  vindictive  war  ensued,  and  a  terrible  blow  of  retalia- 
tion was  given.  The  Indians  upon  the  James  and  York  Rivers  were  slaughtered 
by  scores,  or  were  driven  far  back  into  the  wilderness.  Yet  a  blight  was  upon 
the  colony.  Sickness  and  famine  followed  close  upon  the  massacre.  Within 
three  months,  the  colony  of  four  thousand  souls  was  reduced  to  twenty-five 
hundred  ;  and  at  the  beginning  of  1624,  of  the  nine  thousand  persons  who  had 
been  sent  to  Virginia  from  England,  only  eighteen  hundred  remained. 

These  disheartening  events,  and  the  selfish  action  of  the  king,  discouraged 
the  London  Company.8  The  holders  of  the  stock  had  now  become  very  numer- 
ous, and  their  meetings,  composed  of  men  of  all  respectable  classes,  assumed  a 


1  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  of  which  we  shall  often  speak  in 
future  chapters  2  The  Powhatans.  See  page  20.  3  Page  70. 

4  Powhatan  died  in  1618,  and  was  succeeded  in  office  by  his  younger  brother,  Opechancan- 
ough  [see  page  66].  This  chief  hated  the  English.  He  was  the  one  who  made  Captain  Smith  a 
prisoner. 

6  Opechancanough  was  wily  and  exceedingly  treacherous.     Only  a  few  days  before  the  mas- 
sacre, he  declared  that  "sooner  the  skies  would  fall  than  his  friendship  with  the  English  would  be 
dissolved."     Even  on  the  day  of  the  massacre,  the  Indians  entered  the  houses  of  the  planters  with 
usual  tokens  of  friendship.  6  Page  64. 

7  This  was  Chanco,  who  was  informed  of  the  bloody  design  the  evening  previous.     He  desired 
to  save  a  white  friend  in  Jamestown,  and  gave  him  the  information.     It  was  too  late  to  send  word 
to  the  more  remote  settlements.     Among  those  who  fell  on  this  occasion,  were  six  members  of  the 
council,  and  several  of  the  wealthiest  inhabitants.  8  Page  64. 


1688.]  VIRGINIA.  107 

political  character,  in  which  two  distinct  parties  were  represented,  namely,  the 
advocates  of  liberty,  and  the  supporters  of  the  royal  prerogatives.  The  king 
was  offended  by  the  freedom  of  debates  at  these  meetings,  and  regarded  them 
as  inimical  to  royalty,  and  dangerous  to  the  stability  of  his  throne.1  He  deter- 
mined to  regain  what  he  had  lost  by  granting  the  liberal  third  charter2  to  the 
company.  He  endeavored  first  to  control  the  elections.  Failing  in  this,  he 
sought  a  pretense  for  dissolving  the  Company.  A  commission  was  appointed 
in  May,  1623,  to  inquire  into  their  affairs.  It  was  composed  of  the  king's 
pliant  instruments,  who,  having  reported  in  favor  of  a  dissolution  of  the  Com- 
pany, an  equally  pliant  judiciary  accomplished  his  designs  in  October  following, 
and  a  quo  warranto*  was  issued.  The  Company  made  but  little  opposition,  for 
the  settlement  of  Virginia  had  been  an  unprofitable  speculation  from  the  be- 
ginning ;  and  in  July,  1624,  the  patents  were  cancelled.4  Virginia  became  a 
royal  province  again,5  but  no  material  change  was  made  in  the  domestic  affairs 
of  the  colonists. 

King  James,  with  his  usual  egotism,  boasted  of  the  beneficent  results  to  the 
colonists  which  would  flow  from  this  usurpation,  by  which  they  were  placed 
under  his  special  care.  He  appointed  Yeardley,0  with  twelve  councillors,  to 
administer  the  government,  but  wisely  refrained  from  interfering  with  the 
House  of  Burgesses.7  The  king  lived  but  a  few  months  longer,  and  at  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  the  6th  of  April,  1625,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Charles  the  First.  That  monarch  was  as  selfish  as  he  was  weak.  He  sought 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  Virginia  planters,  because  he  also  sought  to  reap 
the  profits  of  a  monopoly,  by  becoming  himself  their  sole  factor  in  the  manage- 
ment of  their  exports.  He  also  allowed  them  political  privileges,  not  because  he 
wished  to  benefit  his  subjects,  but  because  he  had  learned  to  respect  the  power 
of  those  far-off  colonists ;  and  he  sought  their  sanction  for  his  commercial 
agency.8 

Governor  Yeardley  died  in  November,  1627,  and  was  succeeded,  two  years 
later  [1629],  by  Sir  John  Harvey,  a  haughty  and  unpopular  royalist.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  commission  appointed  by  James  ;  and  the  colonists  so  despised 
him,  that  they  refused  the  coveted  monopoly  to  the  king.  After  many  and 
violent  disputes  about  land  titles,  the  Virginians  deposed  him  [1635]  and 
appointed  commissioners  to  proceed  to  England,  with  an  impeachment.  Harvey 
accompanied  the  commission.  The  king  refused  to  hear  complaints  against  the 


1  These  meetings  were  quite  frequent ;  and  so  important  were  the  members,  in  political  affairs, 
that  they  could  influence  the  elections  of  members  of  Parliament.     In  1623,  the  accomplished 
Nicholas  Ferrar,  an  active  opponent  of  the  court  party,  was  elected  to  Parliament,  by  the  influence 
of  the  London  Company.     This  fact,  doubtless,  caused  the  king  to  dissolve  the  Company  that  year. 

2  Page  70. 

3  A  writ  of  quo  warranto  is  issued  to  compel  a  person  or  corporation  to  appear  before  the  king, 
and  show  by  what  authority  certain  privileges  are  held. 

4  The  Company  had  expended  almost  $700,000  in  establishing  the  colony,  and  this  great  sum 
was  almost  a  dead  loss  to  the  stockholders.  6  Page  63. 

6  Page  70.  7  Note  1,  page  106. 

8  In  June,  1628,  the  king,  in  a  letter  to  the  governor  and  council,  asked  them  to  convene  an 
assembly  to  consider  his  proposal  to  contract  for  the  whole  crop  of  tobacco.  He  thus  tacitly 
acknowledged  ilie  legality  of  the  republican  assembly  of  Virginia,  hitherto  not  sanctioned,  but  only 
permitted. ' 


108  THE     COLONIES.  [1G19. 

accused,  and  he  was  sent  back  clothed  with  full  powers  to  administer  the  gov- 
ernment, independent  of  the  people.  He  ruled  almost  four  years  longer,  and  was 
succeeded,  in  November,  1639,  by  Sir  Francis  Wyatt,  who  administered  gov- 
ernment well  for  about  two  years,  when  he  was  succeeded  [1641]  by  Sir  William 
Berkeley,1  an  able  and  elegant  courtier.  For  ten  years  Berkeley  ruled  with 
vigor,  and  the  colony  prospered  wonderfully.2  But,  as  in  later  years,  commo- 
tions in  Europe  now  disturbed  the  American  settlements.  The  democratic 
revolution  in  England,3  which  brought  Charles  the  First  to  the  block,  and 
placed  Oliver  Cromwell  in  power,  now  [1642]  began,  and  religious  sects  in 
England  and  America  assumed  political  importance.  Puritans4  had  hitherto 
been  tolerated  in  Virginia,  but  now  the  Throne  and  the  Church  were  united  in 
interest,  and  the  Virginians  being  loyal  to  both,  it  was  decreed  that  no  minister 
should  preach  except  in  conformity  to  the  constitution  of  the  Church  of  En- 
gland.5 Many  non-conformists6  were  banished  from  the  colony.  This  was  a 
dark  cloud  upon  the  otherwise  clear  skies  of  Virginia,  but  a  darker  cloud  was 
gathering.  The  Indians  were  again  incited  to  hostilities  by  the  restless  and 
vengeful  Opechancanough,7  and  a  terrible  storm  burst  upon  the  English,  in 
April,  1644.  For  two  years  a  bloody  border  warfare  was  carried  on.  The 
king  of  the  Powhatans8  was  finally  made  captive,  and  died  while  in  prison  at 
Jamestown,  and  his  people  were  thoroughly  subdued.  The  power  of  the  con- 
federation was  completely  broken,  and  after  ceding  large  tracts  of  land  to  the 
English,  the  chiefs  acknowledged  allegiance  to  the  authorities  of  Virginia,  and 
so  the  political  life  of  the  Powhatans  passed  away  forever.9 

During  the  civil  war  in  England  [1641 — 1649],  the  Virginians  remained 
loyal ;  and  when  republican  government  was  proclaimed,  they  boldly  recognized 
the  son  of  the  late  king,  although  in  exile,  as  their  sovereign.10  The  republican 
parliament  was  highly  incensed,  and  took  immediate  measures  to  coerce  Vir- 
ginia into  submission  to  its  authority.  For  that  purpose  Sir  George  Ayscue 
was  sent  with  a  powerful  fleet,  bearing  commissioners  of  parliament,  as  repre- 
sentatives of  the  sovereignty  of  the  commonwealth,  and  anchored  in  Hampton 
Roads  in  March,  1652. 

1  William  Berkeley  was  born  near  London ;  was  educated  at  Oxford ;  became,  by  travel  and 
education,  a  polished  gentleman;  was  governor  of  Virginia  almost  40  years,  and  died  in  July,  1677. 

2  In  1648,  the  number  of  colonists  was  20,000.     "The  cottages  were  filled  with  children,  as  the 
ports  were  with  ships  and  immigrants." 

3  For  a  long  time  the  exactions  of  the  king  fostered  a  bitter  feeling  toward  him,  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people.     In  1641  they  took  up  arms  against  their  sovereign.     One  of  the  chief  leaders  of  the 
popular  party  was  Oliver  Cromwell.     The  war"  continued  until  1649,  when  the  royalists  were  sub- 
dued, and  the  king  was  beheaded.     Parliament  assumed  all  the  functions  of  government,  and  ruled 
until  1653,  when  Cromwell,  the  insurgent  leader,  dissolved  that  body,  and  was  proclaimed  supreme 
ruler,  with  the  title  of  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England.      Cromwell  was  a  son  of  a 
wealthy  brewer  of  Huntingdon,  England,  where  he  was  born  in  1599.     He  died  in  September, 
1658.  4  Page  75.  6  Page  75. 

6  Note  2,  page  76.  7  Note  5,  page  106.  e  Page  20. 

9  They  relinquished  all  claim  to  the  beautiful  country  between  the  York  and  James  Rivers, 
from  the  Falls  of  the  latter,  at  Richmond,  to  the  sea,  forever.     It  was  a  legacy  of  a  dying  nation 
to  their  conquerors.     After  that,  their  utter  destruction  was  swift  and  thorough. 

10  Afterward  the  profligate  Charles  the  Second.     His  mother  was  sister  to  the  French  king,  and 
to  that  court  she  fled,  with  her  children.     It  was  a  sad  day  for  the  moral  character  of  England 
when  Charles  was  enthroned.     He  was  less  bigoted,  but  more  licentious  than  any,pf  the  Stuarts 
who  governed  Great  Britain  for  more  than  eighty  years. 


1688.]  VIRGINIA.  1Q9 

The  Virginians  had  resolved  to  submit  rather  than  fight,  yet  they  made  a 
show  of  resistance.  They  declared  their  willingness  to  compromise  with  the 
invaders,  to  which  the  commissioners,  surprised  and  intimidated  by  the  bold 
attitude  of  the  colonists,  readily  consented.  Instead  of  opening  their  cannons 
upon  the  Virginians,  they  courteously  proposed  to  them  submission  to  the 
authority  of  parliament  upon  terms  quite  satisfactory  to  the  colonists.  Liberal 
political  concessions  to  the  people  were  secured,  and  they  were  allowed  nearly 
all  those  civil  rights  which  the  Declaration  of  Independence,1  a  century  and  a 
quarter  later,  charged  George  the  Third  with  violating. 

Virginia  was,  virtually,  an  independent  State,  until  Charles  the  Second 
was  restored  to  the  throne  of  his  father  [May  29,  1660J,  for  Cromwell  made  no 
appointments  except  that  of  governor.  In  the  same  year  [1652]  when  the  par- 
liamentary commissioners  came,  the  people  had  elected  Richard  Bennet  to  fill 
Berkeley's  place.  He  was  succeeded  by  Edward  Digges,  and  in  1656,  Crom- 
well appointed  Samuel  Mathews  governor.  On  the  death  of  the  Protector 
[1658],  the  Virginians  were  not  disposed  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  his 
son  Richard,2  and  they  elected  Mathews  their  chief  magistrate,  as  a  token  of 
their  independence.  Universal  suffrage  prevailed ;  all  freemen,  without  excep- 
tion, were  allowed  to  vote ;  and  white  servants,  when  their  terms  of  bondage 
ended,  had  the  same  privilege,  and  might  become  burgesses. 

But  a  serious  change  came  to  the  Virginians,  after  the  restoration  of  Charles 
the  Second.  When  intelligence  of  that  event  reached  Virginia,  Berkeley, 
whom  the  people  had  elected  governor  in  1660,  repudiated  the  popular  sover- 
eignty, and  proclaimed  the  exiled  monarch  "King  of  England,  Scotland,  Ire- 
land, and  Virginia."  This  happened  before  he  was  proclaimed  in  England.3 
The  Virginia  republicans  were  offended,  but  being  in  the  minority,  could  do 
nothing.  A  new  Assembly  was  elected  and  convened,  and  high  hopes  of  favor 
from  the  monarch  were  entertained  by  the  court  party.  But  these  were  speed- 
ily blasted,  and  in  place  of  great  privileges,  came  commercial  restrictions  to 
cripple  the  industry  of  the  colony.  The  navigation  act  of  1651  was  re-enacted 
in  1660,  and  its  provisions  were  rigorously  enforced.4  The  people  murmured, 


1  See  Supplement. 

2  Cromwell  appointed  his  son  "Richard  to  succed  him  in  office.     Lacking  the  vigor  and  ambition 
of  his  father,  he  gladly  resigned  the  troublesome  legacy  into  the  hands  of  the  people,  and,  a  little 
more  than  a  year  afterward,  Charles  the  Second  was  enthroned. 

3  When  informed  that  Parliament  was  about  to  send  a  fleet  to  bring  them  to  submission,  the 
Virginians  sent  a  message  to  Charles,  then  in  Flanders,  inviting  him  to  come  over  and  be  king  of 
Virginia.     He  had  resolved  to  come,  when  matters  took  a  turn  in  England  favorable  to  his  restora- 
tion.    In  gratitude  to  the  colonists,  he  caused  the  arms  of  Virginia  to  be  quartered  with  those  of 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  as  an  independent  member  of  the  empire.     From  this  circumstance 
Virginia  received  the  name  of  The  Old  Dominion.     Coins,  with  these  quarteriugs,  were  made  as 
late  as  1773. 

4  The  first  Navigation  Act,  by  the  Republican  Parliament,  prohibited  foreign  vessels  trading  to 
the  English  colonies.     This  was  partty  to  punish  the  sugar-producing  islands  of  the  West  Indies, 
because  the  people  were  chiefly  loyalists.     The  act  of  "1660  provided  that  no  goods  should  be 
carried  to  or  from  any  English  colonies,  but  in  vessels  built  within  the  English  dominions,  whose 
masters  and  at  least  three  fourths  of  the  crews  were  Englishmen ;  and  that  sugar,  tobacco,  and 
other  colonial  commodities  should  be  imported  into  no  part  of  Europe,  except  England  and  her 
dominions.     The  trade  between  the  colonies,  now  struggling  for  prosperous  life,  was  also  taxed  for 
the  benefit  of  England. 


HO  THE     COLONIES.  [1619. 

but  in  vain.  The  profligate  monarch,  who  seems  never  to  have  had  a  clear 
perception  of  right  and  wrong,  but  was  governed  by  caprice  and  passion,  gave 
away,  to  his  special  favorites,  large  tracts  of  the  finest  portions  of  the  Virginia 
soil,  some  of  it  already  well  cultivated.1 

Week  after  week,  and  month  after  month,  the  Royalist  party  continued  to  show 
more  and  more  of  the  foul  hand  of  despotism.  The  pliant  Assembly  abridged 
the  liberties  of  the  people.  Although  elected  for  only  two  years,  the  members 
assumed  to  themselves  the  right  of  holding  office  indefinitely,  and  the  repre- 
sentative system  was  thus  virtually  abolished.  The  doctrines  and  rituals  of 
the  Church  of  England  having  been  made  the  religion  of  the  State,  intolerance 
began  to  grow.  Baptists  and  Quakers2  were  compelled  to  pay  heavy  fines. 
The  salaries  of  the  royal  officers  being  paid  from  duties  upon  exported  tobacco, 
these  officials  were  made  independent  of  the  people.3  Oppressive  and  unequal 
taxes  were  levied,  and  the  idle  aristocracy  formed  a  distinct  and  ruling  class. 
The  "common  people" — the  men  of  toil  and  substantial  worth — formed  a 
republican  party,  and  rebellious  murmurs  were  heard  on  every  side.  They 
desired  a  sufficient  reason  for  strengthening  their  power,  and  it  soon  appeared. 
The  menaces  of  the  Susquehannah  Indians,4  a  fierce  tribe  of  Lower  Pennsylva- 
nia, gave  the  people  a  plausible  pretense  for  arming  during  the  summer  of 
1675.  The  Indians  had  been  driven  from  their  hunting-grounds  at  the  head 
of  the  Chesapeake  Bay  by  the  Senecas,5  and  coming  down  the  Potomac,  they 
made  war  upon  the  Maryland  settlements.0  They  finally  committed  murders 
upon  Virginia  soil,  and  retaliation7  caused  the  breaking  out  of  a  fierce  border 
war.  The  inhabitants,  exasperated  and  alarmed,  called  loudly  upon  Governor 
Berkeley  to  take  immediate  and  energetic  measures  for  the  defense  of  the  col- 
ony. His  slow  and  indecisive  movements  were  very  unsatisfactory,  and  loud 
murmurs  were  heard  on  every  side.  At  length  Nathaniel  Bacon,8  an  energetic 
and  highly  esteemed  republican,  acting  in  behalf  of  his  party,  demanded  per- 
mission for  the  people  to  arm  and  protect  themselves.9  Berkeley's  sagacity 
perceived  the  danger  of  allowing  discontented  men  to  have  arms,  and  he  refused. 
The  Indians  came  nearer  and  nearer,  until  laborers  on  Bacon's  plantation,  near 
Richmond,  were  murdered.  That  leader  then  yielded  to  the  popular  will,  and 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  four  or  five  hundred  men,  to  drive  back  the 
enemy.  Berkeley,  jealous  of  Bacon's  popularity,  proclaimed  him  a  traitor 


1  In  1673,  the  king  gave  to  Lord  Culpepper  and  the  Earl  of  Arlington,  two  of  his  profligate 
favorites,  "all  the  dominion  of  land  and  water  9alled  Virginia,"  for  the  term  of  thirty  years. 

2  Note  7,  page  94. 

3  One  of  the  charges  made  against  the  King  of  England  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
more  than  a  hundred  years  later,  was  that  he  had  "  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone  for 
the  tenure  of  their  offices  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries."  4  Page  17. 

5  Page  23.  6  Page  82. 

7  John  Washington,  an  ancestor  of  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  American  armies  a  century 
later,  commanded  some  troops  against  an  Indian  fort  on  the  Potomac.     Some  chiefs,  who  were 
sent  to  his  camp  to  treat  for  peace,  were  treacherously  slain,  and  this  excited  the  fierce  resentment 
of  the  Susquehannahs. 

8  He  was  born  in  England,  was  educated  a  lawyer,  and  in  Virginia  was  a  member  of  the  coun- 
cil.    He  was  about  thirty  years  of  ago  at  that  time. 

9  King  Philip's  war  was  then  raging  in  Massachusetts,  and  the  white  people,  everywhere,  were 
alarmed.     See  page  124. 


1688.]  VIRGINIA. 

[May,  1676],  and  sent  troops  to  arrest  him.  Some  of  his  more  timid  followers 
returned,  but  sterner  patriots  adhered  to  his  fortunes.  The  people  generally 
sympathized  with  him,  and  in  the  lower  counties  they  arose  in  open  rebellion. 
Berkeley  was  obliged  to  recall  his  troops  to  suppress  the  insurrection,  and  in 
the  mean  while  Bacon  drove  the  Indians1  back  toward  the  Rappahannock.  He 
was  soon  after  elected  a  burgess,2  but  on  approaching  Jamestown,  to  take  his 
seat  in  the  Assembly,  he  was  arrested.  For  fear  of  the  people,  who,  made  hos- 
tile demonstrations,  the  governor  soon  pardoned  him  and  all  his  followers,  and 
hypocritically  professed  a  personal  regard  for  the  bold  republican  leader. 

Popular  opinion  had  now  manifestly  become  a  power  in  Virginia ;  and  the 
pressure  of  that  opinion  compelled  Berkeley  to  yield  at  all  points.  The  long 
aristocratic  Assembly  was  dissolved ;  many  abuses  were  corrected,  and  all  the 
privileges  formerly  enjoyed  by  the  people  were  restored.3  Fearing  treachery 
in  the  capital,  Bacon  withdrew  to  the  Middle  Plantation,4  where  he  was  joined 
by  three  or  four  hundred  armed  men  from  the  upper  counties,  and  was  pro- 
claimed commander-in-chief  of  the  Virginia  troops.  The  governor  regarded  the 
movement  as  rebellious,  and  refused  to  sign  Bacon's  commission.  The  patriot 
marched  to  Jamestown,  and  demanded  it  without  delay.  The  frightened  governor 
speedily  complied  [July  4,  1676],  and,  concealing  his  anger,  he  also,  on  compul- 
sion, signed  a  letter  to  the  king,  highly  commending  the  acts  and  motives  of  the 
'•traitor."  This  was  exactly  one  hundred  years,  to  a  day,  before  the  English 
colonies  in  America  declared  themselves  free  and  independent,  the  logic  of 
which  the  King  of  Great  Britain  was  compelled,  reluctantly,  to  acknowledge,  a 
few  years  later.  The  Virginia  Assembly  was  as  pliant  before  the  successful 
leader  as  the  governor,  and  gave  him  the  commission  of  a  general  of  a  thousand 
men.  On  receiving  it,  Bacon  marched  against  the  Pamunkey  Indians.5  When 
he  had  gone,  Berkeley,  faithless  to  his  professions,  crossed  the  York  River,  and 
at  Gloucester  summoned  a  convention  of  royalists.  All  the  proceedings  of  the 
Republican  Assembly  were  reversed,  and.  contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  friends, 
the  governor  again  proclaimed  Bacon  a  traitor,  on  the  29th  of  July.  The 
indignation  of  the  patriot  leader  was  fiercely  kindled,  and,  marching  back  to 
Jamestown,  he  lighted  up  a  civil  war.  The  property  of  royalists  was  confis- 
cated, their  wives  were  seized  as  hostages,  and  their  plantations  were  desolated. 
Berkeley  fled  to  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Chesapeake.  Bacon  proclaimed  his 
abdication,  and,  dismissing  the  republican  troops,  called  an  Assembly  in  his 
own  name,  and  was  about  to  cast  off  all  allegiance  to  the  English  Crown,  when 


1  Page  40. 

2  The  chief  leaders  of  the  republican  party  at  the  capital,  were  "William  Drummond,  who  had 
been  governor  of  North  Carolina  [page  97],  and  Colonel  Richard  Lawrence. 

3  This  event  was  the  planting  of  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  fruitful  germs  of  American 
nationality.     It  was  the  first  bending  of  power  to  the  boldly-expressed  will  of  the  people. 

4  Williamsburg,  four  miles  from  Jamestown,  and  midway  between  the  York  and  James  Rivers, 
was  then  called  the  Middle  Plantation.     After  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary  [seepage  113], 
a  town  was  laid  out  in  the  form  of  the  ciphers  WM.,  and  was  named  Williamsburg.     Governor 
Nicholson  made  it  the  capital  of  the  province  in  1698. 

6  This  was  a  small  tribe  on  the  Pamunkey  River,  one  of  the  chief  tributaries  of  the  York 
River. 


THE     COLONIES.  [1619. 

intelligence  was  received  of  the  arrival  of  imperial  troops  to  quell  the  rebellion.1 
Great  was  the  joy  of  the  governor,  when  informed  of  the  arrival  of  the  hoped- 
for  succor,  for  his  danger  was  imminent.  With  some  royalists  and  English 
sailors  under  Major  Robert  Beverley,  he  now  [Sept.  7]  returned  to  Jamestown. 
Bacon  collected  hastily  his  troops,  and  drove  the  governor  and  his  friends  down 
the  James  River.  Informed  that  a  large  body  of  royalists  and  imperial  troops 
were  approaching,  the  republicans,  unable  to  maintain  their  position  at  James- 
town, applied  the  torch  [Sept.  30]  just  as  the  night  shadows  came  over  the 
village.2  When  the  sun  arose  on  the  following  morning, 
the  first  town  built  by  Englishmen  in  America,3  was  a 
heap  of  smoking '  ruins.  Nothing  remained  standing 
but  a  few  chimneys,  and  that  old  church  tower,  which 
now  attracts  the  eye  and  heart  of  the  voyager  upon  the 
bosom  of  the  James  River.  This  work  accomplished, 
Bacon  pressed  forward  with  his  little  army  towrard  the 
York,  determined  to  drive  the  royalists  from  Virginia. 
But  he  was  smitten  by  a  deadlier  foe  than  armed  men. 

v 

The  malaria  of  the  marshes  at  Jamestown  had  poisoned 

his  veins,  and  he  died  [Oct.  11.  1676]  of  malignant  fever,  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  York.  There  was  no  man  to  receive  the  mantle  of  his  ability  and  influ- 
ence, and  his  departure  was  a  death-blow  to  the  cause  he  had  espoused.  His 
friends  and  followers  made  but  feeble  resistance,  and  before  the  first  of  Novem- 
ber, Berkeley  returned  to  the  Middle  Plantation4  in  triumph. 

The  dangers  and  vexations  to  which  the  governor  had  been  exposed  during 
these  commotions,  rendered  the  haughty  temper  of  the  baron  irascible,  and  he 
signalized  his  restoration  to  power  by  acts  of  wanton  cruelty.  Twenty-two  of 
the  insurgent  leaders  had  been  hanged,5  when  the  more  merciful  Assembly  im- 
plored him  to  shed  no  more  blood.  But  he  continued  fines,  imprisonments,  and 
confiscations,  and  ruled  with  an  iron  hand  and  a  stony  heart  until  recalled  by 
the  king  in  April,  1677,  who  had  become  disgusted  with  his  cruel  conduct.6 
There  was  no  printing  press  in  Virginia  to  record  current  history,7  and  for  a 

1  This  was  an  error.  The  fleet  sent  with  troops  to  quell  the  insurrection,  did  not  arrive  until 
April  the  following  year,  when  all  was  over.  Colonel  Jeffreys,  the  successor  of  Berkeley,  came 
with  the  fleet. 

a  Besides  the  church  and  court-house,  Jamestown  contained  sixteen  or  eighteen  houses,  built 
of  brick,  and  quite  commodious,  and  a  large  number  of  humble  log  cabins. 

3  The  church,  of  which  the  brick  tower  alone  remains,  was  built  about  1620.     It  was  probably 
the  third  church  erected  in  Jamestown.     The  ruin  is  now  [1856]  a  few  rods  from  the  encroaching 
bank  of  the  river,  and  is  about  thirty  feet  in  height.     The  engraving  is  a  correct  representation  of 
its  present  appearance.     In  the  grave-yard  adjoining  are  fragments  of  several  monuments. 

4  Note  4,  page  111. 

6  The  first  man  executed  was  Colonel  Hansford.  He  has  been  justly  termed  the  first  martyr  in 
the  cause  of  liberty  in  America.  Drummond  and  Lawrence  were  also  executed.  They  were  con- 
sidered ringleaders  and  the  prime  instigators  of  the  rebellion. 

6  Charles  said,  "The  old  fool  has  taken  more  lives  in  that  naked  country  than  I  have  taken  for 
the  murder  of  my  father." 

7  Berkeley  was  an  enemy  to  popular  enlightenment.     He  said  to  commissioners  sent  from  En- 
gland in  1671,  "Thank  God  there  are  no  free  schools  nor  printing  press;  and  I  hope  we  shall  not 
have  these  hundred  years ;  for  learning  has  brought  disobedience,  and  heresy,  and  sects  into  the 
world,  and  printing  has  divulged  these,  and  libels  against  the  best  government."     Despots  are 
.always  afraid  of  the  printing  press,  for  it  is  the  most  destructive  foe  of  tyranny. 


1688.]  VIRGINIA. 

hundred  years  the  narratives  of  the  royalists  gave  hue  to  the  whole  affair. 
Bacon  was  always  regarded  as  a  traitor,  and  the  effort  to  establish  a  free  gov- 
ernment is  known  in  history  as  BACON'S  REBELLION.  Such,  also,  would  have 
been  the  verdict  of  history,  had  Washington  and  his  compatriots  been  unsuc- 
cessful. Too  often  success  is  accounted  a  virtue,  but  failure,  a  crime. 

Long  years  elapsed  before  the  effects  of  these  civil  commotions  were  effaced. 
The  people  were  borne  down  by  the  petty  tyranny  of  royal  rulers,  yet  the  prin- 
ciples of  Republicanism  grew  apace.  The  popular  Assembly  became  winnowed 
of  its  aristocratic  elements  ;  and,  notwithstanding  royal  troops  were  quar- 
tered in  Virginia,1  to  overawe  the  people,  the  burgesses  were  always  firm  in  the 
maintenance  of  popular  rights.2  In  reply  to  Governor  Jeffreys,  when  he  ap- 
pealed to  the  authority  of  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  in  defense  of  his  arbitrary 
act  in  seizing  the  books  and  papers  of  the  Assembly,  the  burgesses  said,  "  that 
such  a  breach  of  privilege  could  not  be  commanded  under  the  Great  Seal,  be- 
cause they  could  not  find  that  any  king  of  England  had  ever  done  so  in  former 
times."  The  king  commanded  the  governor  to  "  signify  his  majesty's  indigna- 
tion at  language  so  seditious ;"  but  the  burgesses  were  as  indifferent  to  royal 
frowns  as  they  were  to  the  governor's  menaces: 

A  libertine  from  the  purlieus  of  the  licentious  court  now  came  to  rule  the 
liberty-loving  Virginians.  It  was  Lord  Culpepper,  who,  under  the  grant  of 
1673,3  had  been  appointed  governor  for  life  in  1677.  He  arrived  in  1680.  His 
profligacy  and  rapacity  disgusted  the  people.  Discontents  ripened  into  insur- 
rections, and  the  blood  of  patriots  again  flowed.4  At  length  the  king  himself 
became  incensed  against  Culpepper,  revoked  his  grant1  in  1684,  and  deprived 
him  of  office.  Effingham,  his  successor,  was  equally  rapacious,  and  the  people 
were  on  the  eve  of  a  general  rebellion,  when  king  Charles  died,  and  his  brother 
James6  was  proclaimed  [Feb.  1685]  his  successor,  with  the  title  of  James  the 
Second.  The  people  hoped  for  benefit  by  the  change  of  rulers,  but  their  bur- 
dens were  increased.  Again  the  wave  of  rebellion  was  rising  high,  when  the 
revolution  of  1688  placed  William  of  Orange  and  his  wife  Mary  upon  the 
throne.7  Then  a  real  change  for  the  better  took  place.  The  detested  and 
detestable  Stuarts  were  forever  driven  from  the  seat  of  power  in  Great  Britain. 
That  event,  wrought  out  by  the  people,  infused  a  conservative  principle  into 
the  workings  of  the  English  constitution.  The  popular  will,  expressed  by  Par- 


1  These  troops  were  under  the  command  of  a  wise  veteran,  Sir  Henry  Chicheley,  who  managed 
with  prudence.  They  proved  a  source  of  much  discontent,  because  their  subsistence  was  drawn 
from  the  planters  For  the  same  cause,  disturbances  occurred  in  New  York  ninety  years  afterward. 
See  page  218.  a  Page  71.  3  Note  1,  page  110. 

4  By  the  king's  order,  Culpepper  caused  several  of  the  insurgents,  who  were  men  of  influence, 
to  be  hanged,  and  a  "reign  of  terror,"  miscalled  tranquillity,  followed. 

6  Arlington  [note  1,  page  110]  had  already  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  grant  to  Culpepper. 

6  James,  Duke  of  York,  to  whom  Charles  gave  the  New  Netherlands  in  1664.     See  page  144. 

7  James  the  Second,  by  his  bigotry  (he  was  a  Roman  Catholic),  tyranny,  and  oppression,  ren- 
dered himself  hateful  to  his  subjects.     William,  Prince  of  Orange,  Stadtholder  of  Holland,  who  had 
married  Mary,  a  Protestant  daughter  of  James,  and  his  eldest  child,  was  invited  by  the  incensed 
people  to  come  to  the  English  throne.     He  came  with  Dutch  troops,  and  landed  at  Torbay  on  the 
5th  of  November,  1688.     James  was  deserted  by  his  soldiers,  and  he  and  his  family  sought  safety 
in  flight.     "William  and  Mary  were  proclaimed  joint  monarchs  of  England  on  the  13th  of  February, 
1689.     This  act  consummated  tljat  revolution  which  Voltaire  styled  "  the  era  of  English  liberty.." 

8 


114  THE     COLONIES.  [1620. 

liament,  became  potential ;  and  the  personal  character,  or  caprices  of  the  mon- 
arch, had  comparatively  little  influence  upon  legislation.  The  potency  of  the 
National  Assembly  was  extended  to  similar  colonial  organizations.  The  powers 
of  governors  were  denned,  and  the  rights  of  the  people  were  understood.  Bad 
men  often  exercised  authority  in  the  colonies,  but  it  was  in  subordination  to  the 
English  Constitution  ;  and,  notwithstanding  commercial  restrictions  bore  heav- 
ily upon  the  enterprise  of  the  colonies,  the  diffusion  of  just  political  ideas,  and 
the  growth  of  free  institutions  in  America,  were  rapid  and  healthful. 

From  the  revolution  of  1688,  down  to  the  commencement  of  the  French  and 
Indian  war,  the  history  of  Virginia  is  the  history  of  the  steady,  quiet  prog- 
ress of  an  industrious  people,  and  presents  no  prominent  events  of  interest  to 
the  general  reader.1 


CHAPTER    II. 

MASSACHUSETTS.      [1620.] 

"WELCOME,  Englishmen!  welcome,  Englishmen!"  were  the  first  words 
which  the  Pilgrim  Fathers1  heard  from  the  lips  of  a  son  of  the  American 
forest.  It  was  the  voice  of  Samoset,  a  Wampanoag  chief,  who  had  learned  a 
few  English  words  of  fishermen  at  Penobscot.  His  brethren  had  hovered 
around  the  little  community  of  sufferers  at  New  Plymouth3  for  a  hundred  days, 
when  he  boldly  approached  [March  26,  1621],  and  gave  the  friendly  saluta- 
tion. He  told  them  to  possess  the  land,  for  the  occupants  had  nearly  all  been 
swept  away  by  a  pestilence.  The  Pilgrims  thanked  God  for  thus  making  their 
seat  more  secure,  for  they  feared  the  hostility  of  the  Aborigines.  When  Sam- 
oset again  appeared,  he  was  accompanied  by  Squanto,4  a  chief  who  had  recently 
returned  from  captivity  in  Spain ;  and  they  told  the  white  people  about  Mas- 
sasoit,  the  grand  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags,  then  residing  at  Mount  Hope. 
An  interview  was  planned.  The  old  sachem  came  with  barbaric  pomp,5  and  he 
and  Governor  Carver0  smoked  the  calumet7  together.  A  preliminary  treaty  of 
friendship  and  alliance  was  formed  [April  1,  1621],  which  remained  unbroken 


1  The  population  at  that  time  was  about  50,000.  of  whom  one  half  were  slaves.     The  tobacco 
trade  had  become  very  important,  the  expo'rts  to  England  and  Ireland  being  about  30,000  hogs- 
heads that  year.     Almost  a  hundred  vessels  annually  came  from  those  countries  to  Virginia  for 
tobacco.     A  powerful  militia  of  almost  9,000  men  was  organized,  and  they  no  longer  feared  their 
dusky  neighbors.     The  militia  became  expert  in  the  use  of  tire-arms  in  the  woods,  and  back  to  this 
period  the  Virginia  rifleman  may  look  for  the  foundation  of  his  fame  as  a  marksman.     The  province 
contained  twenty-two  counties,  and  forty-eight  parishes,  with  a  church  and  a  clergyman  in  each, 
and  a  great  deal  of  glebe  land.     But  there  was  no  printing  press  nor  book-store  in  the  colony.     A 
press  was  first  established  in  Virginia  in  1729. 

2  Page  77.  3  Page  78.  4  Page  74. 

6  Massasoit  approached,  with  a  guard  of  sixty  warriors,  and  took  post  upon  a  neighboring  hill. 
There  he  sat  in  state,  and  received  Edward  Winslow  as  embassador  from  the  English.  Leaving 
"Winslow  with  his  warriors  as  security  for  his  own  safety,  the  sachem  went  into  New  Plymouth  and 
treated  with  Governor  Carver.  Note  5,  page  14.  6  Page  78.  7  Page  14. 


1755.]  MASSACHUSETTS.  115 

for  fifty  years.1  Massasoit  rejoiced  at  his  good  fortune,  for  Canonicus,  the  Head 
of  the  powerful  Narragansetts,3  was  his  enemy,  and  he  needed  strength. 

Three  days  after  the  interview  with  the  Wampanoag  sachem  [April  3], 
Governor  Carver  suddenly  died.  William  Bradford,3  the  earliest  historian  of 
the  colony,  was  appointed  his  successor.  He  was  a  wise  and  prudent  man,  and 
for  thirty  years  he  managed  the  public  affairs  of  the  colony  with  great  sagacity. 
He  was  a  man  just  fitted  for  such  a  station,  and  he  fostered  the  colony  with 
parental  care.  The  settlers  endured  great  trials  during  the  first  four  years  of 
their  sojourn.  They  were  barely  saved  from  starvation  in  the  autumn  of  1621, 
by  a  scanty  crop  of  Indian  corn.4  In  November  of  that  year,  thirty-five  im- 
migrants (some  of  them  their  weak  brethren  of  the  Speedwell)5  joined  them,  and 
increased  their  destitution.  The  winter  was  severe,  and  produced  great  suffer- 
ing ;  and  the  colonists  were  kept  in  continual  fear  by  the  menaces  of  Canonicus, 
the  great  chief  of  the  Narragansetts,  who  regarded  the  English  as  intruders. 
Bradford  acted  wisely  with  the  chief,  and  soon  made  him  sue  for  peace.6  The 
power,  but  not  the  hatred,  of  the  wily  Indian  was  subdued,  yet  he  was  com- 
pelled to  be  a  passive  friend  of  the  English. 

Sixty-three  more  immigrants  arrived  at  Plymouth  in  July,  1622.  They 
had  been  sent  by  Weston,  a  wealthy,  dissatisfied  member  of  the  Plymouth  Com- 
pany,7 to  plant  a  new  colony.  Many  of  them  were  idle  and  dissolute  ;8  and 
after  living  upon  the  slender  means  of  the  Plymouth  people  for  several  weeks, 
they  went  to  Wissagusset  (now  Weymouth),  to  commence  a  settlement.  Their 
improvidence  produced  a  famine  ;  and  they  exasperated  the  Indians  by  begging 
and  stealing  supplies  for  their  wants.  A  plot  was  devised  by  the  savages  for 
their  destruction,  but  through  the  agency  of  Massasoit,9  it  was  revealed  [March, 
1623]  to  the  Plymouth  people ;  and  Captain  Miles  Standish,  with  eight  men, 
hastened  to  Wissagusset  in  time  to  avert  the  blow.  A  chief  and  several  war- 
riors were  killed  in  a  battle  ;10  and  so  terrified  were  the  surrounding  tribes  by 


1  Page  124.  2  Page  22. 

3  William  Bradford  was  born  at  Ansterfield,  in  the  north  of  England,  in  1588.     Ho  followed 
Robinson  to  Holland ;  came  to  America  in  the  Mayflower  [see  page  7  7]  ;  and  was  annually  elected 
governor  of  the  colony  from  1621  until  his  death  in  1657. 

4  While  Captain  Miles  Standish  and  others  were  seeking  a  place  to  land  [see  page  78],  they 
found  some  maize,  or  Indian  corn,  in  one  of  the  deserted  huts  of  the  savages.     Afterward,  Samoset 
and  others  taught  them  how  to  cultivate  the  gram  (then  unknown  in  Europe),  and  this  supply  serv- 
ing for  seed,  providentially  saved  them  from  starvation.     The  grain  now  first  received  the  name  of 
Indian  corn.     Early  in  September  [1621],  an  exploring  party,  under  Standish,  coasted  northward  to 
Shawmut,  the  site  of  Boston,  where  they  found  a  few  Indians.     The  place  was  delightful,  and  for  a 
while,  the  Pilgrims  thought  of  removing  thither.  6  Page  77. 

6  Canonicus  dwelt  upon  Connanicut  Island,  opposite  Newport.  In  token  of  his  contempt  and 
defiance  of  the  English,  he  sent  [Feb.,  1622]  a  bundle  of  arrows,  wrapped  in  a  rattlesnake's  skin, 
to  Governor  Bradford.  The  governor  accepted  the  hostile  challenge,  and  then  returned  the  skin, 
filled  with  powder  and  shot.  These  substances  were  new  to  the  savages.  They  regarded  them 
with  superstitious  awe,  as  possessing  some  evil  influence.  They  were  sent  from  village  to  village, 
and  excited  general  alarm.  The  pride  of  Canonicus  was  humbled,  and  he  sued  for  peace.  The 
example  of  Canonicus  was  followed  by  several  chiefs,  who  were  equally  alarmed.  7  Page  63. 

b  There  was  quite  a  number  of  indentured  servants,  and  men  of  no  character;  a  population 
wholly  unfit  to  found  an  independent  State. 

9  In  gratitude  for  attentions  and  medicine  during  a  severe  illness,  Massasoit  revealed  the  plot  to 
Edward  Winslow  a  few  days  before  the  time  appointed  to  strike  the  blow. 

10  Standish  carried  the  chiefs  head  in  triumph  to  Plymouth.    It  was  borne  upon  a  pole,  and  was 
placed  upon  the  palissades  [note  1,  page  127]  of  the  little  fort  which  had  just  been  erected.     The 


116  THE     COLONIES.  [1620. 

the  event,  that  several  chiefs  soon  appeared  at  Plymouth  to  crave  the  friendship 
of  the  English.  The  settlement  at  Wissagusset  was  broken  up,  however,  and 
most  of  the  immigrants  returned  to  England. 

Social  perils  soon  menaced  the  stability  of  the  colony.  The  partnership  of 
merchants  and  colonists1  was  an  unprofitable-  speculation  for  all.  The  commu- 
nity system2  operated  unfavorably  upon  the  industry  and  thrift  of  the  colony, 
and  the  merchants  had  few  or  no  returns  for  their  investments.  Ill  feelings 
were  created  by  mutual  criminations,  and  the  capitalists  commenced  a  series  of 
annoyances  to  force  the  workers  into  a  dissolution  of  the  league.3  The  partner- 
ship continued,  however,  during  the  prescribed  term  of  seven  years,  and  then 
[1627]  the  colonists  purchased  the  interest  of  the  London  merchants  for  nine 
thousand  dollars.  Becoming  sole  proprietors  of  the  soil,  they  divided  the  whole 
property  equally,  and  to  each  man  was  assigned  twenty  acres  of  land  in  fee. 
New  incentives  to  industry  followed,  and  the  blessings  of  plenty,  even  upon 
that  unfruitful  soil,  rewarded  them  all.4  At  about  the  same  time,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  colony  became  slightly  changed.  The  only  officers,  at  first,  were 
a  governor  and  an  assistant.  In  1624,  five  assistants  were  chosen ;  and  in 
1630,  when  the  colony  numbered  almost  five  hundred  souls,  seven  assistants 
were  elected.  This  pure  democracy  prevailed,  both  in  Church  and  State,  for 
almost  nineteen  years,  when  a  representative  government  was  instituted 
[1639],  and  a  pastor  was  chosen  as  spiritual  guide.5 

James  the  First  died  in  the  spring  of  1625 ;  and  his  son  and  successor, 
Charles  the  First,  inherited  his  father's  hatred  of  the  Nonconformists.6  Many 
of  their  ministers  were  silenced  during  the  first  years  of  his  reign,  and  the  un- 
easiness of  the  great  body  of  Nonconformists  daily  increased.  Already,  White, 
a  Puritan  minister  of  Dorchester,  in  the  west  of  England,  had  persuaded  sev- 
eral influential  men  of  that  city  to  attempt  the  establishment  of  a  new  asylum 
for  the  oppressed,  in  America.  They  chose  the  rocky  promontory  of  Cape 
Anne  for  the  purpose  [1624],  intending  to  connect  the  settlement  with  the  fish- 
ing business ;  but  the  enterprise  proved  to  be  more  expensive  than  profitable, 

good  Robinson  [page  77],  when  he  heard  of  it,  wrote,  "Oh,  how  happy  a  thing  it  would  have  been, 
that  you  had  converted  some  before  you  killed  any." 

1  Page  77.  2  Note  1,  page  70. 

3  The  merchants  refused  Mr.  Robinson  a  passage  to  America ;  attempted  to  force  a  minister 
upon  the  colonists  who  was  friendly  to  the  Established  Church ;  and  even  sent  vessels  to  interfere 
with  the  infant  commerce  of  the  settlers. 

4  The  colonists  unsuccessfully  tried  the  cultivation  of  tobacco.     They  raised  enough  grain  and 
vegetables  for  their  own  consumption,  and 'relied  upon  traffic  in  furs  with  the  Indians,  for  obtaining 
the  means  of  paying  for  cloths,  implements,  etc.,  procured  from  England.      In  1627,  they  made  the 
first  step  toward  the  establishment  of  the  cod  fishery,  since  become  so  important,  by  constructing  a 
salt  work,  and  curing  some  fish.     In  1624,  Edward  Winslow  imported  three  cows  and  a  bull,  and 
soon  those  invaluable  animals  became  numerous  in  the  colony. 

8  The  colonists  considered  Robinson  (who  was  yet  in  Leyden),  as  their  pastor ;  and  religious 
exercises,  in  the  way  of  prayer  and  exhortation,  were  conducted  by  Elder  Brewster  and  others. 
On  Sunday  afternoons  a  question  would  be  propounded,  to  which  all  had  a  right  to  speak.  Even 
after  they  adopted  the  plan  of  having  a  pastor,  the  people  were  so  democratic  in  religious  matters, 
that  a  minister  did  not  remain  long  at  Plymouth.  The  doctrine  of  "  private  judgment"  was  put  in 
full  practice ;  and  the  religious  meetings  were  often  the  arena  of  intenaperate  debate  and  confusion. 
In  1629,  thirty-five  persons,  the  remainder  of  Robinson's  congregation  at  Leyden,  joined  the  Pil- 
grims at  Plymouth,  among  whom  was  Robinson's  family ;  but  the  good  man  never  saw  New  En- 
gland himself.  6  Note  2,  page  76. 


1755.] 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


117 


and  it  was  abandoned.  A  few  years  afterward,  a  company  purchased  a  tract 
of  land  [March  29,  1628]  defined  as  being  "  three  miles  north  of  any  and  every 
part  of  the  Merrimac  River,"  and  "three  miles  south  of 
any  and  every  part  of  the  Charles  River,"  and  westward  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean.1  In  the  summer  of  1628,  John  Endi- 
cot,  and  a  hundred  emigrants  came  over,  and  at  Naumkeag 
(now  Salem)  they  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Colony  of 
Massachusetts  Bay.  The  proprietors  received  a  charter  from 
the  king  the  following  year  [March  14,  1629],  and  they 
were  incorporated  by  the  name  of  "  The  Governor  and  Com- 
pany of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England2 

The  colony  at  Salem  increased  rapidly,  and  soon  began  to  spread.    In  July, 
1629.  "  three  godly  ministers"   (Skeiton,  Higginson,  and  Bright)  came  with 


FIRST  COLONY  SEAL. 


two  hundred  settlers,  and  a  part  of  them  laid  the  foundations  of  Charlestown,  at 
Mishawam.    A  new  stimulus  was  now  given  to  emigration  by  salutary  arrange- 

1  This  was  purchased  from  the  Council  of  Plymouth.     The  chief  men  of  the  company  were 
John  Humphrey  (brother-in-law  to  the  earl  of  Lincoln),  John  Endicot,  Sir  Henry  Eoswell,  Sir  John 
Young,  Thomas  Southcote,  Simon  Whitcomb,  John  Winthrop,  Thomas  Dudley,  Sir  Richard  Sal  ton- 
stall,  and  others.     Eminent  men  in  New  England  afterward  became  interested  in  the  enterprise. 

2  The  administration  of  affairs  was  intrusted  to  a  governor,  deputy,  and  eighteen  assistants,  who 
were  to  be  elected  annually  by  the  stockholders  of  the  corporation.     A  general  assembly  of  the 
freemen  of  the  colony  was  to  be  held  at  least  four  times  a  year,  to  legislate  for  the  colony.     The 
king  claimed  no  jurisdiction,  for  he  regarded  the  whole  matter  as  a  trading  operation,  not  as  the 
founding  of  an  empire.    The  instrument  conferred  on  the  colonists  all  the  rights  of  English  subjects, 
and  afterward  became  the  text  for  many  powerful  discourses  against  the  usurpation  of  royalty. 


118  THE     COLONIES.  [1620. 

merits.  On  the  1st  of  September,  the  members  of  the  company,  at  a  meeting  in 
Cambridge,  England,  signed  an  agreement  to  transfer  the  charter  and  govern- 
ment to  the  colonists.  It  was  a  wise  and  benevolent  conclusion,  for  men  of  for- 
tune and  intelligence  immediately  prepared  to  emigrate  when  such  a  democracy 
should  be  established.  John  Winthrop1  and  others,  with  about  three  hundred 
families,  arrived  at  Salem  in  July  [1630]  following.  Winthrop  had  been 
chosen  governor  before  his  departure,  with  Thomas  Dudley  for  deputy,  and  a 
council  of  eighteen.  The  new  immigrants  located  at,  and  named  Dorchester, 
Roxbury,  Watertown,  and  Cambridge  ;  and  during  the  summer,  the  governor 
and  some  of  the  leading  men,  hearing  of  a  spring  of  excellent  water  on  the  pen- 
insula of  Shawmut,  went  there,  erected  a  few  cottages,  and  founded  Boston. 
the  future  metropolis  of  New  England.2  The  peninsula  was  composed  of  three 
hills,  and  for  a  long  time  it  was  called  Tni-MouNTAiN.3 

As  usual,  the  ravens  of  sickness  and  death  followed  these  first  settlers. 
Many  of  them,  accustomed  to  ease  and  luxury  in  England,  suffered  much,  and 
before  December,  two  hundred  were  in  their  graves.4  Yet  the  survivors  were 
not  disheartened,  and  during  the  winter  of  intense  suffering  which  followed, 
they  applied  themselves  diligently  to  the  business  of  founding  a  State.  In 
May,  1631,  it  was  agreed  at  a  general  assembly  of  the  people,  that  all  the 
officers  of  government  should  thereafter  be  chosen  by  the  freemen6  of  the  colony ; 
and  in  1634,  the  pure  democracy  was  changed  to  a  representative  government, 
the  second  in  America.6  The  colony  flourished.  Chiefs  from  the  Indian  tribes 
dined  at  Governor  Winthrop' s  table,  and  made  covenants  of  peace  and  friend- 
ship with  the  English.  Winthrop  journeyed  on  foot  to  exchange  courtesies  with 
Bradford  at  Plymouth,7  a  friendly  salutation  came  from  the  Dutch  in  New 
Netherland,3  and  a  ship  from  Virginia,  laden  with  corn  [May,  1632],  sailed 
into  Boston  harbor.  A  bright  future  was  dawning. 

The  character  of  the  Puritans9  who  founded  the  colony  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  presents  a  strange  problem  to  the  scrutiny  of  the  moral  philosopher.  Vic- 
tims of  intolerance,  they  were  themselves  equally  intolerant  when  clothed  with 
power.10  Their  ideas  of  civil  and  religious  freedom  were  narrow,  and  their  prac- 


1  He  was  born  in  England  in  1558,  and  was  one  of  the  most  active  men  in  New  England  from 
1630  until  his  death  in  1649.  His  journal,  giving  an  interesting  account  of  the  colony,  has  been 
published. 

3  The  whole  company  under  Winthrop  intended  to  join  the  settlers  at  Charlestown,  but  a  pre- 
vailing sickness  there,  attributed  to  unwholesome  water,  caused  them  to  locate  elsewhere.     The 
fine  spring  of  water  which  gushed  from  one,  of  the  three  hills  of  Shawmut,  was  regarded  with  great 
favor.  3  From  this  is  derived  the  word  Tremont. 

4  Among  these  was  Higginson,  Isaac  Johnston  (a  principal  leader  in  the  enterprise,  and  the 
wealthiest  of  the  founders  of  Boston),  and  his  wife  the  "Lady  Arabella,"  a  daughter  of  the  earl  of 
Lincoln.     She  died  at  Salem,  and  her  husband  did  not  long  survive  her. 

6  None  were  considered  freemen  unless  they  were  members  of  some  church  within  the 
colony.  From  the  beginning,  the  closest  intimacy  existed  between  the  Church  and  State  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  that  intimacy  gave  rise  to  a  great  many  disorders.  This  provision  was  repealed  m 
1665.  6  Page  71.  7  Page  115.  8  Page  72.  9  Page  75. 

10  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  who  did  not  remain  long  in  America,  severely  rebuked  the  people  of 
Massachusetts,  in  a  letter  to  the  two  Boston  ministers,  Wilson  and  Cotton.  "  It  doth  a  little  grieve 
my  spirit,"  he  said,  "to  hear  what  sad  things  are  reported  daily  of  your  tyranny  and  persecutions 
in  New  England,  as  that  you  fine,  whip,  and  imprison  men  for  their  consciences."  Thirty  years 
later  [1665],  the  king's  commissioner  at  Picataqua,  in  a  manuscript  letter  before  me,  addressed  to 


1755.]  MASSACHUSETTS.  H9 

tical  interpretation  of  the  Golden  Rule,  was  contrary  to  the  intentions  of  HIM 
who  uttered  it.  Yet  they  were  honest  and  true  men  ;  and  out  of  their  love  of 
freedom,  and  jealousy  of  their  inherent  rights,  grew  their  intolerance.  They 
regarded  Churchmen  and  Roman  Catholics  as  their  deadly  enemies,  to  be  kept 
at  a  distance.1  A  wise  caution  dictated  this  course.  A  consideration  of  the 
prevailing  spirit  of  the  age,  when  bigotry  assumed  the  seat  of  justice,  and  super- 
stition was  the  counselor  and  guide  of  leading  men,  should  cause  us  to 

"  Be  to  their  faults  a  little  blind, 
And  to  their  virtues,  very  kind." 

Roger  Williams,  himself  a  Puritan  minister,  and  victim  of  persecution  in 
England,  was  among  those  who  first  felt  the  power  of  Puritan  intolerance.  He 
was  chosen  minister  at  Salem,  in  1634,  and  his  more  enlightened  views,  freely 
expressed,  soon  aroused  the  civil  authorities  against  him.  He  denied  the  right 
of  civil  magistrates  to  control  the  consciences  of  the  people,  or  to  withhold  their 
protection  from  any  religious  sect  whatever.  He  denied  the  right  of  the  king 
to  require  an  oath  of  allegiance  from  the  colonists ;  and  even  contended  that 
obedience  to  magistrates  ought  not  to  be  enforced.  He  denounced  the  charter 
from  the  king  as  invalid,  because  he  had  given  to  the  white  people  the  lands  of 
other  owners,  the  Indians.2  These  doctrines,  and  others  more  theological,3  he 
maintained  Avith  vehemence,  and  soon  the  colony  became  a  scene  of  great  com- 
motion on  that  account.  He  was  remonstrated  with  by  the  elders,  warned  by 
the  magistrates,  and  finally,  refusing  to  cease  what  was  deemed  seditious 
preaching,  he  was  banished  [November,  1635]  from  the  colony.  In  the  dead 
of  winter  he  departed  [January,  1636]  for  the  wilderness,  and  became  the 
founder  of  Rhode  Island.4 

Political  events  in  England  caused  men  who  loved  quiet  to  turn  their 
thoughts  more  and  more  toward  the  New  World;  and  the  year  1635  was 
remarkable  for  an  immense  immigration  to  New  England.  During  that  year 
full  three  thousand  new  settlers  came,  among  whom  were  men  of  wealth  and 
influence.  The  most  distinguished  were  Hugh  Peters5  (an  eloquent  preacher), 


the  magistrates  of  Massachusetts,  say,  "It  is  possible  that  the  charter  which  you  so  much  idolize 
may  be  forfeited  until  you  have  cleared  yourselves  of  those  many  injustices,  oppressions,  violences, 
and  blood  for  which  you  are  complained  against." 

1  Lyford,  who  was  sent  out  to  the  Pilgrims,  by  the  London  partners,  as  their  minister,  was  re- 
fused and  expelled,  because  he  was  friendly  to  the  Church  of  England.     John  and  Samuel  Browne, 
residents  at  Salem,  and  members  of  Endicot's  council,  were  arrested  by  that  ruler,  and  sent  to  En- 
gland as  "factious  and  evil-conditioned  persons,"  because  they  insisted  upon  the  use  of  the  Liturgy, 
or  printed  forms  of  the  English  Church,  in  their  worship. 

2  See  page  22.     This  was  not  strictly  true,  for,  until  King  Philip's  war  [page  124],  in  1675,  not 
a  foot  of  ground  was  occupied  by  the  New  England  colonists,  on  any  other  score  but  that  of  fair 
purchase. 

3  He  maintained  that  an  oath  should  not  be  tendered  to  an  unconverted  person,  and  that  no 
Christian  could  lawfully  pray  with  such  an  one,  though  it  were  a  wife  or  child !      In  the  intem- 
perance of  his  zeal,  Williams  often  exhibited  intolerance  himself,  and  at  this  day  would  be  called  a 
bigot.     Yet  his  tolerant  teachings  in  general  had  a  most  salutary  effect  upon  Puritan  exclusiveness. 

Page  89. 

6  Peters  afterward  returned  to  England,  was  very  active  in  public  affairs  during  the  civil  war, 
and  on  the  accession  of  Charles  the  Second,  was  found  guilty  of  favoring  the  death  of  the  king's 
father,  and  was  executed  in  October,  1660. 


120  THE     COLONIES.  [1620. 

and  Henry  Vane,  an  enthusiastic  young  man  of  twenty-five.  In  1636,  Vane 
was  elected  governor,  an  event  which  indirectly  proved  disastrous  to  the  peace 
of  the  colony.  The  banishment  of  Roger  Williams  had  awakened  bitter  relig- 
ous  dissensions,  and  the  minds  of  the  people  were  prepared  to  listen  to  any  new 
teacher.  As  at  Plymouth,  so  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colony,  religious  ques- 
tions were  debated  at  the  stated  meetings.1  Women  were  not  allowed  to  engage 
in  these  debates,  and  some  deemed  this  an  abridgment  of  their  rights.  Among 
these  was  Anne  Hutchinson,  an  able  and  eloquent  woman,  who  established 
meetings  at  her  own  house,  for  her  sex,  and  there  she  promulgated  peculiar 
views,  which  some  of  the  magistrates  and  ministers  pronounced  seditious  and 
heretical.2  These  views  were  embraced  by  Governor  Vane,  several  magistrates, 
and  a  majority  of  the  leading  men  of  Boston.3  Winthrop  and  others  opposed 
them,  and  in  the  midst  of  great  excitement,  a  synod  was  called,  the  doctrines 
of  Mrs.  Hutchinson  were  condemned,  and  she  and  her  family  were  first  impris- 
oned in  Boston,  and  then  banished  [August,  1637]  from  the  colony.4  Vane 
lost  his  popularity,  and  failing  to  be  elected  the  following  year,  he  returned  to 
England.6  Some  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  followers  left  the  colony,  and  established 
settlements  in  Rhode  Island.6 

The  great  abatement  of  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  the  Indians,  caused 
by  the  result  of  the  Pequod  war,7  was  favorable  to  the  security  of  the  colony, 
and  it  flourished  amazingly.  Persecution  also  gave  it  sustenance.  The  non- 
conformists in  the  mother  country  suffered  more  and  more,  and  hundreds  fled  to 
New  England.  The  church  and  the  government  became  alarmed  at  the  rapid 
growth  of  a  colony,  so  opposed,  in  its  feelings  and  laws,  to  the  character  of 
both.  Efforts  were  put  forth  to  stay  the  tide  of  emigration.  As  early  as  1633, 
a  proclamation  for  that  purpose  had  been  published,  but  not  enforced ;  and  a 
fleet  of  eight  vessels,  bearing  some  of  the  purest  patriots  of  the  realm,  was 
detained  in  the  Thames  [Feb.  1634],  by  order  of  the  privy  council.8  Believing 
that  the  colonists  "aimed  not  at  new  discipline,  but  at  sovereignty,"  a  demand 
was  made  for  a  surrender  of  the  patent  to  the  king.9  The  people  were  silent, 


1  Note  5,  page  116. 

2  She  taught  that,  as  the  Holy  Spirit  dwells  in  every  believer,  its  revelations  are  superior  to  the 
teachings  of  men.     It  was  the  doctrine  of  "  private  judgment"  in  its  fullest  extent.     She  taught  that 
every  -person  had  the  right  to  judge  of  the  soundness  of  a  minister's  teaching,  and  this  was  consid- 
ered "  rebellion  against  the  clergy."     She  taught  the  doctrine  of  Election,  and  averred  that  the  elect 
saints  were  sure  of  their  salvation,  however  vicious  their  lives  might  be. 

3  Her  brother,  Rev.  John  Wheelwright,  was  an  eloquent  expounder  of  her  views.     The  theo- 
logical question  assumed  a  political  phase,  and  for  a  long  time  influenced  the  public  affairs  of  the 
colony. 

4  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her  family  took  refuge  within  the  Dutch  domain,  near  the  present  village 
of  New  Rochelle,  in  New  York.     There  she  and  all  her  family,  except  a  daughter,  were  murdered 
by  the  Indians.     Note  2,  page  141. 

6  Yane  was  a  son  of  the  Secretary  of  State  of  Charles  the  First.     He  was  a  republican  during 
the  civil  war  [note  3,  page  108],  and  for  this,  Charles  the  Second  had  him  beheaded  in  June,  1662. 
6  Page  91.  7  Page  87. 

8  [Note  1,  page  400.]     It  was  asserted,  and  is  believed,  that  Oliver  Cromwell  and  John  Hamp- 
den  were  among  the  passengers.     There  is  no  positive  evidence  that  such  was  the  fact. 

9  The  general  patent  for  New  England  was  surrendered  by  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  in  June, 
1635,  without  consulting  the  colonists.     The  inflexible  courage  of  the  latter  prevented  the  evil  that 
might  have  ensiled  by  this  faithless  act  of  a  company  which  had  made  extensive  grants ;  and  they 
firmly  held  the  charter  given  to  them  by  the  king. 


1755.]  MASSACHUSETTS.  121 

but  firm.  When  a  rumor  reached  them  [September  18, 1634]  that  an  arbitrary 
commission/  and  a  general  governor  was  appointed  for  all  the  English  colonies 
in  America,  the  Massachusetts  people,  poor  as  they  were,  raised  three  thousand 
dollars  to  build  fortifications  for  resistance.  Even  a  quo  warranto  [April, 
1638J2  did  not  affect  either  their  resolution  or  their  condition.  Strong  in  their 
integrity,  they  continued  to  strengthen  their  new  State  by  fostering  education,3 
the  "  cheap  defense  of  nations,"  and  by  other  wise  appliances  of  vigorous  efforts. 
The  civil  war4  which  speedily  involved  the  church  and  the  throne  in  disaster, 
withdrew  the  attention  of  the  persecutors  from  the  persecuted.  The  hope  of 
better  times  at  home  checked  immigration,  and  thereafter  the  colony  received 
but  small  accessions  to  its  population,  from  the  mother  country. 

The  ties  of  interest  and  warmest  sympathy  united  the  struggling  colonists 
of  New  England.  Natives  of  the  same  country,  the  offspring  of  persecution — 
alike  exposed  to  the  weapons  of  hostile  Indians  and  the  depredations  of  the 
Dutch  and  French,5  and  alike  menaced  with  punishment  by  the  parent  govern- 
ment— they  were  as  one  people.  They  were  now  [1643J  more  than  twenty 
thousand  in  number,  and  fifty  villages  had  been  planted  by  them.  The  civil 
war  in  England0  threatened  a  total  subversion  of  the  government,  and  the  Puri- 
tans began  to  reflect  on  the  establishment  of  an  independent  nation  eastward  of 
the  Dutch  dominions.7  With  this  view,  a  union  of  the  New  England  colonies  was 
proposed  in  1637,  at  the  close  of  the  Pequod  war.  It  was  favorably  received 
by  all,  but  the  union  was  not  consummated  until  1643,  when  the  colonies  of  Ply- 
mouth,8 Massachusetts,0  Connecticut  and  New  Haven10  confederated  for  mutual 
welfare.  Rhode  Island  asked  for  admittance  into  the  Union  [1643],  but  was 
refused,11  unless  it  would  acknowledge  the  authority  of  Plymouth.  Local  juris- 
diction was  jealously  reserved  by  each  colony,  and  the  doctrine  of  State  Rights 
was  thus  early  practically  developed.  It  was  a  confederacy  of  independent 
States  like  our  Union.  The  general  affairs  of  the  confederacy  were  managed 
by  a  board  of  commissioners,  consisting  of  two  church-members  from  each 
colony,  who  were  to  meet  annually,  or  oftener  if  required.  Their  duty  was  to 
consider  circumstances,  and  recommend  measures  for  the  general  good.  They 
had  no  executive  power.  Their  propositions  were  considered  and  acted  upon  by 
the  several  colonies,  each  assuming  an  independent  sovereignty.  This  confed- 


1  Tho  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  associates  received  full  power  to  establish  governments  and 
laws  over  the  American  settlements;  to  regulate  religious  matters;  inflict  punishments,  and  even 
to  revoke  charters.  2  Note  3,  page  107. 

3  In  1636,  the  General  Court  at  Boston  appropriated  two  thousand  dollars  for  the  establishment 
of  a  college.     In  1638,  Rev.  John  Harvard  bequeathed  more  than  three  thousand  dollars  to  the 
institution  which  was  then  located  at  Cambridge,  and  it  received  the  name  of  "  Harvard  College," 
now  one  of  the  first  seminaries  of  learning  in  the  United  States.     In  1647,  a  law  was  passed, 
requiring  every  township,  which  contained  fifty  householders,  to  have  a  school-house,  and  employ 
a  teacher ;  and  each  town  containing  one  thousand  freeholders  to  have  a  grammar-school. 

4  Note  3,  page  108. 

6  The  Dutch  of  New  Netherland  [page  72],  still  claimed  jurisdiction  upon  the  Connecticut 
Biver,  and  the  French  settlers  in  Acadie,  eastward  of  New  England,  were  becoming  troublesome  to 
the  Puritans. 

6  Note  3,  page  108.  7  Page  72.  8  Page  78. 

8  Page  117.  ao  Page  89.  "  Page  91. 


122  THE     COLONIES.  [1620. 

eracy  remained  unmolested  more  than  forty  years1  [1643 — 1686],  during  which 
time  the  government  of  England  was  changed  three  times. 

The  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  was  always  the  leading  one  of  New  En- 
gland, and  assumed  to  be  a  "  perfect  republic."  After  the  Union,  a  legislative 
change  took  place.  The  representatives  had  hitherto  held  their  sessions  in  the 
same  room  with  the  governor  and  council ;  now  they  convened  in  a  separate 
apartment ;  and  the  distinct  House  of  Representatives,  or  democratic  branch 
of  the  legislature,  still  existing  in  our  Federal  and  State  Governments,  was 
established  in  1644.  Unlike  Virginia,2  the  colonists  of  New  England  sympa- 
thized with  the  English  republicans,  in  their  efforts  to  abolish  royalty. 
Ardently  attached  to  the  Parliament,  they  found  in  Cromwell,3  when  he 
assumed  supreme  authority,  a  sincere  friend  and  protector  of  their  liberties. 
No  longer  annoyed  by  the  frowns  and  menaces  of  royalty,  the  energies  of  the 
people  were  rapidly  developed,  and  profitable  commerce  was  created  between 

Massachusetts  arid  the  West  Indies.  This 
trade  brought  bullion,  or  uncoined  gold  and 
silver,  into  the  colony ;  and  in  1652,  the 
authorities  exercised  a  prerogative  of  in- 
dependent sovereignty,  by  establishing  a 
mint,  and  coining  silver  money,4  the  first 
within  the  territory  of  the  United  States. 

FIRST   MONEY    COINED    IN   THE    UNITED         r\       '  ^  ,    i  ^ 

STATES.  During   the   same  year,   settlements   in  the 

present  State  of  Maine,  imitating  the  act  of 

those  of  New  Hampshire,6  eleven  years  earlier  [1641],  came  under  the  juris- 
diction of  Massachusetts. 

And  now  an  important  element  of  trouble  and  perplexity  was  introduced. 
There  arrived  in  Boston,  in  July,  1656,  two  zealous  religious  women,  named 
Mary  Fisher  and  Ann  Austin,  who  were  called  Quakers.  This  was  a  sect 
recently  evolved  from  the  heaving  masses  of  English  society,6  claiming  to  be 
more  rigid  Puritans  than  all  who  had  preceded  them.  Letters  unfavorable  to 
the  sect  had  been  received  in  the  colony,  and  the  two  women  were  cast  into 
prison,  and  confined  for  several  weeks.7  With  eight  others  who  arrived  during 

1  When  James  the  Second  came  to  the  throne,  the  charters  of  all  the  colonies  were  taken  away 
or  suspended.     When  local  governments  were  re-established  after  the  Revolution  of  1688,  there  no 
longer  existed  a  necessity  lor  the  Union,  and  the  confederacy  was  dissolved 

2  Page  108.  3  Note  3,  page  108. 

4  In  October,  1651,  the  general  court  or  legislature  of  Massachusetts  ordered  silver  coins  of  the 
values  of  threepence,  sixpence,  and  a  shilling  sterling,  to  be  made.     The  mint-master  was  allowed 
fifteen  pence  out  of  every  twenty  shillings,  lor  his  trouble.     He  made  a  large  fortune  by  the  busi- 
ness.    From  the  circumstance  that  the  effigy  of  a  pine-tree  was  stamped  on  one  side,  these  coins, 
now  very  rare,  are  called  pine-tree  money.     The  date  [1652]  was  not  altered  for  thirty  years      Mas- 
sachusetts was  also  the  first  to  issue  paper  money  in  the  shape  of  treasury  notes.     See  page  132. 

5  Page  80. 

6  The  founder  of  the  sect  was  George  Fox.  who  promulgated  his  peculiar  tenets  about  1650. 
He  was  a  man  of  education  and  exalted  purity  of  character,  and  soon,  learned  and  influential  men 
became  his  co-workers.     They  still  maintain  the  highest  character  for  morality  and  practical  Chris- 
tianity.    See  note  7,  page  94. 

7  Their  trunks  were  searched,  and  the  religious  books  found  in  them  were  burned  by  the  hang- 
man, on  Boston  Common.     Suspected  of  being  witches   [note  7,  page  132],  their   persons  were 
examined  in  order  to  discover  certain  marks  which  would  indicate  their  connection  with  the  Evil  One. 


1755.]  MASSACHUSETTS. 

the  year,  they  were  sent  back  to  England.1  Others  came,  and  a  special  act 
against  the  Quakers  was  put  in  force  [1657],  but  to  no  purpose.  Opposition 
increased  their  zeal,  and,  as  usual  with  enthusiasts,  precisely  because  they  were 
not  wanted,  they  came.  They  suffered  stripes,  imprisonments,  and  general 
contempt ;  and  finally,  in  1658,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Federal  Com- 
missioners,2 Massachusetts,  by  a  majority  of  one  vote,  banished  them,  on  pain 
of  death.  The  excuse  pleaded  in  extenuation  of  this  barbarous  law  was,  that 
the  Quakers  preached  doctrines  dangerous  to  good  government.3  But  the  death 
penalty  did  not  deter  the  exiles  from  returning ;  and  many  others  came  because 
they  courted  the  martyr's  reward.  Some  were  hanged,  others  were  publicly 
whipped,  and  the  prisons  were  soon  filled  with  the  persecuted  sect.  The  sever- 
ity of  the  law  finally  caused  a  strong  expression  of  public  sentiment  against  it. 
The  Quakers  were  regarded  as  true  martyrs,  and  the  people  demanded  of  the 
magistrates  a  cessation  of  the  bloody  and  barbarous  punishments.  The  death 
penalty  was  abolished,  in  1661 ;  the  fanaticism  of  the  magistrates  and  the 
Quakers  subsided,  and  a  more  Christian  spirit  of  toleration  prevailed.  No 
longer  sufferers  for  opinion's  sake,  the  Quakers  turned  their  attention  to  the 
Indian  tribes,  and  nobly  seconded  the  efforts  of  Mahew  and  Eliot  in  the  propa- 
gation of  the  gospel  among  the  pagans  of  the  forest.4 

On  the  restoration  of  monarchy  in  1660,  the  judges  who  condemned  Charles 
the  First  to  the  block,  were  outlawed.  Two  of  them  (William  Goffe  and  Edward 
Whalley)  fled  to  America,  and  were  the  first  to  announce  at  Boston  the  acces- 
sion of  Charles  the  Second.  Orders  were  sent  to  the  colonial  authorities  for 
their  arrest,  and  officers  were  dispatched  from  England  for  the  same  purpose. 
The  colonists  effectually  concealed  them,  and  for  this  act,  and  the  general  sym- 
pathy manifested  by  New  England  for  the  republican  party,  the  king  resolved 
to  show  them  no  favor.  They  had  been  exempt  from  commercial  restrictions 
during  Cromwell's  administration ;  now  these  were  revived,  and  the  stringent 
provisions  of  a  new  Navigation  Act5  were  rigorously  enforced.  The  people 
vainly  petitioned  for  relief;  and  finally,  commissioners  were  sent  [August, 
1644]  "to  hear  and  determine  all  complaints  that  might  exist  in  New  England, 
and  take  such  measures  as  they  might  deem  expedient  for  settling  the  peace 
and  security  of  the  country  on  a  solid  foundation."  6  This  was  an  unwise 

1  Mary  Fisher  went  all  the  way  from  London  to  Adrianoplc,  to  carry  a  divine  message  to  the 
Sultan.  She  was  regarded  as  insane ;  and  as  the  Moslems  respect  such  people  as  special  favorites 
of  God,  Mary  Fisher  was  unharmed  in  the  Sultan's  dominions.  2  Page  121. 

3  The  Quakers  denied  all  human  authority,  and  regarded  the  power  of  magistrates  as  delegated 
tyranny.     They  preached  purity  of  life,  charity  in  its  broadest  sense,  and  denied  the  right  of  any 
man  to  control  the  opinions  of  another.     Conscience,  or  "the  light  within,"  was  considered  a  suf- 
ficient guide,  and  they  deemed  it  their  special  mission  to  denounce  "hireling  ministers"  and  "per- 
secuting magistrates,"  in  person.     It  was  this  offensive  boldness  which  engendered  the  violent 
hatred  toward  the  sect  in  England  and  America. 

4  John  Eliot  has  been  truly  called  the  Apostle  to  the  Indians.     He  began  his  labors  soon  after 
his  arrival  in  America,  and  founded  the  first  church  among  the  savages,  at  Natic,  in  1G60,  at  which 
time  there  were  ten  towns  of  converted  Indians  in  Massachusetts.     Thirty-five  years  later,  it  was 
estimated  that  there  were  not  less  than  three  thousand  adult  Christian  Indians  in  the  Islands  of 
Martha's  Vineyard  and  Nantucket,  alone.  5  Note  4,  page  109. 

6  These  were  Colonel  Richard  Nicolls.  Sir  Robert  Carr,  George  Cartwright  and  Richard  Maver- 
ick. They  came  with  a  royal  fleet,  commanded  by  Colonel  Nicolls,  which  had  been  sent  xo  assert 
English  authority  over  the  possessions  of  the  Dutch,  in  New  Netherland.  See  page  144. 


124  MASSACHUSETTS.  [1620. 

movement  on  the  part  of  the  mother  country.  The  colonists  regarded  the 
measure  with  indignation,  not  only  as  a  violation  of  their  charters,  but  as  an 
incipient  step  toward  establishing  a  system  of  domination,  destructive  to  their 
liberties.  Massachusetts  boldly  protested  against  the  exercise  of  the  authority 
of  the  commissioners  within  her  limits,  but  at  the  same  time  asserted  her  loyalty 
to  the  sovereign.  The  commissioners  experienced  the  opposition  of  the  other 
New  England  colonies,  except  Rhode  Island.  Their  acts  were  generally  disre- 
garded, and  after  producing  a  great  deal  of  irritation,  they  were  recalled  in 
1666.  The  people  of  Massachusetts,  triumphant  in  their  opposition  to  royal 
oppression,  ever  afterward  took  a  front  rank  in  the  march  toward  complete 
freedom.  The  licentious  king  and  his  ministers  were  too  much  in  love  with 
voluptuous  ease,  to  trouble  themselves  with  far-off  colonies ;  and  while  Old 
England  was  suffering  from  bad  government,  and  the  puissance  of  the  throne 
was  lessening  in  the  estimation  of  the  nations,  the  colonies  flourished  in  purity, 
peace,  and  strength,  until  Metacomet,  the  son  of  the  good  Massasoit* 
kindled  a  most  disastrous  Indian  war,  known  in  history  as 


KING    PHILIP'S    WAR. 

Massasoit  kept  his  treaty  with  the  Plymouth 
colony2  faithfully  while  he  lived.  Metacomct,  or 
Philip*  resumed  the  covenants  of  friendship,  and 
kept  them  inviolate  for  a  dozen  years.  But  as 
spreading  settlements  were  reducing  his  domains  acre 
by  acre,  breaking  up  his  hunting  grounds,  diminish- 
ing his  fisheries,  and  menacing  his  nation  with  servi- 
tude or  annihilation,  his  patriotism  was  aroused,  and 
he  willingly  listened  to  the  hot  young  warriors  of  his 
tribe,  who  counseled  a  war  of  extermination  against 
KING  PHILIP.  the  English.  At  Mount  Hope4  the  seat  of  the  chief 

sachems  of  the  Wampanoags,  in  the  solitudes  of  the 

primeval  forests,  he  planned,  with  consummate  skill,  an  alliance  of  all  the  New 
England  tribes,5  against  the  European  intruders. 

At  this  time,  there  were  four  hundred  "  praying  Indians,"  as  the  converts 
to  Christianity  were  called,  firmly  attached  to  the  white  people.  One  of  them, 
named  John  Sassamon,  who  had  been  educated  at  Cambridge,  and  was  a  sort  of 
secretary  to  Philip,  after  becoming  acquainted  with  the  plans  of  the  sachem, 

1  Page  114.  2  Page  114. 

8  Massasoit  had  two  sons,  whom  Governor  Price  named  Alexander  and  Philip,  in  compliment 
to  their  bravery  as  warriors.  Alexander  died  soon  after  the  decease  of  his  father ;  and  Philip 
became  chief  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags. 

4  Mount  Hope  is  a  conical  hill,  300  feet  in  height,  and  situated  on  the  west  side  of  Mount  Hope 
Bay,  about  two  miles  from  Bristol,  Rhode  Island.  It  was  called  Pokanoket  by  the  Indians. 

6  The  tribes  which  became  involved  in  this  war  numbered,  probably,  about  twenty-five  thousand 
souls.  Those  along  the  coast  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  who  had  suffered  terribly  by  a  pestilence  just 
before  the  PILGRIMS  came  [page  77],  had  materially  increased  in  numbers ;  and  other  tribes,  besides 
the  New  England  Indians  proper  [page  22],  became  parties  to  the  conflict. 


1755.]  MASSACHUSETTS.  125 

revealed  them  to  the  authorities  at  Plymouth.  For  this  he  was  slain  by  his 
countrymen,  and  three  Wampanoags  were  convicted  of  his  murder,  on  slender 
testimony,  and  hanged.  The  ire  of  the  tribe  was  fiercely  kindled,  and  they 
thirsted  for  vengeance.  The  cautious  Philip  was  overruled  by  his  fiery  young 
men,  and  remembering  the  wrongs  and  humiliations  he  had  personally  received 
from  the  English,1  he  trampled  upon  solemn  treaties,  sent  his  women  and  chil- 
dren to  the  Narragansetts  for  protection,  and  kindled  the  flame  of  war.  Mes- 
sengers were  sent  to  other  tribes,  to  arouse  them  to  co-operation,  and  with  all 
the  power  of  Indian  eloquence,  Metacomet  exhorted  his  followers  to  curse  the 
white  men,  and  swear  eternal  hostility  to  the  pale  faces.  He  said,  in  effect : 

"  Away !  away  !  I  will  not  hear 

Of  aught  but  death  or  vengeance  now ; 
By  the  eternal  skies  I  swear 

My  knee  shall  never  learn  to  bow  ! 
I  will  not  hear  a  word  of  peace, 

Nor  clasp  in  friendly  grasp  a  hand 
Linked  to  that  pale-browed  stranger  rac  \ 
That  works  the  ruin  of  our  land. 
****** 

And  till  your  last  white  foe  shall  kneel, 

And  in  his  coward  pangs  expire, 
Sleep — but  to  dream  of  brand  and  steel; 

AVake — but  to  deal  in  blood  and  tire!" 

Although  fierce  and  determined  when  once  aroused,  no  doubt  Philip  com- 
menced hostilities  contrary  to  the  teachings  of  his  better  judgment,  for  lie  was 
sagacious  enough  to  foresee  failure.  "  Frenzy  prompted  their  rising.  It  was 
but  the  storm  in  which  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  land  were  to  vanish  away. 
They  rose  without  hope,  and  therefore  they  fought  without  mercy.  To  them, 
as  a  nation,  there  was  no  to-morrow." 

The  bold  Philip  struck  the  first  blow  at  Swanzey,  thirty-five  miles  south- 
west from  Plymouth.  The  people  were  just  returning  from  their  houses  of 
worship,  for  it  was  a  day  of  fasting  and  humiliation  [July  4.  1675],  in  antici- 
pation of  hostilities.  Many  were  slain  and  captured,  and  others  fled  to  the 
surrounding  settlements,  and  aroused  the  people.  The  men  of  Plymouth, 
joined  by  those  of  Boston  and  vicinity,  pressed  toward  Mount  Hope.  Philip 
was  besieged  in  a  swamp  for  many  days,  but  escaped  with  most  of  his  warriors, 
and  became  a  fugitive  with  the  Nipmucs,2  an  interior  tribe  of  Massachusetts. 
These  espoused  his  cause,  and  with  full  fifteen  hundred  warriors,  he  hastened 
toward  the  white  settlements  in  the  far-off  valley  of  the  Connecticut.  In  the 
mean  while  the  little  army  of  white  people  penetrated  the  country  of  the  Narra- 
gansetts,3 and  extorted  a  treaty  of  friendship  from  Canonchet,4  chief  sachem  of 


1  In  1671,  Philip  and  his  tribe  being  suspected  of  secretly  plotting  the  destruction  of  the  En- 
glish, were  deprived  of  their  fire-arms.     He  never  forgot  the  injury,  and  long  meditated  revenge. 

2  Page  22.  3  Page  22. 

*  Son  of  Miantonomoh,  whose  residence  was  upon  a  hill  a  little  north  of  the  city  of  Newport, 
R.  I.     That  hill  still  bears  the  name  of  Miantonomoh,  abbreviated  to  "Tonomy  Hill."     Page  91. 


126  THE     COLONIES.  [1G20. 

that  powerful  tribe.  Hearing  of  this,  Philip  was  dismayed  for  a  moment.  But 
there  was  no  hope  for  him,  except  in  energetic  action,  and  he  and  his  followers 
aroused  other  tribes,  to  a  war  of  extermination,  by  the  secret  and  efficient 
methods  of  treachery,  ambush,  and  surprise.  Men  in  the  fields,  families  in 
their  beds  at  midnight,  and  congregations  in  houses  of  worship,  were  attacked 
and  massacred.  The  Indians  hung  like  the  scythe  of  death  upon  the  borders 
of  the  English  settlements,  and  for  several  months  a  gloomy  apprehension  of  the 
extermination  of  the  whole  European  population  in  New  England,  prevailed.1 

Dreadful  were  the  scenes  in  the  path  of  the  Wampanoag  chief.  From 
Springfield  northward  to  the  present  Vermont  line,  the  valley  of  the  Connecti- 
cut was  a  theater  of  confusion,  desolation,  and  death,  wherever  white  settle- 
ments existed.  Almost  the  whole  of  a  party  of  twenty  Englishmen2  sent  to 
treat  with  the  Nipmucs,  were  treacherously  slain  by  the  savages  in  ambush 
[Aug.  12,  1675],  near  Quaboag,  now  Brookfield.  That  place  was  set  on  fire, 
when  a  shower  of  rain  put  out  the  flames,  and  the  Indians  were  driven  away  by 
a  relief  party  of  white  people.3  The  village  was  partially  saved,  but  imme- 
diately abandoned.  Soon  afterward  a  hot  battle  was  fought  near  Deerfield4 
[Sept  5],  and  a  week  later  [Sept.  12]  that  settlement  also  was  laid  in  ashes. 
On  the  same  day  (it  was  the  Sabbath),  Hadley,  further  down  the  river,  was 
attacked  while  the  people  were  worshiping  In  the  midst  of  the  alarm  and  con- 
fusion, a  tall  and  venerable-looking  man,  with  white,  flowing  hair  and  beard, 
suddenly  appeared,  and  brandishing  a  glittering  sword,  he  placed  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  affrighted  people,  and  led  them  to  a  charge  which  dispersed  and 
defeated  the  foe.  lie  as  suddenly  disappeared,  and  the  inhabitants  believed 
that  an  angel  from  heaven  had  been  sent  to  their  rescue.  It  was  Goffe,  the 
fugitive  English  judge.5  who  was  then  concealed  in  that  settlement. 

The  scourge,  stayed  for  a  moment  at  Hadley,  swept  mercilessly  over  other 
settlements.  On  the  23d  of  September,  the  paths  of  Northfield  were  wret  with 
the  blood  of  many  valiant  young  men  under  Captain  Beers  ;  and  on  the  28th. 
"  a  company  of  young  men,  the  very  flower  of  Essex,7'  under  Captain  Lathrop. 
were  butchered  by  almost  a  thousand  Indians  on  the  banks  of  a  little  stream 
near  Deerfield,  which  still  bears  the  name  of  Bloody  Brook.  Others,  who 
came  to  their  rescue,  were  engaged  many  hours  in  combat  with  the  Indians 
until  crowned  with  victory.  Yet  the  Indians  still  prevailed.  Philip,  en- 
couraged by  success,  now  resolved  to  attack  Hatfield,  the  chief  settlement  of  the 


1  The  white  population  in  Xew  England,  at  this  time,  has  been  estimated  at  fifty-five  thousand. 
Haverhill,  on  the  Merrimac,  was  the  frontier  town  in  the  direction  of  Maine;  and  Northfield,  on  the 
borders  of  Vermont,  was  the  highest  settlement  in  the  Connecticut  valley.    "Westfield.  one  hundred 
miles  west  of  Boston,  was  the  most  remote  settlement  in  that  direction. 

2  Captains  Wheeler  and  Hutchinson  were  sent  from  Boston  to  endeavor  to  reclaim  the  Xipmucs. 
Apprised  of  their  coming,  the  Indians  lay  in  ambush,  and  fired  upon  them  from  the  deep  thickets 
of  a  swamp. 

3  Under  Major  TVillard.     The  Indians  set  fire  to  every  house  except  a  strong  one  into  which 
the  people  had  secured  themselves,  and  were  besieged  there  two  days.     The  Indians  set  fire  to  this 
last  refuge,  when  rain  extinguished  the  flames. 

4  Between  180  white  people  and  700  Indians,     [See,  also,  page  135.]  6  Page  123. 


1755.]  MASSACHUSETTS.  127 

white  people  above  Springfield.  The  Springfield  Indians  joined  him,1  and  with 
almost  a  thousand  warriors,  he  fell  upon  the  settlement,  on  the  29th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1675.  The  English  were  prepared  for  his  reception,  and  he  was  repulsed 
with  such  loss,  that,  gathering  his  broken  forces  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
Connecticut,2  he  marched  toward  Rhode  Island.  The  Narragansetts,  in  viola- 
tion of  the  recent  treaty,3  received  him,  became  his  allies,  and  went  out  upon 
the  war  path  late  in  autumn.  A  terrible,  retributive  blow  soon  fell  upon  the 
savages,  when  fifteen  hundred  men  of  Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  and  Connecti- 
cut, marched  to  punish  Canonchet  and  his  tribe,  for  their  perfidy.  The  snows 
of  early  winter  had  fallen,  and  at  least  three  thousand  Indians  had  collected  in 
their  chief  fort  in  an  immense  swamp,4  where  they  were  supplied  with  provi- 
sions for  the  winter.  It  was  a  stormy  day  in  December  [Dec.  29],  when  the 
English  stood  before  the  feeble  palissades  of  the  savages.  These  offered  but 
little  opposition  to  the  besiegers ;  and  within  a  few  hours,  five  hundred  wig- 
wams, with  the  winter  provisions,  were  in  flames.  Hundreds  of  men,  women, 
and  children,  perished  in  the  fire.  A  thousand  warriors  were  slain  or  wounded, 
and  several  hundreds  were  made  prisoners.  The  English  lost  eighty  killed, 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  wounded.  Canonchet  was  made  prisoner,  and  slain ; 
but  Philip  escaped,  and  with  the  remnant  of  the  Narragansetts,  he  took  refuge 
again  with  the  Nipmucs. 

The  fugitive  Wampanoag  was  busy  during  the  winter.  He  vainly  solicited 
the  Mohawks5  to  join  him,  but  he  was  seconded  by  the  tribes  eastward  of  Mas- 
sachusetts,6 who  also  had  wrongs  to  redress.  The  work  of  desolation  began 
early  in  the  spring  of  1676,  and  within  a  few  weeks  the  war  extended  over  a 
space  of  almost  three  hundred  miles.  Weymouth,  Groton,  Medfield,  Lancas- 
ter, and  Marlborough,  in  Massachusetts,  were  laid  in  ashes;  Warwick  and 
Providence,  in  Rhode  Island,  were  burned ;  and  everywhere,  the  isolated  dwell- 
ings of  settlers  were  laid  waste.  But  internal  feuds  weakened  the  power  of  the 
savages ;  and  both  the  Nipmucs7  and  the  Narragansetts^  charged  their  misfor- 
tunes to  the  ambition  of  Philip.  The  cords  of  alliance  were  severed.  Some 
surrendered  to  avoid  starvation  ;  other  tribes  wandered  off  and  joined  those  in 
Canada;9  while  Captain  Benjamin  Church,10  the  most  famous  of  the  partisan 


1  They  had  been  friendly  until  now.     They  plotted  the  entire 
destruction  of  the  Springfield  settlement ;  but  the  people  defended 
themselves  bravely  within  their  palisaded    houses.     Many  of  the 
strong  houses  of  frontier  settlements  were  thus  fortified.      Trunks 
of  trees,' eight  or  ten  inches  in  diameter,  were  cut  in  uniform  lengths, 
and  stuck  in  the  ground  close  together.     The  upper  ends  were 
sharpened,  and  the  whole  were  fastened  together  with  green  withes 
or  other  contrivances. 

2  Page  82.  3  Page  125.  PALISADED  BUILDINGS. 

4  This  swamp  is  a  small  distance  south-west  of  the  village  of  Kingston,  in  Washington  County, 
Rhode  Island.  The  fort  was  on  an  island  which  contains  about  five  acres  of  tillable  land,  in  the 
north-west  part  of  the  swamp.  The  Stonington  and  Providence  railway  passes  along  the  northern 
verge  of  the  swamp.  5  Page  23. 

6  Page  22.     The  tribes  of  Maine  were  then  about  four  thousand  strong. 

7  Page  22.  8  Page  22.  9  Page  22. 

10  Benjamin  Church  was  born  at  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  in  1639.  He  continued  hostilities 
against  the  eastern  Indians  until  1704.  He  fell  from  his  horse,  and  died  soon  afterward,  at  Little 
Compton,  Jan.  17,  1718,  aged  77  years. 


128  THE     COLONIES.  [1620. 

officers  of  the  English  colonies,  went  out  to  hunt  and  to  destroy  the  fugitives. 
During  the  year,  between  two  and  three  thousand  Indians  were  slain  or  had 
submitted.  Philip  was  chased  from  one  hiding-place  to  another,  but  for  a  long 
time  he  would  not  yield.  He  once  cleft  the  head  of  a  warrior  who  proposed 
submission.  But  at  length,  the  "  last  of  the  Wampanoags"  bowed  to  the  press- 
ure of  circumstances.  He  returned  to  the  land  of  his  fathers1  [August,  1676], 
and  soon  his  wife  and  son  were  made  prisoners.  This  calamity  crushed  him, 
and  he  said,  "  Now  my  heart  breaks  ;  I  am  ready  to  die.1'  A  few  days  after- 


ward,  a  faithless  Indian  shot  him,  and  Captain  Church  cut  off  the  dead  sachem'^ 
head.2  His  body  was  quartered  ;  and  his  little  son  was  sold  to  be  a  bond-slave 
in  Bermuda.3  So  perished  the  last  of  the  princes  of  the  Wampanoags,  and 
thus  ended,  in  the  total  destruction  of  the  power  of  the  New  England  Indians, 
the  famous  KING  PHILIP'S  WAR.* 

The  terrible  menaces  of  the  Indian  war,  and  the  hourly  alarm  which  it 
occasioned,  did  not  make  the  English  settlers  unmindful  of  their  political  posi- 


1  Note  4,  page  124. 

2  The  rude  sword,  made  by  a  blacksmith  of  the  colony,  with  which  Captain  Church  cut  off 
Philip's  head,  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

3  The  disposal  of  the  boy  was  a  subject  of  serious  deliberation.     Some  of  the  elders  proposed 
putting  him  to  death ;  others,  professing  more  mercy,  suggested  selling  him  as  a  slave.     The  most 
profitable  measure  appeared  the  most  merciful,  and  the  child  was  sold  into  bondage.     The  head  of 
Philip  was  carried  in  triumph  to  Plymouth,  and  placed  upon  a  pole 

4  The  result  of  this  war  was  vastly  beneficial  to  the  colonists,  for  the  fear  of  savages,  which 
prevented  a  rapid  spread  of  settlements,  was  removed.     From  this  period  may  be  dated  the  real, 
unimpeded  growth  of  New  England. 


1755.]  MASSACHUSETTS.  129 

tion,  nor  hopeless  respecting  the  future.  While  the  Massachusetts  colony  was 
yet  weak  in  resources,  from  the  effects  of  the  war,1  and  the  people  were  yet 
engaged  in  hostilities  with  the  eastern  tribes,2  it  made  territorial  accessions  by 
purchase,  and  at  the  same  time  boldly  asserted  its  chartered  rights.  For  many 
years  there  had  been  a  controversy  between  the  heirs  of  Sir  F.  Gorges3  and 
John  Mason,  and  the  Massachusetts  colony,  concerning  a  portion  of  the  present 
territory  of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  which,  by  acts  of  the  inhabitants,  had 
been  placed  [1641  and  1652]  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  authorities  at  Bos- 
ton.4 The  judicial  decision  [1677]  was  in  favor  of  the  heirs,  and  Massachu- 
setts immediately  purchased  [May  1,  1677]  their  interest  for  six  thousand  dol- 
lars.5 New  Hampshire  was  detached  three  years  afterward  [1680],  and  made 
a  royal  province — the  first  in  New  England ;  but  Maine,  which  was  incorpo- 
rated with  Massachusetts  in  1692,  continued  a  part  of  that  commonwealth  until 
1820. 

Now  rapidly  budded  that  governmental  tyranny  which  finally  drove  all  the 
American  colonies  into  open  rebellion.  The  profligate  king  continued  to  draw 
the  lines  of  absolute  rule  closer  and  closer  in  England,  and  he  both  feared  and 
hated  the  growing  republics  in  America,  especially  those  in  the  East.  They 
were  ostensibly  loyal  portions  of  his  realm,  but  were  really  independent  sover- 
eignties, continually  reacting  upon  the  mother  country,  to  the  damage  of  the 
"  divine  right"  of  kings.  Charles  had  long  cherished  a  desire  to  take  their 
governments  into  his  own  hands,  and  he  employed  the  occasion  of  the  rejection 
of  Edward  Randolph  (a  custom-house  officer,  who  had  been  sent  to  Boston 
[1679]  to  collect  the  revenues,  and  otherwise  to  exercise  authority6),  to  declare 
the  Massachusetts  charter  void.  He  issued  a  quo  icarranto  in  1683, 7  and  pro- 
cured a  decision  in  his  favor  in  the  High  Court  of  Chancery,  on-  the  28th  of 
June,  1684,  but  he  died  on  the  26th  of  February  following,  before  his  object 
was  effected. 

Charles's  successor,  James  the  Second,8  continued  the  oppressive  measures 
of  his  brother  toward  the  New  England  colonies.  The  people  petitioned  and 
remonstrated,  and  were  treated  with  contempt.  Their  hardships  in  conquering 
a  wilderness,  and  their  devotion  to  the  English  constitution,  had  no  weight 
with  the  royal  bigot.9  He  also  declared  the  charter  of  Massachusetts  forfeited, 
and  appointed  Joseph  Dudley  president  of  the  country  from  Rhode  Island  to, 
Nova  Scotia.  Sir  Edmund  Andros  arrived  at  Boston  soon  afterward  [Dec. 

1  During  the  war,  New  England  lost  six  hundred  men ;  a  dozen  towns  were  destroyed ;  six 
hundred  dwellings  were  burned  ;  every  twentieth  family  was  houseless ;  and  every  twentieth  man, 
who  had  served  as  a  soldier,  had  perished.  The  cost  of  the  war  equaled  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars — a  very  large  sum  at  that  time. 

a  Page  22.  3  Page  79.  4  Page  80,  and  note  2,  page  80. 

5  The  portion  of  Maine  then  purchased,  was  the  tract  between  the  Piscataqua  and  the  Kenne- 
bec.     That  between  the  Kennebec  and  the  Penobscot  belonged  to  the  Duke  of  York,  and  the  terri- 
tory between  the  Penobscot  and  the  St.  Croix,  was  held  by  the  French,  pursuant  to  a  treaty. 

6  Randolph  appears  to  have  been  a  greedy  adventurer,  and  was,  consequently,  a  faithful  servant 
of  his  royal  master  in  oppressing  the  colonists.     He  exaggerated  the  number  and  resources  of  the 
people  of  New  England,  and  thus  excited  the  king's  fears  and  cupidity.     Previous  to  Randolph's 
appointment,  the  colonies  had  dispatched  agents  to  England,  to  settle  impending  difficulties  ami- 
cably.    They  failed,  and  Randolph  came  in  the  same  vessel  in  which  they  returned. 

7  Note  3,  page  107.  8  Page  113.  9  Note  7,  page  113. 

9 


130  THE     COLONIES.  [1620. 

80,  1686],  clothed  with  authority  to  govern  all  New  England.  He  came  with 
a  smiling  face,  and  deceitful  lips.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  tyrant  by  nature, 
and  came  to  execute  a  despot's  will.  He  soon  made  bare  the  rod  of  oppression, 
and  began  to  rule  with  a  tyrant's  rigor.1  The  people  were  about  to  practice 
the  doctrine  that  "  resistance  to  tyrants  is  obedience  to  God"~  when  intelli- 
gence reached  Boston  [April  14,  1689],  that  James  was  driven  from  the 
throne  [1688]  and  was  succeeded  by  William  and  Mary,  of  Orange.3  The 
inhabitants  of  Boston  seized  and  imprisoned  Andros  and  fifty  of  his  political 
associates  [April  28,  1689],  sent  them  to  England  under  a  just  charge  of  mal- 
administration of  public  affairs,  and  re-established  their  constitutional  govern- 
ment. Again  republicanism  was  triumphant  in  Massachusetts. 

The  effects  of  the  revolution  in  England  were  also  sorrowful  to  the  Amer- 
ican colonies.  That  revolution  became  a  cause  of  war  between  England  and 
France.  James  (who  Avas  a  Roman  Catholic)  fled  to  the  court  of  Louis  the 
Fourteenth,  king  of  France,  and  that  monarch  espoused  the  cause  of  the  fugi- 
tive. Hostilities  between  the  two  nations  commenced  the  same  year,  and  the 
quarrel  extended  to  their  respective  colonies  in  America.  The  conflict  then 
commenced,  and  which  was  continued  more  than  seven  years,  is  known  in  his- 
tory as 

KING    WILLIAM'S    WAR. 

The  colonists  suffered  terribly  in  that  contest.  The  French  Jesuits,4  who 
had  acquired  great  influence  over  the  eastern  tribes,5  easily  excited  them  to 
renew  their  fierce  warfare  with  the  English.  They  also  made  the  savages  their 
allies ;  and  all  along  the  frontier  settlements,  the  pathway  of  murder  and  des- 
olation was  seen.  Dover,  a  frontier  town,  was  first  attacked  by  a  party  of 
French  and  Indians,  on  the  7th  of  July,  1689,  when  the  venerable  Major 
Waldron6  and  twenty  others  of  the  little  garrison  were  killed.  Twenty-nine 
of  the  inhabitants  wrere  made  captive,  and  sold  as  servants  to  the  French  in 
Canada.  In  August  following,  an  Indian  war  party,  instigated  by  Thury,  a 
Jesuit,  fell  [August  12]  upon  an  English  stockade7  at  Pemaquid  (built  by 
Andros),  and  captured  the  garrison.  A  few  months  later,  Frontenac  sent  a 


1  Among  other  arbitrary  acts,  Andros  laid  restraints  upon  the  freedom  of  the  press,  and  mar- 
riage contracts;  and,  to  use  a  modern  term,  he  "levied  black  mail;"  that  is,  extorted  money,  by 
menaces,  whenever  opportunity  offered.  He  advanced  the  fees  of  all  officers  of  the  government  to 
an  exorbitant  degree;  and  finally  threatened  to  make  the  Church  of  England  the  established  relig- 
ion in  all  America. 

3  This  was  Cromwell's  motto ;  and  Thomas  Jefferson  had  it  engraved  upon  his  private  seal. 

3  Note  7,  page  113. 

*  This  was  a  Roman  Catholic  religious  order,  founded  by  Ignatius  Loyola,  a  Spaniard,  in  1539. 
They  have  ever  been  remarkable  for  their  great  devotion  to  their  cause,  their  self-denial,  and  mas- 
terly sagacity  in  the  acquirement  and  maintenance  of  power.  Their  missionaries  preached  Chris- 
tianity in  every  part  of  the  habitable  globe.  They  came  with  the  first  French  adventurers  to  Amer- 
ica, and  under  their  influence,  whole  tribes  of  Indians  eastward  of  Massachusetts  and  in  Canada  were 
made  nominal  Christians.  This  was  one  of  the  ties  which  made  the  savages  such  faithful  allies  to 
the  French  in  the  contests  between  them  and  the  English,  previous  to  1763.  5  Page  22. 

6  Waldron  was  eighty  years  of  age.     He  had  played  false  with  the  New  Hampshire  Indians 
•during  King  Philip's  war,  and  they  now  sought  revenge.     They  tortured  him  to  death. 

7  Note  2.  page  183. 


1755.]  *    MASSACHUSETTS. 

party  of  three  hundred  French  and  Indians  from  Montreal,  to  penetrate  the 
country  toward  Albany.  On  a  gloomy  night  in  winter,  when  the  snow  was 
twenty  inches  in  depth,  they  fell  upon  Schenectada  [Feb.  18,  1690],  a  frontier 
town  on  the  Mohawk,  massacred  many  of  the  people,  and  burnt  the  village. 
Early  in  the  spring,  Salmon  Falls  [March  28],  Casco  [May  27],  and  other 
eastern  villages,  were  attacked  by  another  party  of  the  same  mongrel  foe,  the 
natural  ferocity  of  the  Indians  being  quickened  by  the  teachings  of  the  Jesuits 
concerning  the  proper  fate  of  heretics.1 

All  the  colonies  were  aroused,  by  these  atrocities,  to  a  sense  of  their  danger 
in  having  such  foes  intent  upon  their  destruction ;  and  the  New  England  people 
resolved  on  speedy  retaliation.  In  May,  Massachusetts  fitted  out  an  expedi- 
tion, under  Sir  William  Phipps,  a  native  of  Pemaquid,  consisting  of  eight  or 
nine  vessels,  with  about  eight  hundred  men.  Phipps  seized  Port  Royal,2  in 
Acadie,  and  obtained  sufficient  plunder  from  the  inhabitants  to  pay  the  expenses 
of  the  expedition.  In  June,  Port  Royal  was  again  plundered  by  English  pri- 
vateers from  the  West  Indies.  Encouraged  by  these  successes,  the  colonies  of 
New  England  and  New  York  coalesced  in  efforts  to  conquer  Canada.3  It  was 
arranged  to  send  a  land  expedition  from  New  York,  by  way  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  against  Montreal,4  and  a  naval  expedition  against  Quebec.5  The  com- 
mand of  the  former  was  intrusted  to  the  son  of  Governor  Winthrop  of  Connect- 
icut,6 and  the  expenses  were  borne  jointly  by  that  colony  and  New  York.7  Sir 
William  Phipps  commanded  the  latter,  which  Massachusetts  alone  fitted  out. 
It  consisted  of  thirty-four  vessels,  with  two  thousand  men.  Both  were  unsuc- 
cessful. Some  of  Winthrop' s  troops,  with  Indians  of  the  FIVE  NATIONS, 8  under 
Colonel  Schuyler,  pushed  toward  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  were  repulsed  [Aug., 
1690]  by  Frontenac,  the  governor  of  Canada.  The  remainder  did  not  go  be- 
yond Wood  Creek  (now  Whitehall),  at  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  all 
returned  to  Albany.9  Phipps  reached  Quebec  about  the  middle  of  October, 
and  landed  the  troops ;  but  the  city  was  too  strongly  fortified10  to  promise  a 
successful  siege,  and  he  returned  to  Boston  before  the  winter  set  in.11  Massa- 


I  In  those  massacres,  instigated  by  the  Jesuits,  we  may  find  a  reason  for  the  seeming  intoler- 
ance of  the  Protestant  majority  in  Maryland  [page  152],  the  disabilities  of  Roman  Catholics  in 
Virginia,  New  York,  and  New  England,  and  their  exclusion  from  the  privileges  of  freemen  in  tol- 
erant Rhode  Island.     The  most  potent  operations  of  the  Jesuits  were  in  secret,  and  the  colonists 
were  compelled  to  regard  every  Roman  Catholic  as  the  natural  enemy  of  Protestants,  and  as  labor- 
ing to  destroy  every  measure  tending  to  human  freedom. 

"  Page  58.  3  Page  204.  4  Page  48. 

Page  48.  G  Page  86. 

Milborne,  son-in-law  of  Jacob  Leisler,  the  democratic  governor  of  New  York  [page  148],  un- 
dertook to  provide  subsistence  for  the  army,  which  marched  from  Albany  early  in  July. 
"  Page  23. 

Leisler  was  so  much  incensed  at  this  failure,  that  he  caused  the  arrest  of  Winthrop,  at  Albany. 
There  had  ever  been  a  jealous  rivalry  between  the  people  of  New  York  and  Connecticut ;  and  the 
feud  which  continually  prevailed  among  the  mixed  troops,  was  the  chief  cause  of  the  miscarriage  of 
the  enterprise. 

10  Phipps,  having  no  chart  to  guide  him,  was  nine  weeks  cautiously  making  his  w^y  around 
Acadie  and  up  the  St.  Lawrence.  In  the  mean  while,  a  swift  Indian  runner,  from  Pemaquid,  sped 
across  the  country,  and  informed  the  French,  at  Quebec,  of  the  approach  of  Phipps,  in  time  for 
them  to  well  prepare  for  defense. 

II  This  repulse  was  considered  so  important  by  the  French,  that  king  Louis  had  a  commemor- 
ative medal  struck,  with  the  legend — "  FRANCE  VICTORIOUS  IN  THE  NEW  WORLD." 


132  THE     COLONIES.  J1620. 

chusetts  was  obliged  to  issue  bills  of  credit,  or  paper  money,  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  this  expedition.1 

Sir  William  Phipps  was  sent  to  England  soon  after  his  return,  to  solicit  aid 
in  further  warfare  upon  the  French  and  Indians,  and  also  to  assist  in  efforts  to 
procure  a  restoration  of  the  charter  of  Massachusetts,  taken  away  by  King 
James.2  Material  assistance  in  prosecuting  the  war  was  refused ;  and  King 
William  instead  of  restoring  the  old  charter,  granted  a  new  one,  and  united 
under  it  the  colonies  of  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  Maine,  and  Nova  Scotia,3  by 
the  old  name  of  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  and  made  it  a  royal  province. 
Phipps  was  appointed  governor  by  the  king,  and  returned  to  Boston  with  the 
charter,  in  May,  1692.  But  the  new  constitution  was  offensive  to  the  people, 
for  they  were  allowed  scarcely  any  other  political  privileges  than  they  already 
possessed,  except  the  right  to  .choose  representatives.  The  king  reserved  the 
right  to  appoint  the  governor,  his  deputy,  and  the  secretary  of  the  colony,  and 
of  repealing  the  laws  within  three  years  after  their  passage.  This  abridgment 
of  their  liberties  produced  general  dissatisfaction,  and  alienated  the  affections  of 
the  people  from  the  mother  country.  It  was  one  of  a  series  of  fatal  steps  taken 
by  the  English  government,  which  tended  toward  the  final  dismemberment  of 
the  empire  in  1776. 5  Yet  one  good  resulted  from  the  change.  The  theocratic 
or  religious  element  in  the  government,  which  fostered  bigotry  and  intolerance, 
lost  its  power,  for  toleration  was  guarantied  to  all  Christian  sects,  except  Roman 
Catholics  ;  and  the  right  of  suffrage  was  extended  to  others  than  members  of 
Congregational  churches.5 

A  very  strange  episode  in  the  history  of  Massachusetts  now  occurred.  A 
belief  in  witchcraft6  destroyed  the  peace  of  society  in  many  communities,  and 
shrouded  the  whole  colony  in  a  cloud  of  gloom.  This  belief  had  a  strong  hold 
upon  the  minds  of  the  people  of  old  England,  and  of  their  brethren  in  America. 
Excitement  upon  the  subject  suddenly  broke  out  at  Danvers  (then  a  part  of 
Salem),  in  March,  1692,  and  spread  like  an  epidemic.  A  niece  and  daughter 
of  the  parish  minister  exhibited  strange  conduct :  and  under  the  influence  of 
their  own  superstitious  belief,  they  accused  an  old  Indian  servant-woman  in  the 
family  of  bewitching  them.  Fasting  and  prayer,  to  break  the  "  spell, ''  were 
of  no  avail,  for  the  malady  increased.  The  alarm  of  the  family  spread  to  the 


1  Note  4,  page  122.     The  total  amount  of  the  issue  was  $133,338.  2  Page  129. 

3  New  Scotland,  the  name  given  to  the  country  which  the  French  called  Acadie.  See  note  2, 
page  80.  4  Page  251.  6  Note  5,  page  118. 

6  A  belief  in  witchcraft,  or  the  exercise  of  supernatural  power,  by  men  and  women,  has  been 
prevalent  for  ages.  Punishment  of  persons  accused  of  it,  was  first  sanctioned  by  the  Church  of  Rome 
a  little  more  than  three  hundred  years  ago.  Certain  tests  were  instituted,  and  thousands  of  innocent 
persons  were  burned  alive,  drowned,  or  hanged,  in  Europe.  Within  three  months,  in  1515,  five  hun- 
dred persons  were  burned  in  Geneva,  in  Switzerland.  In  the  diocese  of  Como,  one  thousand  were 
burned  in  one  year.  In  1520,  an  incredible  number,  from  among  all  classes,  suffered  death  in 
France.  And  within  fifty  or  sixty  j-ears,  during  the  sixteenth  century,  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  persons  perished  in  the  flames  in  Germany  alone.  Henry  the  Eighth  of  England  made 
the  practice  of  witchcraft  a  capital  offense;  and  a  hundred  years  later,  "witch-detectors"  traversed 
the  country,  and  brought  many  to  the  stake.  Enlightened  men  embraced  the  belief;  and  even  Sir 
Matthew  Hale,  the  most  distinguished  of  England's  judges,  repeatedly  tried  and  condemned  persons 
accused  of  witchcraft.  The  English  laws  against  witchcraft  were  adopted  in  New  England ;  and  as 
early  as  1648,  four  persons  had  suffered  death  for  the  alleged  offense,  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston. 


1755.]  MASSACHUSETTS.  133 

community  ;  and  soon  a  belief  prevailed  throughout,  the  colony,  that  evil  spirits, 
having  ministering  servants  among  men,  overshadowed  the  land.  Old  and  ill- 
favored  women  were  first  accused  of  practising  the  art  of  witchcraft ;  but  at 
length  neither  age,  sex,  nor  condition  afforded  protection  from  the  accuser's 
tongue.  Even  the  lady  of  Governor  Phipps  did  not  escape  suspicion.  Magis- 
trates were  condemned,  many  pious  persons  were  imprisoned,  and  Mr.  Bur- 
roughs, a  worthy  minister,  was  executed.  Men  of  strong  minds  and  scholarly 
attainments  were  thoroughly  deluded.  Among  these  was  the  eminent  Cotton 
Mather,  whose  father  before  him  had  yielded  to  the  superstition,  and  published 


an  account  of  all  the  supposed  cases  of  witchcraft  in  New  England.  Cotton 
Mather,  on  account  of  his  position  as  a  leading  divine,  and  his  talents,  prob- 
ably did  more  than  any  other  man  to  promote  the  spread  of  that  fearful  delusion, 
which  prevailed  for  more  than  six  months.  During  that  time,  twenty  persons 
suffered  death,  fifty-five  were  tortured  or  frightened  into  a  confession  of  witch- 
craft, and  when  a  special  court,  or  legislature,  was  convened  in  October,  1692, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  accused  persons  were  in  prison.  A  reaction,  almost  as 
sudden  as  the  beginning  of  the  excitement,  now  took  place  in  the  public  mind. 
The  prison  doors  were  opened  to  the  accused,  and  soon  many  of  the  accusers 
shrunk  abashed  from-  the  public  gaze.1  Standing  in  the  light  of  the  present 
century,  we  look  back  to  "  Salem  witchcraft,"  as  it  is  called,  with  amazement. 

1  The  belief  in  witchcraft,  did  not  cease  with  the  strange  excitement ;  and  Cotton  Mather  and 
other  popular  men,  wrote  m  its  defense.  Calef,  a  citizen  of  Boston,  exposed  Mather's  credulity, 
which  greatly  irritated  the  minister.  He  first  called  his  opponent  "a  weaver  turned  minister;" 
but  as  his  tormentor's  blows  fell  thick  and  fast,  in  a  series  of  letters,  Mather  called  him  "  a  coal  from 


134  THE     COLONIES.  [1620. 

"King  William's  war"1  continued  until  1697,  when  a  treaty  of  peace, 
made  at  Ryswick,  in  the  west  of  Holland,  on  the  20th  of  September  of  that 
year,  terminated  hostilities.2  Up  to  that  time,  and  later,  the  New  England 
people  suffered  greatly  from  their  mongrel  foe.  Remote  settlements  in  the 
direction  of  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia  continued  to  be  harassed.  Almost  a  hun- 
dred persons  were  killed  or  made  captive  [July  28,  1694]  at  Oyster  River 
(now  Durham),  ten  miles  from  Portsmouth,  in  New  Hampshire.  Two  years 
later  [July  25,  1696],  Baron  St.  Castine,  and  a  large  force  of  French  and 
Indians,  captured  the  garrison  at  Pemaquid,  and  exchanged  the  prisoners  for 
French  soldiers  in  the  hands  of  the  English.3  In  March,  1697,  Haverhill, 
thirty  miles  from  Boston,  was  attacked,  and  forty  persons  were  killed  or  carried 
into  captivity  ;4  and  during  the  following  summer,  more  remote  settlers  were 
great  sufferers.  A  respite  now  came.  The  treaty  at  Ryswick  produced  a  lull 
in  the  storm  of  cruel  warfare,  which  had  so  long  hung  upon  the  English  fron- 
tiers, continually  menacing  the  colonists  with  wide-spread  destruction.6  It  was 
very  brief,  however,  for  pretexts  for  another  war  were  not  long  wanting. 
James  the  Second  died  in  September,  1701,  and  Louis  the  Fourteenth,  who 
had  sheltered  the  exile,0  acknowledged  his  son,  Charles  Edward  (commonly 
known  as  the  Pretender),  to  be  the  lawful  heir  to  the  English  throne.  This 
offended  the  English,  because  the  crown  had  been  settled  upon  Anne,  second 
daughter  of  James,  who  was  a  Protestant.  Louis  had  also  offended  the  English, 
by  placing  his  grandson,  Philip  of  Anjou,  upon  the  throne  of  Spain,  and  thus 


hell,"  and  prosecuted  him  for  slander.  The  credulous  clergyman  was  glad  to  withdraw  the  suit. 
Cotton  Mather  was  born  in  Boston,  in  February,  1633,  and  was  educated  at  Harvard  College.  He 
was  very  expert  in  the  acquirement  of  knowledge,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years,  he  received 
the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  He  became  a  gospel  minister  at  twenty -two,  and  holding  a  ready 
pen,  he  wrote  much.  Few  of  his  writings  have  survived  him.  "With  all  his  learning,  he  was  bat  a 
child  in  that  which  constitutes  true  manhood,  and  he  is  now  regarded  more  as  a  pedant 
than  as  a  scholar.  He  died  in  February,  1728.  For  the  benefit  of  young  men.  we  will 
here  introduce  an  anecdote  connected  with  him.  It  was  thus  related  by  Dr.  Franklin,  to  Samuel,  a 
son  of  Cotton  Mather:  "The  last  time  I  saw  your  father  was  in  the  beginning  of  1724,  when  I 
visited  him  after  my  first  trip  to  Pennsylvania.  He  received  me  in  his  library ;  and  on  my  taking 
leave,  showed  me  a  shorter  way  out  of  the  house  through  a  narrow  passage,  which  was  crossed  by 
a  beam  overhead.  We  were  still  talking  as  I  withdrew,  he  accompanying  me  behind,  and  I  turn- 
ing partly  toward  him,  when  he  said  hastily,  'Stoop!  stoop!'  I  did  not  understand  until  I  felt  my 
head  hit  against  the  beam.  He  was  a  man  that  never  missed  an  occasion  of  giving  instruction, 
and  upon  this  he  said  to  me,  '  You  are  young,  and  have  the  world  before  you ;  stoop  as  you  go 
through,  and  you  will  escape  many  hard  thumps.'  This  advice,  thus  beat  into  my  head,  has  fre- 
quently been  of  use  to  me ;  and  I  often  think  of  it  when  I  see  pride  mortified,  and  misfortunes 
brought  upon  people  by  carrying  their  heads  too  high."  *  Page  130. 

2  This  war  cost  England  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars,  in  cash,  besides  a  loan  of  one 
hundred  millions  more.     This  loan  was  tlte  commencement  of  the  enormous  national  debt  of  En- 
gland, now  [1856]  amounting  to  about  four  thousand  millions  of  dollars. 

3  They  also  took  the  English  fort  of  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  and  several  other  posts  on  that 
island. 

4  Among  their  captives  was  a  Mrs.  Dustan,  her  child,  and  nurse.     Her  infant  was  soon  killed, 
and  she  and  her  nurse  were  taken  to  Canada.     A  little  more  than  a  month  afterward,  Mrs.  D.,  her 
companion,  and  another  prisoner,  killed  ten  of  twelve  sleeping  Indians,  who  had  them  in  custody, 
and  made  their  way  back  to  Haverhill. 

8  Just  before  the  conclusion  of  this  treaty,  a  Board  of  Trade  and  Plantations  was  established  by 
the  English  government,  whose  duty  it  was  to  have  a  general  oversight  of  the  American  colonies. 
This  was  a  permanent  commission,  consisting  of  a  president  and  seven  members,  called  Lords  of 
Trade.  This  commission  was  always  an  instrument  of  oppression  in  the  hands  of  royalty,  and,  as 
will  be  seen,  was  a  powerful  promoter  of  that  discontent  which  led  to  the  rebellion  of  the  coloniea 
in  1775.  °  Page  130. 


1755.]  MASSACHUSETTS.  135 

extended  the  influence  of  France  among  the  dynasties  of  Europe.  These,  and 
some  minor  causes,  impelled  England  again  to  declare  war  against  France.1 
Hostilities  commenced  in  1702.  and  continued  until  a  treaty  of  peace  was  con- 
cluded at  Utrecht,  in  Holland,  on  the  llth  of  April,  1713.  As  usual,  the 
French  and  English  in  America  were  involved  in  this  war ;  and  the  latter  suf- 
fered much  from  the  cruelties  of  the  Indians  who  were  under  the  influence  of 
the  former.  This  is  known  in  America  as 

QUEEN    ANNE'S    WAR. 

It  was  a  fortunate  circumstance  for  the  people  of  New  York  that  the  FIVE 
NATIONS  had  made  a  treaty  of  neutrality  with  the  French  in  Canada  [Aug.  4, 
1701],  and  thus  became  an  impassable  barrier  against  the  savage  hordes  from 
the  St.  Lawrence.  The  tribes  from  the  Merrimac  to  the  Penobscot  had  made 
a  treaty  of  peace  with  New  England,  in  July,  1703,  but  the  French  induced 
them  to  violate  it ;  and  before  the  close  of  summer,  the  hatchet  fell  upon  the 
people  of  the  whole  frontier  from  Casco  to  Wells.  Blood  flowed  in  almost 
every  valley;  and  early  the  next  spring  [March,  1704],  a 
large  party  of  French  and  Indians,  under  Major  Hertel  do 
Rouville,  attacked  Deerfield,  on  the  Connecticut  River, 
applied  the  torch,2  killed  forty  of  the  inhabitants,  and  car- 
ried one  hundred  and  twelve  away  to  the  wilderness. 
Among  these  was  Rev.  John  Williams,  the  minister,  whoso 
little  daughter,  after  a  long  residence  with  the  Indians,  WILLIAMS'S  HOUSE. 
became  attached  to  them,  and  married  a  Mohawk  chief.3 
Similar  scenes  occurred  at  intervals  during  the  whole  progress  of  the  war. 
Remote  settlements  wTere  abandoned,  and  the  people  on  the  frontier  collected  in 
fortified  houses/  and  cultivated  their  fields  in  armed  parties  of  half  a  dozen  or 
more.  This  state  of  things  became  insupportable  to  the  English  colonists,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1707,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  New  Hampshire, 
determined  to  chastise  the  French  on  their  eastern  borders.  Connecticut 
refused  to  join  in  the  enterprise,  and  the  three  colonies  alone  prepared  an  arma- 
ment. Early  in  June,  a  thousand  men  under  Colonel  Marsh,  sailed  from  Nan- 
tucket  for  Port  Royal,5  in  Acadie,  convoyed  by  an  English  man-of-war.  The 
French  were  prepared  for  them,  and  nothing  was  effected  except  the  destruction 
of  considerable  property  outside  the  fort.  Three  years  later,  an  armament  left 


1  It  is  known  in  European  history  as  the  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession. 

2  The  only  house  that  escaped  the  flames  was  that  of  the  Rev.  John  Williams,  represented  in 
the  engraving.     It  stood  near  the  centre  of  the  village,  until  within  a  few  years. 

3  Mrs.  Williams  and  other  captives,  who  were  unable  to  travel  as  rapidly  as  the  Indians,  were 
murdered.     On  his  arrival  in  Canada,  Mr.  Williams  was  treated  with  respect  by  the  French,  and 
after  two  years  of  captivity,  was  ransomed,  and  returned  to  Massachusetts.     The  chief  object  of  tho 
expedition  to  Deeriield,  appears  to  have  been  to  carry  off  the  bell  that  hung  in  Williams's  church. 
That  bell  was  purchased  the  year  previous  for  the  church  of  Saut  St.  Louis,  at  Caughnawaga,  near 
Montreal.     The  vessel  in  which  it  was  brought  from  Havre  was  captured  by  a  New  England  pri- 
vateer, and  the  bell  was  purchased  for  the  Deerfield  meeting-house.     Father  Nicolas,  of  the  church 
at  Caughnawaga,  accompanied  the  expedition,  and  the  bell  was  carried  in  triumph  to  its  original 
destination,  where  it  still  remains.  4  Note  1,  page  127.  6  Page  58. 


136  THE    COLONIES.  [1G20. 

Boston  [September,  1710],  and.  in  connection  with  a  fleet  from  England,  under 
Colonel  Nicholson,  demanded  and  obtained  a  surrender  of  the  fort  arid  garrison 
[Oct.  13 J,  at  Port  Royal.  The  name  of  the  place  was  then  changed  to  Anna- 
polis, in  honor  of  the  Queen,  Anne,  and  Acadie  was  annexed  to  the  English 
realm  under  the  title  of  Nova  Scotia,  or  New  Scotland. 

In  July,  the  following  year  [1711],  Sir  Hovendon  "Walker  arrived  at  Bos- 
ton, with  an  English  fleet  and  army,  designed  for  the  conquest  of  Canada. 
New  England  promptly  raised  additional  forces,  and  on  the  10th  of  August, 
fifteen  men-of-war  and  forty  transports,  bearing  almost  seven  thousand  troops, 
departed  for  the  St.  Lawrence  to  attack  Quebec.  Walker,  like  Braddock,3 
haughtily  refused  to  listen  to  experienced  subordinates,  and  lost  eight  of  his 
ships,  and  almost  a  thousand  men,  on  the  rocks  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  on 
the  night  of  the  2d  of  September.  Disheartened  by  this  calamity,  Walker 
returned  to  England  with  the  remainder  of  his  fleet,  and  the  colonial  troops 
went  back  to  Boston.  On  hearing  of  this  failure  of  the  naval  expedition,  a 
body  of  troops  marching  from  Albany  to  attack  Montreal,  retraced  their  steps.3 
Hostilities  were  now  suspended,  and  in  the  spring  of  1713,  a  treaty  of  peace 
was  concluded  [April  11]  at  Utrecht.  The  eastern  Indians  sent  a  flag  to  Bos- 
ton, and  sued  for  peace  ;  and  at  Portsmouth  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts  and 
New  Hampshire  entered  into  a  pacific  compact  [July  24]  with  the  chiefs  of  the 
tribes. 

A  long  peace  now  ensued,  and  for  thirty  years  succeeding  the  close  of 
Queen  Anncs  V/ar,  the  colonists  enjoyed  comparative  repose.  Then,  again3 
the  selfish  strife j  of  European  monarchs  awakened  the  demon  of  discord,  and  its 
bloody  footsteps  were  soon  apparent  along  the  northern  frontiers  of  the  English 
colonies  in  America.  The  interim  had  been  a  period  of  much  political  agitation 
in  Massachusetts,  during  which  a  great  stimulus  had  been  given  to  the  growth 
of  republican  principles.  Disputes,  sometimes  violent,  and  sometimes  in  a  con- 
ciliatory spirit,  had  been  carried  on  between  the  royal  governors  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people ;  the  former  contending  for  prerogatives  and  salaries 
which  the  people  deemed  inadmissible.4  These  internal  disputes  were  arrested 
when  they  heard  that  France  had  declared  hostility  to  England  [March  15, 
1744].  and  the  colonists  cheerfully  prepared  to  commence  the  contest  known  in 

America  as 

KING     GEORGE'S     AVAR.5 

This  war  was  not  productive  of  many  stirring  events  in  America.  The 
principal  and  very  important  one  was  the  capture  of  the  strong  fortress  of 

1  King  William  had  no  children;  and  Anne,  the  daughter  of  James  the  Second  (who  was  mar- 
ried to  Prince  George  of  Denmark),  succeeded  him  as  sovereign  of  England  in  1702.       2  Page  186. 

3  These  were  four  thousand  in  number,  under  the  command  of  General  Nicholson.     They  were 
furnished  by  ISTew  York  and  Connecticut. 

4  The  chief  topic  of  controversy  was  the  payment  of  salaries.     Governors  Shute,  Burnet  and 
Belcher,  all  contended  for  a  permanent  salary,  but  the  people  claimed  the  right  to  vote  such  salary, 
each  year,  as  the  services  of  the  governor  appeared  justly  to  demand.     A  compromise  was  finally 
effected  by  an  agreement  to  vote  a  certain  sum  each  year.     The  subject  of  salaries  was  a  cause  of 
contention  with  the  royal  governors,  until  the  Eevolution. 

5  The  husband  of  Queen  Anne  died  several  years  previous  to  her  death,  which  occurred  in 
August,  1704.     George,   Elector  of  Hanover,  in  Germany,  was  immediately  proclaimed  King  of 


1755.] 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


137 


Louisburg,  on  the  island  of  Cape  Breton.  It  had  been  constructed  by  the 
French  after  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  at  an  expense  of  five  and  a  half  millions  of 
dollars,  and  because  of  its  strength,  was  called  The  Gibraltar  of  America. 
William  Shirley,1  a  soldier  and  energetic  statesman,  was  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts when  hostilities  were  proclaimed.  He  immediately  perceived  the 
importance  of  Louisburg  in  the  coming  contest,  and  plans  for  its  capture  were 
speedily  perfected  by  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts.2  Rhode  Island,  New 
Hampshire,  and  Connecticut  furnished  their  proper  quota  of  troops.  New 
York  sent  artillery,  and  Pennsylvania  provisions.  Thus  common  danger  was 
extending  the  idea  of  a  necessity  for  a  union  of  the  Anglo-American  colonies, 
long  before  it  assumed  a  practical  form  in  1754. 3 

After  vainly  waiting  for  some  time  in  the  expectation 
of  aid  from  Commodore  Warren  (then  in  the  West  In- 
dies),   the    colonial    forces,    thirty-two    hundred  strong, 
under  the  general  command  of  William 
Pepperell,4   sailed   [April   4,   1745]    for 
Louisburg.5     At  Canseau  they  were  un- 
expectedly joined  by  the  fleet  of  Warren 
[May  9],  and  on  the  llth  of  May  the 
combined  forces,  four  thousand 
strong,  landed  at  Gabarus  Bay, 
a  short  distance  from  their  des- 
tination.     The  sudden  appear- 
ance   of  this    formidable    arm- 
ament, was  the  first  intimation  CAPTURE  OF  LOUISBURG  IN  1745. 
to  the  French,   that  an  attack 
was  meditated,  and  great  consternation  prevailed  in  the  fortress  and  town.     A 


England,  by  the  title  of  George  the  First.  His  son  George  succeeded  him  in  1727,  and  also 
retained  the  title  and  privileges  of  Elector  of  Hanover.  A  contest  arose  between  Maria  Theresa, 
Empress  of  Austria,  and  the  Elector  of  Bavaria,  for  the  throne  of  Austria.  The  King  of  England 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  empress,  in  1743,  and  the  King  of  Franco  took  part  with  her  opponent. 
This  led  France  to  declare  war  against  England — a  contest  known  in  America  as  King  George's 
War,  but  in  Europe,  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession. 

1  William  Shirley  was  born  in  England ;  made  governor  of  Massachusetts  in  1 741 ;  was  after- 
ward made  governor  of  one  of  the  Bahama  Islands,  and  died  at  Roxbury,  near  Boston,  in  1771. 
He  appears  conspicuous  iu  history  during  a  portion  of  the  contest  known  in  America,  t.s  2'he  French 
and  Indian-  War. 

2  Shirley  proposed  an  expedition,  but  the  Legislature  hesitated.      The  measure  was  finally 
•eed  upon  by  a  majority  of  only  one  vote.  3  Page  183. 

4  Pepperell  was  a  native  of  Maine,  and  a  wealthy  merchant.  Ho  was  afterward  made  a  bar- 
onet. He  died  in  1759. 

6  Louisburg  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  island  of  Cape  Breton,  with  a  fine,  deep  harbor.  The  land- 
ing-place of  tho  British,  position  of  the  camp,  etc.,  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  map.  ThcJfoyal 
Battery  was  taken  by  four  hundred  men.  When  they  approached,  the  French  thought  the  whole 
English  army  was  upon  them.  They  immediately  spiked  their  guns  (that  is,  drove  iron  spikes  into 
the  touch-holes  of  the  cannons,  so  as  to  make  them  useless),  and  fled  In  the  upper  part  of  the  map 
is  a  profile  of  the  fortifications  at  Louisburg.  It  is  given  here  so  as  to  illustrate  certain  terms  which 
may  be  used  hereafter :  a,  the  glacis,  is  the  extreme  outside  slope  of  the  works ;  b,  the  banquet,  or 
step  upon  which  tho  soldiers  stand  to  fire  over  the  parapet ;  c,  a  covered  way  into  the  fort,  under  the 
banquet;  d,  counterscarp,  a  bank  or  wall,  outside  the  ditch,  e;  f,  the  parapet,  a  protection  tor  the  men 
and  guns  from  balls  from  without ;  g,  the  inner  banquet ;  h,  ramparts — the  most  solid  embankment 
of  the  fortress ;  i  the  last  slope  in  the  interior  of  the  fort,  called  talus. 


138  THE     COLONIES.  [1620. 

direct  approach  was  difficult  on  account  of  a  morass,  and  a  combined  attack  by 
sea  and  land  was  carefully  arranged.  The  land  forces  encamped  in  a  curve  in 
rear  of  the  town,  and  detachments  secured  the  French  outposts,  one  after  an- 
other. Cannons  were  dragged  on  sledges  over  the  morass, '  trenches  were  dug, 
batteries  were  erected,  and  a  regular  siege  was  commenced,  on  the  31st  of  May. 
In  the  mean  while,  Commodore  Warren  captured  a  French  ship  of  seventy-four 
guns,  and  secured,  as  prisoners,  over  five  hundred  men,  with  a  large  quantity 
of  military  stores.  While  the  siege  was  in  progress,  other  English  vessels  of 
war  arrived,  and  the  fleet  and  army  agreed  to  make  a  combined  attack  on  the 
29th  of  June.  Despairing  of  successful  resistance,  the  French  surrendered  the 
fortress,  the  city  of  Louisburg,  and  the  island  of  Cape  Breton,  on  the  28th  of 
June,  1745. 2 

The  pride  of  Franco  was  greatly  mortified  by  this  daring  and  successful 
expedition,  and  the  following  year  [1746]  the  Duke  D'Anville  was  sent  with  a 
powerful  naval  armament3  to  recover  the  lost  fortress,  and  to  desolate  the  En- 
glish settlements  along  the  seaboard.  Storms  wrecked  many  of  his  vessels,  and 
disease  soon  wasted  hundreds  of  his  men  ;  and  D'Anville.  thoroughly  dispirited, 
abandoned  the  enterprise  without  striking  a  blow.'1  Two  years  afterward  a 
treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  western  Germany,  when 
it  was  agreed  that  all  prisoners  should  be  released,  and  all  acquisitions  of  prop- 
erty or  territory,  made  by  either  party,  were  to  be  restored.  Both  of  the 
principal  parties  were  heavy  losers  by  the  contest  ;5  while  the  strength  of  the 
colonists,  yet  to  be  called  forth  in  a  more  important  struggle,  was  revealed  ar.d 
noted. 

Old  national  animosities,  religious  differences,  and  recent  causes  for  irrita- 
tion, had  inspired  the  English  and  French  with  intense  mutual  hatred,  when 
the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  was  signed  on  the  18th  of  October,  1748.  The 
allegiance  of  Massachusetts  and  its  sister  colonies  to  the  British  crown,  and  the 
acknowledged  duty  of  obedience,  restrained  the  resentment  of  the  American 
people,  while  England  and  France  were  at  peace.  Soon,  disputes  about  local 
boundaries  began,6  and  it  was  not  long  before  preparations  for  war  between  the 
two  races,  were  visible  in  America.  Then  came  that  final  bloody  struggle  be- 
tween the  English  -and  French,  for  dominion  in  the  New  World,  known  as  the 
French  and  Indian  War.'  This  we  shall  consider  hereafter. 


1  The  artillery  was  commanded  by  Richard  Gridlcy,  who  was  the  engineer  of  the  continental 
army  at  Boston  in  1775  arid  1776.     See  page  234. 

2  The  prizes  and  stores  obtained  by  the  English  amounted,  in  value,  to  little  less  than  five  mil- 
lions of  dollars. 

3  It  consisted  of  forty  ships  of  war,  fifty-six  transports,  thirty-five  hundred  men,  and  forty  thou- 
sand muskets  for  the  use  of  the  French  and  Indians  in  Canada. 

4  D'Anville,  with  two  or  three  vessels,  anchored  at  Chebucto  (now  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia),  where 
he  died,  it  is  believed,  by  poison.     His  lieutenant  also  committed  suicide,  in  consequence  of  morti- 
fied pride.  These  disasters  to  the  French  fleet  were  regarded  by  the  people  of  New  England  as  spe- 
cial manifestations  of  Providence  in  their  favor.     Pablic  thanksgivings  were  offered;  and  no  one 
doubted  the  right  of  the  English  to  the  whole  of  Acadie. 

6  Parliament  afterward  reimbursed  to  the  colonies  the  cost  of  their  preparations  against  Canada, 
amounting  to  more  than  a  million  of  dollars.     See  page  199. 

6  Page  180.  7  Page  179. 


1755.]  NEW     YORK.  139 

CHAP  TER    III. 

NEW     YORK.       [1623.] 

THE  State  of  New  York  commenced  its  political  career  when  Peter  Minuit,1 
recently  appointed  Governor  of  New  Netherland,2  arrived  at  New  Amsterdam 
(as  the  germ  of  the  present  city  of  New  York  was  called),  in  May,  1626.  He 
immediately  purchased  of  the  Indians,  for  about  twenty-four  dollars,  the  whole 
of  the  island  of  Manhattan,3  on  which  the  city  of  New  York  now  stands,  and 
began  vigorously  to  perfect  the  founding  of  a  State  similar  to  those  of  Holland. 
He  erected  a  strong  fortification  near  the  site  of  the  present  Battery,  and  called 
it  Fort  Amsterdam*  By  conciliatory  measures,  he  gained  the  confidence  of 
the  Indians ;  and  he  also  opened  a  friendly  correspondence  with  the  Puritans  at 
Plymouth.5  The  English  reciprocated  the  friendly  expressions  of  the  Dutch ; 
at  the  same  time,  they  requested  the  latter  not  to  send  their  trappers  quite  as 
far  eastward  as  Narraganset  Bay,  to  catch  otters  and  beavers.6 

For  the  purpose  of  encouraging  emigration  to  New  Netherland,  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company7  offered,  in  1629,  large  tracts  of  land,  and  certain  priv- 
ileges, to  those  persons  who  should  lead  or  send  a  given  number  of  emigrants 
to  occupy  and  till  the  soil.8  Directors  of  the  company0  availed  themselves  of 
the  privilege,  and  sent  Wouter  (Walter)  Van  Twiller  to  examine  the  country 
and  select  the  lands.  Immigrants  came ;  and  then  were  laid  the  foundations 
of  the  most  noted  of  the  manorial  estates  of  New  York.10  The  proprietors  were 
called  patroons  (patrons),  and  held  a  high  political  and  social  station  in  the 
New  World. 

The  agent  of  the  Patroons  seems  to  have  performed  his  duty  well,  and  he 
was  appointed  governor  of  the  colony,  in  1633.  The  beginning  of  Van  Twil- 
ler's  administration  was  marked  by  difficulties  with  the  English  on  the  Con- 


1  Page  93.         2  Page  72.        3  Note  1,  page  48.         4  See  picture  on  page  144.         5  Page  78. 

6  Trade  in  furs  was  the  chief  occupation  of  the  Dutch  of  New  Netherland  at  this  time.  They 
became  expert  trappers,  and  were  seen  as  far  east  as  Nantucket,  and  even  Capo  Cod.  The  trade 
soon  became  profitable  to  the  Company.  The  first  year's  remittance  of  furs  to  Amsterdam  was 
valued  at  $11,000.  This  trade  greatly  increased;  and  before  the  troubles  with  the  Indians  in  1640, 
the  value  of  furs  sent  to  Holland,  annually,  was  more  than  $60,000.  7  Page  72. 

8  The  land  was  to  be  fairly  purchased  of  the  Indians,  and  then  the  title  was  to  be  confirmed  by 
the  Dutch  government.     The  privileges  granted  to  the  purchasers  made  them,  in  a  degree,  feudal 
lords  [note  15,  page  62],  yet  they  were  exempted  from  paying  tribute  to  supreme  authority. 

9  Killian  Van  Rensselaer,  who  purchased  a  tract  at  Fort  Orange  (Albany);  Samuel  Godyn  and 
Samuel  Bloemart,  who  selected  lands  in  "West  Jersey,  on  the  Delaware ;  and  Michael  Pauw,  whose 
domain  included  Jersey  City  and  vicinity.     See  page  94. 

10  Van  Rensselaer.     Immense  tracts  of  land  in  Albany  and  Rensselaer  counties,  portions  of  the 
first  Patroon's  estates,  are  yet  [1856]  in  possession  of  the  family.     Since  1840,  many  scenes  of  vio- 
lence and  bloodshed  have  been  witnesssd  on  those  lands,  growing  out  of  disputes  with  tenants, 
when  they  have  been  called  upon  to  pay  even  the  almost  nominal  rent  which  is  demanded.     Social 
and  political  questions  have  arisen,  and  produced  two  strong  parties.    The  defense  of  the  tenantry  is 
termed  Anti-Rentism.     Conciliatory  measures  have  been  proposed  by  a  purchaser  of  a  large  portion 
of  the  ancient  manor,  in  Albany  county,  by  which  the  tenants  are  allowed  to  buy  the  land,  and 
obtain  a  title  in  fee  simple.     In  time,  the  whole  estate  will  thus  pass  into  the  hands  of  numerous 
new  owners,  and  these  angry  disputes  will  become  items  of  past  history. 


140  THE     COLONIES.  [1623. 

necticut  River.1  He  was  more  distinguished  for  his  marriage  connection  with 
Van  Rensselaer,  one  of  the  Patroons,  than  for  any  administrative  qualities. 
Yet  circumstances  favored  the  advancement  of  the  colony,  and  he  ruled  quite 
satisfactorily,  especially  to  the  company,  whose  interests  he  faithfully  served. 
He  was  succeeded  in  office,  in  May,  1688,  by  Sir  William  Keift,  at  the  mo- 
ment when  the  Swedish  colony2  were  seating  themselves  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Delaware.  Keift  was  a  bold,  rapacious,  and  unscrupulous  man,  and  soon 
brought  serious  trouble  upon  the  people.  He  .began  a  tyrannous  rule  by  con- 
centrating executive  power  in  his  own  hands  ;  and  his  administration  was  a 
stormy  and  unfortunate  one.  The  sum  of  its  record  is  a  tale  of  continual  strife 
with  the  Swedes  on  the  Delaware,3  the  English  on  the  Connecticut,"  the  Indians 
all  around  him,  and  the  colonists  at  his  door.  His  difficulties  with  the  Indians 
proved  the  most  disastrous  of  all,  and  finally  wrought  his  own  downfall.  Pre- 
vious to  his  arrival,  the  intercourse  of  the  Dutch  with  the  natives  had  been 
quite  friendly.5  The  far  trade  was  extending,  and  trappers  and  traders  were 
all  abroad  among  the  native  tribes.  These  carried  a  demon  of  discord  with 
them.  They  furnished  the  Indians  with  rum,  and  quarrels  and  murders  en- 
sued. The  avaricious  Keift  also  demanded  tribute  of  wampum6  and  beaver- 
skins  from  the  River  tribes ;  and  in  a  short  time  their  friendship  for  the  Dutch 
became  weakened. 

A  crisis  came.  Some  Raritan7  Indians  in  New  Jersey  were  accused  of  rob- 
bery. Keift  sent  an  armed  force  to  punish  them  [July,  1640],  and  blood 
flowed.  Several  Indians  were  killed,  and  their  crops  wrere  destroyed.  Savage 
vengeance  did  not  slumber  long.  The  Raritans  murdered  four  planters  on 
Staten  Island  [June,  1641],  and  destroyed  considerable  property.3  An  expe- 
dition sent  to  punish  the  offenders  was  unsuccessful.  Soon  afterward,  a  young 
Westchcster  Indian,  whose  uncle  had  been  murdered  by  a  Hollander,  near 
where  the  Halls  of  Justice  now  stand,9  revenged  the  murder,  according  to  the 
customs  of  his  people,10  by  killing  an  inoffensive  Dutchman  living  at  Turtle 
Bay.11  His  tribe  refused  to  surrender  him  on  the  demand  of  Keift,  and  the 
governor  determined  to  make  war  upon  all  the  oifending  savages. 

The  people  of  New  Netherland  had  already  begun  to  murmur  at  Keift's 
course,  and  they  charged  the  troubles  with  the  Indians  directly  upon  him.  Un- 
willing to  assume  the  entire  responsibility  of  a  war,  himself,  the  governor  called 
a  meeting  [Aug.  23,  1641]  of  the  heads  of  families  in  New  Amsterdam  for 
consultation.  They  promptly  chose  '-'twelve  select  men"  [August  29],  with  De 


I  Pago  85.  2  Page  93.  3  Page  93.  4  Pago  85. 

5  The  Dutch  had  made  a  settlement,  and  built  a  fort  at  Albany  [page  72],  and  made  a  treaty  of 
friendship  with  the  Mohawks  [page  23].  This  the  River  Indians,  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Amster- 
dam, did  not  like,  for  the  Mohawks  were  their  oppressors.  °  Note  2,  page  13. 

7  A  tribe  of  the  Lenni-Lenapes.     Page  16. 

8  This  plantation  belonged  to  De  Yries  [note  2,  page  92],  who  was  a  friend  of  the  Indians. 

9  On  Center  street,  New  York  city.     There  was  once  a  fresh-water  pond  there,  surrounded  by 
the  forest. 

10  The  Indians  had  a  custom  concerning  an  avenger  of  blood,  similar  to  that  of  the  Jews.     It  was 
the  duty  and  the  privilege  for  the  next  of  kin  to  the  murdered  man,  to  avenge. his  blood  by  killing 
the  murderer.     The  Indians  took  the  life  of  any  of  the  tribe  of  t'.io  offender. 

II  At  the  foot  of  Forty-fifth  street,  on  the  East  River. 


1755.]  NEW    YORK. 

Vries1  at  their  head,  to  act  for  them ;  and  this  was  the  first  representative 
assembly  ever  formed  among  Europeans  on  Manhattan  Island.  They  did  not 
agree  with  the  governor's  hostile  views ;  and  Keift  finding  them  not  only  op- 
posed to  his  war  designs,  but  that  they  were  also  taking  cognizance  of  alleged 
grievances  of  the  people,  dissolved  them,  in  February,  1642.  Finally,  the 
commission  of  other  murders  by  Indians,  and  the  presence  of  a  body  of  Mo- 
hawks, who  had  come  down  to  exact  tribute  from  the  River  tribes,  concurred 
with  the  changed  opinions  of  some  leading  citizens  of  New  Amsterdam,  to 
make  Keift  resolve  to  embrace  this  opportunity  to  chastise  the  savages.  A 
large  number  of  them  had  fled  before  the  Mohawks,  and  sought  shelter  with 
the  Hackensacks,  near  Hoboken,  and  there  craved  the  protection  of  the  Dutch. 
Now  was  offered  an  opportunity  for  a  wise  and  humane  governor  to  make  a 
covenant  of  peace  and  friendship  ;  but  Keift  could  not  be  satisfied  without  a 
flow  of  blood.  At  midnight,  in  February,  1643,  a  body  of  Hollanders  and  Mo- 
hawks crossed  the  Hudson,  fell  upon  the  unsuspecting  fugitives,  and  before  the 
dawn,  they  massacred  almost  a  hundred  men,  women,  and  children.  Many 
were  driven  from  the  cliffs  at  Hoboken  into  the  freezing  flood :  and  at  sunrise 
the  bloody  marauders  returned  to  New  Amsterdam  with  thirty  prisoners,  and 
the  heads  of  several  Indians. 

The  fiery  hatred  and  vengeance  of  all  the  surrounding  tribes  were  aroused 
by  this  massacre,  and  a  fierce  war  was  soon  kindled.  Villages  and  farms  were 
desolated,  and  white  people  were  butchered  wherever  they  were  found  by  the 
incensed  Indians.2  The  Long  Island  tribes,3  hitherto  friendly,  joined  their  kin- 
dred, and  the  very  existence  of  the  Dutch  colony  was  menaced.  Fortunately 
for  the  settlers,  that  eminent  peace-maker,  Roger  Williams,4  arrived  [1643],  to 
embark  for  England,5  and  he  pacified  the  savages,  and  secured  a  brief  repose  for 
the  colony.  But  the  wrar  was  soon  renewed,  and  for  two  years  the  colony  suf- 
fered dreadfully.  Having  no  competent  leader,  they  employed  Captain  John 
Underbill,6  who  successfully  beat  back  and  defeated  the  Indians,  and  hostilities 
ceased.  The  Mohawks  came  and  claimed  sovereignty  over  the  River  Indians, 
made  a  treat}7"  of  peace  with  the  Dutch,  and  the  hatchet  was  buried. 

The  conduct  of  Governor  Keift  was  so  offensive  to  the  colonists  and  the 
Company,  that  he  was  recalled,  and  he  sailed  for  Europe  in  1647,  in  a  richly 
laden  vessel.  It  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Wales,  and  there  he  perished. 
He  had  already  been  succeeded  in  office  [May,  27,  1647 ],  by  Peter  Stuyvesant, 
lately  governor  of  Cura^oa,  a  soldier  of  eminence,  and  possessed  of  every  requis- 
ite for  an  efficient  administration  of  government.  His  treatment  of  the  Indians 
was  very  kind  and  just,  and  they  soon  exhibited  such  friendship  for  the  Dutch, 
that  Stuyvesant  was  falsely  charged  with  a  design  to  employ  them  in  murder- 
ing the  English  in  New  England.7  Long  accustomed,  as  a  military  leader,  to 


1  Note  2,  page  92. 

2  It  was  during  this  frenzy  of  revenge  that  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  who  had  been  banished  from  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  had  taken  up  her  residence  near  the  present  New  Eochelle,  Westchester  County, 
New  York,  was  murdered,  with  all  her  family.     The  stream  upon  which  she  lived  is  yet  known  as 
Hutchinson's  River.  3  Page  21.     '        4  Page  87.  6  Page  91.  c  Page  87. 

7  See  page  121.   This  idea  prevailed,  because  during  almost  the  entire  winter  of  1652-3,  Ninigret 


142 


THE     COLONIES. 


[162.X 


arbitrary  rule,  he  was  stern  and  inflexible,  but  he  had  the  reputation  of  an 
honest  man.  lie  immediately  commenced  much  needed  reforms :  and  during 
his  whole  administration,  which  was  ended  by  the  subjugation  of  the  Dutch  by 
the  English,1  in  1664,  he  was  the  faithful  and  energetic  defender  of  the  integ- 


rity of  the  province  against  its  foes.  By  prudent  management  he  avoided  col- 
lisions with  the  English,  and  peaceably  ended  boundary  disputes^  with  them  in 
the  autumn  of  1650.  This  cause  for  irritation  on  his  eastern  frontier  being 
removed,  Stuyvesant  turned  his  attention  to  the  growing  power  of  the  Swedes. 
on  the  Delaware. 

Governor  Stuyvesant  built  Fort  Casimir,  on  the  site  of  the  present  New 


and  two  other  Narragansett  sachems  had  been  in  New  Amsterdam,  and  on  very  friendly  terms  with 
Stuyvesant.  These  sachems,  who  were  true  friends  of  the  English,  positively  disclaimed  all  bad 
intentions  on  the  part  of  Stuyvesant,  and  yet  historians  of  the  present  day  repeat  the  slander. 

1  Page  144. 

2  See  page  85.     He  went  to  Hartford,  and  there  made  a  treaty  which  fixed  the  eastern  bound- 
ary of  New  Netherland  nearly  on  the  line  of  the  present  division  between  New  York  and  Connecti- 
cut, and  across  Long  Island,  at  Oyster  Bay,  thirty  miles  eastward  of  New  York.     The  Dutch  claims 
to  lands  on  the  Connecticut  River  were  extinguished  by  this  treaty.     From  the  beginning  of  diffi- 
culties, the  Dutch  were  clearly  in  the  right.     This  was  acknowledged  by  impartial  and  just  New 
Englanders.     In  a  manuscript  letter  before  me,  from  Edward  Winslow  to  Governor  Winthrop,  dated 
at  "Marshfield,  2d  of  6th  month,  1644,"  in  which  he  replies  to  a  charge  of  being  favorable  to  the 
Dutch,  in  some  respects,  he  says  that  he  had  asserted  in  substance,  that  he  "  would  not  defend  the 
Hartford  men's  cause,  for  they  had  hitherto  (or  thus  long)  wronged  the  Dutch." 


1755.]  NEW    YORK.  143 

Castle,  in  Delaware,  in  1651.  This  was  soon  seized  by  the  Swedes,  and  the 
garrison  made  prisoners.  The  States- General1  resolved  to  prevent  further 
trouble  with  these  enterprising  neighbors  of  the  Dutch,  and  for  this  purpose, 
gave  Stuyvesant  full  liberty  to  subjugate  the  Swedes.  At  the  head  of  six  hun- 
dred men,  he  sailed  for  the  DelaAvare,  in  August.  1655,  and  by  the  middle  of 
October,  he  had  captured  all  the  Swedish  fortresses,  and  sent  the  governor 
(Risingh)  and  several  other  influential  men,  to  Europe.  Some  of  the  settlers 
withdrew  to  Maryland  and  Virginia,  but  the  great  body  of  them  quietly  sub- 
mitted, took  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  States-General  of  Holland,  and  con- 
tinued in  peaceable  possession  of  their  property.  Thus,  after  an  existence  of 
about  seventeen  years  [1638 — 1655J,  NEW  SWEDEN2  disappeared  by  absorp- 
tion into  NEW  NETHERLAND. 

New  trouble  now  appeared,  but  it  was  soon  removed.  AVhile  Stuyvesant 
and  his  soldiery  were  absent  on  the  Delaware,  some  Indians,  who  were  not  yet 
reconciled  to  the  Dutch,  menaced  New  Amsterdam.3  The  return  of  the  gov- 
ernor produced  quiet,  for  they  feared  and  respected  him,  and.  for  eight  ycaiv-. 
the  colony  was  very  little  disturbed  by  external  causes.  Then  the  Esopus 
Indians  suddenly  fell  upon  the  Dutch  settlements  [June,  1GG3]  at  TTiltwyck 
(now  Kingston,  in  Ulster  County),4  and  killed  and  captured  sixty-five  of  the  in- 
habitants. Stuyvesant  promptly  sent  a  sufficient  force  to  chastise  them  ;  and  so 
thoroughly  was  the  errand  performed,  that  the  Indians  sued  for  peace  in  May. 
1664,  and  made  a  treaty  of  friendship. 

External  difficulties  gave  Stuyvesant  little  more  trouble  than  a  spirit  oppose;! 
to  his  aristocratic  views,  which  he  saw  manifested  daily  around  him.  While  ho 
had  been  judiciously  removing  all  cause  for  ill-feeling  with  his  neighbors,  there 
was  *a  power  at  work  within  his  own  domain  which  gave  him  great  uneasiness. 
The  democratic  seed  planted  by  the  Twelve,  in  Keift's  time,5  had  begun  to  grow 
vigorously  under  the  fostering  care  of  a  few  enlightened  Hollanders,  and  some 
Puritans  who  had  settled  in  New  Netherland.  The  latter,  by  their  applause 
of  English  institutions,  had  diffused  a  desire  among  the  people  to  partake  of  tho 
blessings  of  English  liberty,  as  they  understood  it,  and  as  it  appeared  in  New 
England.  Stuyvesant  was  an  aristocrat  by  birth,  education,  and  pursuit,  and 
vehemently  opposed  every  semblance  of  democracy.  At  the  beginning  he  found 
himself  at  variance  with  the  people.  At  length  an  assembly  of  two  deputies 
from  each  village  in  New  Netherland,  chosen  by  the  inhabitants,  convened  at 
New  Amsterdam  [December,  1653],  without  the  approbation  of  the  governor. 
It  was  a  spontaneous,  and,  in  the  eyes  of  the  governor,  a  revolutionary  move- 
ment. Their  proceedings  displeased  him ;  and  finding  argument  of  no  avail,  he 
exercised  his  official  prerogative,  and  commanded  obedience  to  his  will.  The 
people  grew  bolder  at  every  rebuff,  and  finally  they  not  only  resisted  taxation, 
but  openly  expressed  a  willingness  to  bear  English  rule  for  the  sake  of  enjoying 
English  liberty. 

The  opportunity  for  a  change  of  rulers  was  not  long  delayed.     A  crisis  in 


:  Note  7,  page  59.  3  Page  93.  3  Page  139.  4  Page  283.  6  Page  140. 


144 


THE     COLONIES. 


[1623. 


the  affairs  of  New  Netherland  now  approached.  Charles  the  Second,  of  En- 
gland, without  any  fair  pretense  to  title,  gave  the  whole  territory  of  New 
Netherland  [March  22, 1664J  to  his  brother  James,  Duke  of  York,1  The  duke 
sent  an  English  squadron,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Richard  Nicolls,2  to 
secure  the  gift ;  and  on  the  8d  of  September,  1664.  the  red  cross  of  St.  George3 
floated  in  triumph  over  the  fort,  and  the  name  of  New  Amsterdam  was  changed 
to  New  York.4  It  was  an  easy  conquest,  for,  while  the  fortifications  and  other 
means  of  defense  were  very  weak,  the  people  were  not  unwilling  to  try  English 
rule.  Stuyvesant  began  to  make  concessions  to  the  people,  when  it  was  too 
late,  and  when  his  real  strength,  the  popular  will,  had  departed  from  him.  He 
hesitated  long  before  he  would  sign  the  articles  of  capitulation ;  and  thus,  until 
the  end,  he  was  faithful  to  his  employers,  the  Dutch  West  India  Company? 
With  the  capital,  the  remainder  of  the  province  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
English ;  and  early  in  October,  1664,  New  Netherland  was  acknowledged  a 
part  of  the  British  realm,  and  Nicolls,  the  conqueror  became  governor.6  Let 
us  now  consider 


CITY  OF  MOW  YORK  IN  1GG4. 


NEW  YORK  UNDER  THE  ENGLISH. 

Very  soon  after  the 
conquest  the  people  of 
New  York7  perceived 
that  a  change  of  masters 
did  not  enhance  their 
prosperity  and  happiness. 

They  were  disappointed  in  their  hopes  of  a  representative  government  i  and 
their  taxes,  to  support  a  government  in  which  they  had  no  voice,  were  increased. 
Lovelace,  the  vile  successor  of  Nicolls,  in  1667,  increased  their  burdens ;  and 
when  they  sent  a  respectful  protest  to  him,  he  ordered  the  paper  to  be  burned 
by  the  common  hangman.  He  was  a  petty  tyrant,  and  declared  that  the  peo- 
ple should  have  "  liberty  for  no  thought  but  how  to  pay  their  taxes."  But  the 
people  did  think  of  something  else,  and  were  on  the  eve  of  open  rebellion  when 


1  Pago  91,  •  Note  6,  page  123. 

3  The  royal  standard  of  England  is  sometimes  so  named  because  it  bears  a  red  cross,  which  is 
called  the  "cross  of  St.  George,"  the  patron  saint  of  Great  Britain.     After  the  union  with  Scotland 
[note  1,  page  63],  the  cross  of  St.  Andrew  (in  the  form  of  an  X),  was  added,  and  is  now  seen  on 
the  British  flag.     In  the  centre  are  the  royal  arms.     This  Union,  as  the  figure  is  called,  was  borne 
upon  the  American  flags,  sometimes,  until  af\er  the  Lcclaration  of  Independence,  in  1776.     It  was 
upon  the  flag  of  thirteen  stnpcs,  alternate  red  and  white,  which  Washington  caused  to  be  unfurled 
at  Cambridge,  on  the  first  day  of  that  year.     See  page  245. 

4  The  name  of  Fort  Orange  settlement  [note  9,  page  139],  was  changed  to  Albany,  one  of  the 
duke's  titles.  6  Page  72, 

6  We  have  elsewhere  noticed  the  fact,  that  before  Nicolls  was  dispatched,  the  duke,  being  cer- 
tain of  victory,  sold  that  part  of  New  Netherland  now  included  in  New  Jersey,  to  other  parties. 
[See  page  94.]     Long  Island,  which  had  been  previously  granted  to  the  Earl  of  Stirling,  was  pur- 
chased by  the  Dutch,  in  total  disregard  of  the  claims  of  Connecticut.     The  colonies  on  the  Delaware 
remained  under  the  jurisdiction  of  New  York,  and  were  governed  by  deputies. 

7  The  above  picture  is  a  correct  view  of  the  city  of  New  York  two  hundred  years  ago    It  is  now 
[1856]  the  largest  city  on  the  American  continent.     On  the  left  of  the  picture  is  seen  Fort  Amster- 
dam, with  the  church  and  governor's  house  within  it,  and  a  windmill.     The  point  of  Manhattan 
Island,  from  the  present  Battery  Place  to  the  foot  of  Wall-street,  is  here  seen. 


STUYVESANT  SURRENDERING  THE  FORT  TO   THE   ENGLISH. 


1755.]  NEW     YORK.  147 

the  clouds  of  national  war  overshadowed  local  difficulties.  War  again  com- 
menced between  England  and  Holland  in  1672,  and  in  July  the  following  year, 
a  Dutch  squadron  sailed  up  the  Bay  of  New  York,  and,  in  the  absence  of  the 
governor,  took  possession  of  the  fort  and  town  [August  9th,  1673]  without 
giving  a  shot.  The  easy  conquest  was  the  work  of  treason ;  yet,  as  the  royal 
libertine  (Charles  the  Second)  on  the  throne  of  England  doubtless  shared  in  the 
bribe,  the  traitor  went  unpunished. 1  New  Jersey  and  the  Territories  of  Dela- 
ware2 yielded,  and  for  sixteen  months  [from  July,  1673,  to  November,  1674] 
New  York  was  again  New  Netherlands.  When  the  two  nations  made  a  treaty 
of  peace,  the  province  was  restored  to  the  English,  and  remained  in  their  pos- 
session until  our  Independence  was  declared  in  1776.3  These  changes  raised 
some  doubts  concerning  the  validity  of  the  duke's  title,  and  the  king  gave  him 
another  grant  in  July,  1674.  Sir  Edmond  Andros4  was  appointed  governor 
under  the  new  charter,  and  continued  arbitrary  rule  with  increased  rigor.5 

At  the  close  of  1683,  Governor  Andros  returned  to  England,  when  the 
duke  (who  was  a  Roman  Catholic)  appointed  Thomas  Dongan,  of  the  same 
faith,  to  succeed  him.  In  the  mean  while,  the  duke  had  listened  to  the  judicious 
advice  of  William  Penn,  and  instructed  Dongan  to  call  an  assembly  of  repre- 
sentatives. They  met  [October  17,  1683],  and  with  the  hearty  concurrence  of 
the  governor,  a  CHARTER  OF  LIBERTIES  was  established,6  and  the  permanent 
foundation  of  a  representative  government  wras  laid.  The  people  rejoiced  in  the 
change,  and  were  heartily  engaged  in  the  eiforts  to  perfect  a  AVISO  and  liberal 
government,  when  the  duke  was  elevated  to  the  throne,  as  James  the  Second, 
on  the  death  of  Charles,  in  February,  1685.  As  king,  he  refused  to  confirm 
the  privileges  which,  as  duke,  he  had  granted ;  and  having  determined  to  intro- 
duce the  Roman  Catholic  religion  into  the  province  as  the  established  church, 
he  commenced  by  efforts  to  enslave  the  people.  A  direct  tax  was  ordered  :  the 
printing  press — the  right  arm  of  knowledge  and  freedom — was  forbidden  a 
place  in  the  colony ;  and  the  provincial  offices  were  filled  by  Roman  Catholics. 
These  proceedings  gave  pain  to  the  liberal-minded  Dongan  ;  and  when  the  king, 
in  his  religious  zeal,  instructed  the  governor  to  introduce  French  priests  among 
the  FIVE  NATIONS,'  he  resisted  the  measure  as  highly  inexpedient.8  His  firm- 


1  The  traitor  was  Captain  John  Manning,  the  commandant  of  the  fort.  He  was,  doubtless, 
bribed  by  the  Dutch  commander;  and  the  fact  that  the  king  screened  him  from  punishment,  gave 
the  color  of  truth  to  the  charge  that  the  monarch  shared  in  the  bribe.  a  Page  96. 

3  Page  251.  4  Page  129. 

5  The  duke  claimed  the  country  from   the   Connecticut   River  to  Cape  Henlopen.     Andros 
attempted  to  exercise  authority  eastward  of  the  line  agreed  upon  by  the  Dutch  and  the  Connecticut 
people  [note  2,  page  142],  and  went  to  Saybrook  in  the  summer  of  1676,  with  an  armed  party,  to 
enforce  the  claim.     He  met  with  such  resistance,  that  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  New  York 
without  accomplishing  his  design.     See  page  116. 

6  The  Assembly  consisted  of  the  governor  and  ten  councillors,  and  seventeen  deputies  elected 
by  the  freeholders.     They  adopted  a  Declaration  of  Fights,  and  asserted  the  principle,  so  nobly 
fought  for  a  hundred  years  later,  that  taxation  and  representation  are  inseparable ;  in  other  words — 
that  taxes  can  not  be  levied  without  the  consent  of  the  people,  expressed  by  their  representatives. 
At  this  time  the  colony  was  divided,  into  twelve  counties.  7  Page  23. 

8  This  measure  would  have  given  the  French,  in  Canada,  an  influence  over  the  Indians  that 
might  have  proved  fatal  to  English  power  on  the  Continent.  The  FIVE  NATIONS  remained  the  fast 
friends  of  the  English,  and  stood  as  a  powerful  barrier  against  the  French,  when  the  latter  twice 
invaded  the  Iroquois  territory,  in  endeavors  to  reach  the  English,  at  Albany. 


148  THE     COLONIES.  [1623. 

ness  gave  the  people  confidence,  and  they  were  again  on  the  eve  of  open  rebel- 
lion, when  the  intelligence  of  the  flight  of  James,  and  the  accession  of  William 
arid  Mary1  reached  them.  They  immediately  appointed  a  committee  of  safety, 
.and  with  almost  unanimous  voice,  sanctioned  the  conduct  of  Jacob  Leisler  (an 
influential  merchant  and  commander  of  the  militia),  who  had  taken  possession 
of  the  fort  in  the  name  of  the  new  sovereigns,  and  by  order  of  the  inhabitants. 
Afraid  of  the  people,  Nicholson,  the  successor  of  Dongan,  fled  on  board  a  vessel 
and  departed,  and  the  people  consented  to  Leisler' s  assuming  tho  functions  of 
governor  until  a  new  one  should  be  appointed.  The  aristocracy  and  the  magis- 
trates were  offended,  and  denouncing  Leisler  as  a  usurper,  they  accused  him 
of  treason,  when  Governor  Sloughter  arrived,  in  1691. 

Leisler,  in  the  mean  while,  conducted  affairs  with  prudence  and  energy. 
Having  the  sanction  of  the  people,  he  needed  no  further  authority ;  and  when  a 
letter  from  the  British  ministers  arrived  [December,  1689],  directed  to  Gov- 
ernor Nicholson,  "or,  in  his  absence,  to  such  as,  for  the  time  being,"  conducted 
affairs,  he  considered  it  as  fairly  addressed  to  himself.  Milborne,  his  son-in-law, 
acted  as  his  deputy,  and  wTas  included  in  the  accusations  of  the  magistrates, 
who  had  now  retired  to  Albany.  They  held  Fort  Orange2  until  the  invasion 
of  the  French,  in  February,  1690, 3  when  they  felt  the  necessity  of  claiming 
the  protection  of  the  government  at  New  York.  They  then  yielded,  and 
remained  comparatively  quiet  until  the  arrival  of  Richard  Ingoldsby,  Sloughter' s 
lieutenant,  early  in  1691.  That  officer  announced  the  appointment  of  Henry 
Sloughter  as  governor ;  and  without  producing  any  credentials  of  authority,  he 
haughtily  demanded  of  Leisler  [February  9,  1691]  the  surrender  of  the  fort. 
Of  course  Leisler  refused  compliance ;  but  as  soon  as  Sloughter  arrived  [March 
29],  he  sent  a  messenger  to  announce  his  desire  to  surrender  all  authority  into 
his  hands.  Leisler' s  enemies  had  resolved  on  his  destruction ;  and  when  he 
came  forward  to  deliver  the  fort,  in  person,  he  and  his  son-in-law  were  seized 
and  cast  into  prison.  They  were  tried  on  a  charge  of  treason,  found  guilty, 
and  condemned  to  suffer  death.  Sloughter  withheld  his  signature  to  their 
death  warrant ;  but,  when  made  drunk  at  a  dinner  party  prepared  for  the  pur- 
pose, he  put  his  name  to  the  fatal  instrument.  Before  he  became  sober.  Leisler 
and  Milborne  were  suspended  upon  a  gallows  on  the  verge  of  Beekman's  swamp 
May  26,  1691],  where  Tammany  Hall— fronting  on  the  City  Hall  Park.  New 
York — now  stands.  These  were  the  proto-martyrs  of  popular  liberty  in 
America.4 

Henry  Sloughter  was  a  weak  and  dissolute  man,  yet  he  came  with  an  earn- 
est desire  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  colonists.  He  convened  a  popular 
assembly,  and  formed  a  constitution,  which  provided  for  trial  by  jury,  and  an 
exemption  from  taxes,  except  by  the  consent  of  the  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple. Light  was  thus  dawning  hopefully  upon  the  province,  when  delirium 


1  Note  7,  page  113.  2  Note  9,  page  139. 

3  At  this  time,  Schenectada  was  desolated.     See  page  131. 

4  Their  estates  were  confiscated ;  but  after  a  lapse  of  several  years,  and  when  the  violence  of 
party  spirit  had  subsided,  the  property  was  restored  to  their  families. 


1755.] 


NEW     YORK. 


tremens,  at  the  close  of  a  drunken  revel,  ended  the  administration  and  the  life 
of  the  governor  [August  2,  1691],  in  less  than  three  months  after  the  murder 
of  Leisler  and  Milborne.  He  was  succeeded  by  Benjamin  Fletcher,  a  man  of 
violent  passions,  and  quite  as  weak  and  dissolute,  who  became  the  tool  of  the 
aristocracy,  and  was  hated  by  the  people.  Party  spirit,  engendered  by  the 
death  of  Leisler,  burned  intensely  during  the  whole  administration  of  Fletcher  ; 
and  at  the  same  time  the  French  and  Indians,  under  the  guidance  of  Frontenac, 
the  able  Governor  of  Canada,1  were  traversing  the  northern  frontiers  of  the 
province.  Fletcher  prudently  listened  to  the  advice  of  Major  Schuylcr,2  of 
Albany,  respecting  the  Indians;  and  under  his  leadership,  the  English,  and 
their  unwavering  allies,  the  FIVE  NATIONS,  successfully  beat  back  the  foe  to 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  so  desolated  the  French  settlements  in  1692,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Lake  Champlain,3  that  Frontenac  was  glad  to  remain  quiet  at 
Montreal. 

A  better  ruler  for  New  York  now  appeared.  The  Earl  of  Bcllomont,  an 
honest  and  energetic  Irish  peer,  succeeded  Fletcher  in  1698  ;  and  the  following 
year,  New  Hampshire4  and  Massachusetts5  were  placed  under  his  jurisdiction. 
He  commenced  reform  with  great  earnestness,  and  made  vigorous  efforts  to  sup- 
press piracy,6  which  had  become  a  fearful  scourge  to  the  infant  commerce  of 
the  colonists.  With  Robert  Livingston7  and  others,  he  fitted  out  an  expedition 
under  the  famous  Captain  Kidd,  to  destroy  the  buccaneers.  Kidd,  himself,  was 
afterward  hung  for  piracy  [1701],  and  the  governor  and  his  sons  were  charged 
with  a  participation  in  his  guilt.  At  any  rate,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
wealthy  men  in  the  colony  expected  a  share  in  the  plunder,  and  that  Kidd,  as  n 
scape-goat  for  the  sins  of  the  others,  was  the  victim  of  a  political  conspiracy.8 

Unfortunately  for  the  colony,  death  removed  Bellomont,  on  the  16th  of 
March,  1701,  when  his  liberal  policy  was  about  to  bear  fruit.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Edward  Hyde  (afterward  Lord  Cornbury),0  a  libertine  and  a  knave. 
who  cursed  the  province  with  misrule  for  seven  years.  He  was  a  bigot,  too. 
and  persecuted  all  denominations  of  Christians,  except  those  of  the  Church  of 
England.  He  embezzled  the  public  moneys,  involved  himself  in  heavy  debts. 
and  on  all  occasions  was  the  practical  enemy  of  popular  freedom.  The  people 


1  From  1678  to  1682,  and  again  from  1680  to  1698,  when  he  died,  at  the  age  of  77. 

2  Peter  Schuyler.     He  was  mayor  of  Albany,  and  acquired  unbounded  influence  over  the  FIVE 
NATIONS  of  Indians.     See  page  23. 

3  Schuyler's  force  was  about  three  hundred  Mohawks,  and  as  many  English.     They  slew  about 
three  hundred  of  the  French  and  Indians,  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake.       4  Pago  79.      &  Page  117. 

6  Because  Spain  claimed  the  exclusive  right  to  the  "West  India  seas,  her  commerce  in  that  region 
was  regarded  as  fair  plunder.     Privateer  commissions  were  readily  granted  by  the  English,  French. 
and  Dutch  governments ;   and  daring  spirits  from  all  countries  were  found  under  their  flags.     The 
buccaneers,  as  they  were  called,-  became  very  numerous  and  powerful,  and  at  length  depredated 
upon  English  commerce  as  well  as  Spanish.     Privateers,  or  those  legally  authorized  to  seize  the  prop- 
erty of  an  enemy,  became  pirates,  or  sea  robbers.     Privateering  is  only  legalized  piracy. 

7  An  immigrant  from  Scotland,  and  ancestor  of  the  Livingston  family  in  this  country.     He  was 
connected,  by  marriage,  with  the  Van  Rensselaer  and  Schuyler  families;  and  in  1685,  he  received 
from  governor  Dongan  a  grant  of  a  feudal  principality  (see  patroon,  page  139)  on  the  Hudson,  yet 
known  as  Livingston's  Manor. 

8  King  William  himself  was  a  shareholder  in  the  enterprise  for  which  Kidd  was  fitted  out.     Kidd 
appeared  publicly  in  Boston,  where  he  was  arrested,  then  sent  to  England,  tried,  and  executed. 

9  Page  161. 


150  THE     COLONIES.  [162:5. 

finally  demanded  and  obtained  his  recall,  and  the  moment  his  official  career 
ceased,  in  1708,  his  creditors  cast  him  into  prison,  where  he  remained  until  his 
accession  to  the  peerage,  on  the  death  of  his  father.1  From  this  period  until 
the  arrival  of  William  Cosby,  as  governor  [1732],  the  royal  representatives, a 
unable  to  resist  the  will  of  the  people,  as  expressed  by  the  Assembly,  allowed 
democratic  principles  to  grow  and  bear  fruit.3 

The  popular  will  and  voice  now  began  to  be  potential  in  the  administration 
of  public  affairs..  Rip  Van  Dam,  "a  man  of  the  people,"  was  acting  governor 
wrhen  Cosby  came.  They  soon  quarreled,  and  two  violent  parties  arose — the 
democratic,  which  sided  with  Yan  Dam,  and  the  aristocratic,  which  supported 
the  governor.  *  Each  party  had  the  control  of  a  newspaper.4  and  the  war  of 
words  raged  violently  for  a  long  time.  The  governor,  unable  to  compete  with 
his  opponent,  finally  ordered  the  arrest  of  Zenger  [November,  1734],  the  pub- 
lisher of  the  democratic  paper,  on  a  charge  of  libel.  After  an  imprisonment  of 
thirty-five  weeks,  Zenger  was  tried  by  a  jury,  and  acquitted,  in  July,  1735. 
He  was  defended  by  Andrew  Hamilton,  of  Philadelphia,  who  \vas  presented  by 
the  magistrates  of  the  city  of  New  York  with  a  gold  box,  as  a  token  of  their 
esteem  for  his  noble  advocacy  of  popular  rights.  Then  was  distinctly  drawn 
the  line  of  demarcation  between  republicans  and  royalists  (Whigs  and  Tories),6 
which  continued  prominent  until  the  war  of  the  revolution  was  ended  in  1783. 

From  the  arrival  of  Cosby  until  the  commencement  of  the  French  and 
Indian  war,0  the  history  of  New  York  is  composed  chiefly  of  the  records  of 
party  strife,  and  presents  very  little  matter  of  interest  to  the  general  reader. 
Only  one  episode  demands  special  attention,  namely,  the  excitement  and  results 
incident  to  a  supposed  conspiracy  of  the  negroes,  in  1741,  to  burn  and  plunder 
the  city,  murder  the  inhabitants,  and  set  up  a  government  under  a  man  of  their 
own  color.  Several  incendiary  fires  had  occurred  in  rapid  succession,  and  a 
house  had  been  robbed  by  some  slaves.  The  idea  of  a  regular  and  horrid  con- 
spiracy at  once  prevailed,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Salem  Witchcraft,7  an 
intense  panic  pervaded  all  classes,  and  many  innocent  persons  suffered.8  This 
is  known  in  history  as  The  Negro  Plot. 


1  According  to  an  unjust  law  of  England,  a  peer  of  the  realm  (who  is  consequently  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Lords  [note  2,  page  218])  can  not  be  arrested  for  debt.     This  law,  enacted  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  still  prevails. 

2  Lord  Lovelace,  Ingoldsby,  Hunter,  Schuyler,  Burner,  and  Montgomerie. 

3  We  have  already  noticed  (page  135)  the  breaking  out  of  Queen  Anne's  War,  in  1702,  and  the 
successful  expeditions  fitted  out  and  sent  in  the  direction  of  Montreal  in  1709  and  1711.     The  debt 
which  these  expeditions  laid  upon  New  York,  was  felt  for  many  years. 

4  The  New  York  Weekly  Journal  (democratic),  by  John  Peter  Zenger;   The  New  York  Gazette 
(aristocratic),  by  William  Bradford.     The  latter  owned  the  first  press  ever  set  up  in  the  province. 
He  commenced  printing  in  New  York  in  1696.     See  note  3,  page  179. 

6  Note  4,  page  226.  6  Page  179.  7  Page  132. 

8  Before  the  panic  was  allayed,  four  white  people  were  hanged,  and  eleven  negroes  were 
burned,  eighteen  were  hanged,  and  fifty  were  sent  to  the  West  Indies  and  sold. 


1755.]  MARYLAND 

CHAPTER    IV. 

MARYLAND.       [  1  G  3  9 .] 

WHEN  the  first  popular  assembly  convened  at  St.  Mary,  for  legislative  pur- 
poses, on  the  8th  of  March,  1635, 1  Maryland  had  then  its  colonial  birth.  Its 
sturdy  growth  began  when,  in  1639,  the  more  convenient  form  of  representa- 
tive government  was  established.  It  was  crude,  but  it  possessed  the  elements 
of  republicanism.  The  freemen  chose  as  many  representatives  as  they  pleased, 
and  others  were  appointed  by  the  proprietor.  These,  with  the  governor  and 
secretary,  composed  the  legislature.  At  this  first  session  a  Declaration  of 
Rights  was  adopted,  the  powers  of  the  governor  were  defined,  and  all  the  privi- 
leges enjoyed  by  English  subjects  were  guarantied  to  the  colonists.3 

Very  soon  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity,  becoming  jealous  of  the  increasing 
strength  of  the  white  people,  began  to  evince  hostility.  Frequent  collisions 
occurred ;  and  in  1642,  a  general  Indian  war  commenced  in  the  region  between 
the  Potomac  and  the  Chesapeake.  It  was  terminated  in  1645,  but  the  quiet 
of  the  province  was  soon  disturbed  again.  Clayborne  had  returned  from 
England3  [1645],  and  speedily  fanned  the  embers  of  discontent  into  a  flame  of 
open  rebellion.  He  became  too  powerful  for  the  local  authorities,  and  Governor 
Calvert4  was  obliged  to  flee  to  Virginia.  During  a  year  and  a  half,  the  insur- 
gents held  the  reins  of  government,  and  the  horrors  of  civil  war  brooded  over 
the  colony.  The  rebellion  was  suppressed  in  the  summer  of  1646,  and  in 
August,  Calvert  resumed  his  office. 

In  the  year  1649,  a  very  important  law,  known  as  The  Toleration  Act,  was 
passed  by  the  Assembly.  Religious  freedom  was  guarantied  by  the  charter,6 
yet,  as  much  animosity  existed  between  the  Protestants6  and  Roman  Catholics, 
the  Assembly7  thought  proper  to  give  the  principle  the  solemn  sanction  of  law. 
By  that  act  every  professed  believer  in  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Trinity,  was 
allowed  free  exercise  of  his  religious  opinions,  and  no  man  was  permitted  to 
reproach  another  on  account  of  his  peculiar  doctrines,  except  under  the  penalty 
of  a  fine,  to  be  paid  to  the  person  so  insulted.  Thither  persecuted  Churchmen 
of  New  England,  and  oppressed  Puritans  of  Virginia,  fled  and  found  an  asylum. 
This  act,  short  of  full  toleration  as  it  was  (for  it  placed  Unitarians  beyond  the 
pale  of  its  defense),  is  the  pride  and  glory  of  the  early  legislature  of  Maryland; 
yet  it  was  not  the  first  instance  in  America,  as  is  often  alleged,  when  religious 
toleration  received  the  sanction  of  law.8  Rhode  Island  has  that  honor. 


1  Page  82.  2  Page  82.  3  Note  1,  page  82. 

4  Page  81.  5  Page  81.  6  Note  14,  page  62. 

7  Bozman,  in  his  History  of  Maryland  (II.  350 — 356),  maintains  that  the  majority  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Assembly  of  1 649,  were  Protestants. 

In  May,  1647,  the  General  Assembly  of  Rhode  Island,  convened  at  Portsmouth,  adopted  a 
code  of  laws  which  closed  with  the  declaration  that  "all  men  might  walk  as  their  consciences  per- 
suaded them,  without  molestation — every  one  in  the  name  of  his  God."  This  was  broader  tolera- 
tion than  the  Maryland  act  contemplated,  for  it  did  not  restrict  men  to  a  belief  in  Jesus  Christ. 


152  THE     COLONIES.  [1639. 

Being  favored  by  events  in  the  mother  country,  republicanism  grew  steadily 
in  the  new  State.  Royalty  was  abolished  in  England  [1649],  and  for  more 
than  ten  years  the  democratic  idea  was  prevalent  throughout  the  realm.  Lord 
Baltimore,  the  proprietor  of  Maryland,  professed  republicanism  on  the  death  of 
the  king,  but  he  had  been  too  recently  a  royalist .  to  secure  the  confidence  of 
Parliament.  Stone,  his  lieutenant,  was  removed  from  office  [April  16,  1651] 
by  commissioners  (of  whom  Clayborne  was  one),  who  were  sent  to  administer  the 
government  of  the  colony.  He  was  soon  afterward  [July  8]  restored.  On  the 
dissolution  of  the  Long  Parliament  [1653J1  Cromwell  restored  full  power  to  the 
proprietor,  but  the  commissioners,  who  withdrew  to  Virginia,  returned  soon 
afterward,  and  compelled  Stone  to  surrender  the  government  into  their  hands. 

The  colonial  government  had  been  re-organized  in  the  mean  while.  The 
legislative  body  was  divided  into  an  Upper  and  Lower  House  in  1650;  the 
former  consisting  of  the  governor  and  his  council,  appointed  by  the  proprietor, 
and  the  latter  of  representatives  chosen  by  the  people.  At  the  same  session  a 
law  was  passed  prohibiting  all  taxes,  unless  levied  with  the  consent  of  the  free- 
men. Political  questions  were  freely  discussed  by  the  people ;  and  soon  the 
two  chief  religious .  sects  were  marshaled  in  opposition,  as  prime  elements  of 
political  parties.  So  great  had  been  the  influx  of  Protestants,  that  they  now 
[1654]  outnumbered  the  Roman  Catholics  as  voters  and  in  the  Assembly.  They 
acknowledged  the  authority  of  Cromwell,  and  boldly  questioned  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  an  hereditary  proprietor.2  The  Roman  Catholics  adhered  to  Lord 
Baltimore,  and  bitter  religious  hatred  was  fostered.  The  Protestants  finally 
disfranchised  their  opponents,  excluded  them  from  the  Assembly,  and  in  Novem- 
ber, 1654,  passed  an  act  declaring  Roman  Catholics  not  entitled  to  the  protec- 
tion of  the  laws  of  Maryland. 

This  unchristian  and  unwise  act  of  the  Protestant  party,  was  a  great  wrong 
as  well  as  a  great  mistake.  Civil  war  ensued.  Stone  returned  to  St.  Mary,3 
organized  an  armed  force  composed  chiefly  of  Roman  Catholics,  seized  the  colo- 
nial records,  and  assumed  the  office  of  governor.  Skirmishes  followed,  and 
finally  a  severe  battle  wTas  fought  [April  4,  1655]  not  far  from  the  site  of 
Annapolis,  in  which  Stone's  party  was  defeated,  with  a  loss  of  about  fifty  men, 
killed  and  wounded.  Stone  was  made  prisoner,  but  his  life  was  spared.  Four 
other  leading  supporters  of  the  proprietor  were  tried  for  treason  and  executed. 
Anarchy  prevailed  in  the  province  for  many  months,  when  the  discordant  ele- 
ments wrere  brought  into  comparative  order  by  the  appointment  of  Josiah  Fen- 
dall  [July  20,  1656]  as  governor. '  He  was  suspected  of  favoring  the  Roman 
Catholics,  and  was  soon  arrested  by  order  of  the  Protestant  Assembly.  For 
two  years  bitter  strife  continued  between  the  people  and  the  agents  of  the 


1  When  Charles  the  First  was  beheaded  [note  3,  page  108],  the  Parliament  assumed  supreme 
authority,  and  remained  in  permanent  session.     Cromwell,  with  an  army  at  his  back,  entered  that 
assembly  in  the  autumn  of  1653,  ordered  them  to  disperse,  and  assumed  supreme  power  himself, 
under  the  title  of  Lord  Protector.     That  British  legislature  is  known  in  history  as  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment. 

2  According  to  the  original  charter,  the  heirs  and  successors  of  Lord  Baltimore  were  to  be  pro- 
prietors forever.  3  Page  82. 


1755.]  MARYLAND.  153 

proprietor,  when,  after  concessions  by  the  latter,  Fendall  was  acknowledged 
governor,  on  the  3d  of  April,  1658.  His  prudence  secured  the  confidence  of 
the  people,  but  the  death  of  Cromwell,  in  September,  1658,  presaging  a  change 
in  the  English  government,  gave  them  uneasiness.  After  long  deliberation, 
the  Assembly  determined  to  avoid  all  further  trouble  with  the  proprietor,  by 
asserting  the  supreme  authority  of  the  people.  They  accordingly  dissolved  the 
Upper  House  [March  24,  1660], 1  and  assumed  the  whole  legislative  power  of 
the  State.  They  then  gave  Fendall  a  commission  as  governor  for  the  people. 

The  restoration  of  monarchy  in  England  took  place  in  June,  1660,2and  the 
original  order  of  things  was  re-established  in  Maryland.  Lord  Baltimore,  hav- 
ing assured  the  new  king  that  his  republican  professions3  were  only  temporary 
expedients,  was  restored  to  all  his  proprietary  rights,  by  Charles.  Fendall  was 
tried,  and  found  guilty  of  treason,  because  he  accepted  a  commission  from  the 
rebellious  Assembly.  Baltimore,  however,  wisely  proclaimed  a  general  pardon 
for  all  political  offenders  in  Maryland ;  and  for  almost  thirty  years  afterward, 
the  province  enjoyed  repose.  A  law.  which  established  absolute  political  equal- 
ity among  professed  Christians,  was  enacted  ;  and  after  the  death  of  the  second 
Lord  Baltimore  [Dec.  10,  1675],  his  son  and  successor  confirmed  it.  Under 
that  new  proprietor,  Charles  Calvert,  Maryland  was  governed  mildly  and  pru- 
dently, and  the  people  were  prospering  in  their  political  quietude,  when  the 
Revolution  in  England4  shook  the  colonies.  The  deputy  governor  of  Maryland 
hesitated  to  proclaim  William  and  Mary,6  and  this  was  made  a  pretense,  by  a 
restless  spirit,  named  Coode,6  for  exciting  the  people.  He  gave  currency  to  the 
absurd  report  that  the  local  magistrates  and  the  Roman  Catholics  had  leagued 
with  the  Indians7  for  the  destruction  of  all  tho  Protestants  in  the  colony.  A 
similar  actual  coalition  of  Jesuits^  and  savages  on  the  New  England  frontiers9 
gave  a  coloring  of  truth  to  the  story,  and  the  old  religious  feud  instantly  burned 
again  intensely.  The  Protestants  formed  an  armed  association  [Sept.,  1689], 
and  led  on  by  Coode,  they  took  forcible  possession  of  St.  Mary,  and  by  capitu- 
lation, received  the  provincial  records  and  assumed  the  government.  They 
called  a  Convention,  and  invested  it  with  legislative  powers.  Its  first  acts  were 
to  depose  the  third  Lord  Baltimore,  and  to  re-assert  the  sovereign  majesty  of 
the  people. 

Public  affairs  were  managed  by  the  Convention  until  1691,  when  the  king 
unjustly  deprived  Baltimore  of  all  his  political  privileges  as  proprietor  [June 
11],  and  made  Maryland  a  royal  province.10  Lionel  Copley  was  appointed  tho 
first  royal  governor,  in  1692.  New  laws  were  instituted — religious  toleration 


1  Page  152.         2  Note  2,  page  109.    .    3  Page  152.         4  Note  7,  page  II?,.        6  Pago  113. 

6  Coode  had  been  a  confederate  in  a  former  insurrection,  but  escaped  conviction. 

7  A  treaty  with  the  Indians  had  just"  been  renewed,  and  the  customary  presents  distributed 
among  them.     These  things  Coodo  falsely  adduced  as  evidences  of  a  coaVtion  with  the  savages. 

B  Note  5.  page  130.     '  °  Page  130. 

10  King  William  had  an  exalted  idea  of  royal  prerogatives,  and  was  as  much  disposed  as  the 
Stuarts  (the  kings  of  England  from  James  the  First  to  James  the  Second)  to  suppress  democracy  in 
the  colonies.  He  repeatedly  vetoed  (refused  his  assent)  to  Bills  of  Rights  enacted  by  the  colonial 
Assemblies ;  refused  his  assent  to  local  laws  of  the  deepest  interest  to  the  colonists ;  and  instructed 
his  governors  to  prohibit  printing  in  tho  colonies.  Note  7,  page  112. 


154  TIIE     COLONIES.  [1639. 

was  abolished — the  Church  of  England  was  made  the  established  religion,  to  be 
supported  by  a  tax  on  the  people ;  and  in  the  State  founded  by  Roman  Cath- 
olics, the  members  of  that  denomination  were  cruelly  disfranchised,  with  the 
consent  of  their  sovereign.  A  few  years  later  [1716],  the  proprietary  rights 
of  Lord  Baltimore  (now  deceased)  were  restored  to  his  infant  heir,  and  the 
original  form  of  government  was  re-established.  Such  continued  to  be  the  poli- 
tical complexion  of  the  colony,  until  the  storm  of  the  Revolution  in  1776,  swept 
away  every  remnant  of  royalty  and  feudalism,  and  the  State  of  Maryland  was 
established. 


CHAPTER   V. 

CONNECTICUT.      [  1  G  3  9  .  ] 

TIIH  CONNECTICUT  COLONY*  formed  a  political  Constitution  on  the  24th  of 
January,  1639,  and  in  June  following,  the  NEW  HAVEN  COLONY  performed 
the  same  important  act.2  The  religious  element  was  supreme  in  the  new  organ^ 
ization ;  and,  in  imitation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Plymouth  settlers,  none 
but  church  members  were  allowed  the  privileges  of  freemen3  at  New  Haven. 
They  first  appointed  a  committee  of  twelve  men,  who  selected  seven  of  their 
members  to  be  "  pillars"  in  the  new  State.  These  had  power  to  admit  as  many 
others,  as  confederate  legislators,  as  they  pleased.  Theophilus  Eaton  was 
chosen  governor,4  and  the  Bible  was  made  the  grand  statute-book  of  the  colony. 
Many  of  the  New  Haven  settlers  being  merchants,  they  sought  to  found  a  com- 
mercial colony,  but  heavy  losses  by  the  wreck  of  vessels'  discouraged  them,  and 
they  turned  their  special  attention  to  agriculture.  Prudence  marked  the  course 
of  the  magistrates  of  the  several  colonies  in  the  Connecticut  valley,6  and  they 
were  blessed  with  prosperity.  But  difficulties  with  the  Dutch  respecting  terri- 
torial boundaries,7  and  menaces  of  the  neighboring  Indians,  gave  them  uneasi- 
ness, and  made  them  readily  join  the  New  England  confederation  in  1643. 8 
The  following  year  the  little  independent  colony  at  Saybrook9  purchased  the 
land  of  one  of  the  proprietors  of  Connecticut,10  and  became  permanently  annexed 
to  that  at  Hartford.11 

The  future  appeared  serene  and  promising.  The  treaty  made  with  Gov- 
ernor Stuyvesant,  at  Hartford,  in  1650, 12  gave  token  of  future  tranquillity.  But 
the  repose  was  soon  broken  by  international  war.  England  and  Holland  drew 
the  sword  against  each  other  in  1652 ;  and  because  it  was  reported  that  Nini- 
gret,  the  wily  sachem  of  the  Narragansetts,1  had  spent  several  weeks  at  New 

1  Page  89.  2  Pago  89.     Tho  people  assembled  in  a  barn  to  form  a  new  Constitution. 

3  Note  5,  page  118. 

4  He  was  annually  chosen  to  fill  the  office,  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1657. 

6  In  1647,  a  new  ship  belonging  to  the  colony  foundered  at  sea.  It  was  laden  with  a  valuable 
cargo,  and  the  passengers  belonged  to  some  of  the  leading  families  in  the  colony. 

6  Page  86.  7  Page  85,  and  note  2,  page  142.  8  Page  121.  °  Page  86. 

10  Page  85.  "  Page  88.  n  Note  2,  page  142.  M  Noto  7,  page  141. 


1755.]  CONNECTICUT. 

Amsterdam  in  the  winter  of  1652-31  the  belief  prevailed  in  New  England,  as 
we  have  already  observed,  that  Stuyvesant  was  leaguing  with  the  Indians  for 
the  destruction  of  the  English.2  Great  excitement  ensued,  and  a  majority  of 
the  commissioners  decided,3  in  1653,  upon  wur  with  the  Dutch.  Immediate 
hostilities  were  prevented  by  the  refusal  of  Massachusetts  to  furnish  its  quota 
of  supplies.  The  Connecticut  colonies  (who  were  more  exposed  to  blows  from 
the  Dutch  than  any  other)  applied  to  Cromwell  for  aid,  and  he  sent  four  ships 
of  war  for  the  purpose.  Before  their  arrival,4  a  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded 
between  the  two  nations,  and  blood  and  treasure  were  saved.  The  Assembly 
at  Hartford  took  possession  of  all  property  then  claimed  by  the  Dutch ;  and 
after  that  the  latter  abandoned  all  claims  to  possessions  in  the  Connecticut 
valley. 

On  the  restoration  of  Charles  the  Second,  in  1660,  the  Connecticut  colony 
expressed  its  loyalty,  and  obtained  a  charter.  At  first,  Charles  was  disposed 
to  refuse  the  application  of  Winthrop,5  the  agent  of  the  colony,  for  he  had 
heard  of  the  sturdy  republicanism  of  the  petitioners.  But  when  Winthrop 
presented  his  majesty  with  a  ring  which  Charles  the  First  had  given  to  his 
father,  the  heart  of  the  king  was  touched,  and  he  granted  a  charter  [May  30, 
1662]  which  not  only  confirmed  the  popular  Constitution  of  the  colony,  but 
contained  more  liberal  provisions  than  any  yet  issued  from  the  royal  hand.6  It 
defined  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  province  to  be  Narraganset  Bay,  and  the 
western,  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  thus  included  a  portion  of  Rhode  Island,  and 
the  whole  New  Haven  Colony?  The  latter  gave  a  reluctant  consent  to  the 
union  in  1665,  but  Rhode  Island  positively  refused  the  alliance.  A  charter 
given  to  the  latter  the  year  after  one  was  given  to  Connecticut  [1663], 8  covered 
a  portion  of  the  Connecticut  grant  in  Narraganset  Bay.  Concerning  this 
boundary  the  two  colonies  disputed  for  more  than  sixty  years. 

The  colony  of  Connecticut  suffered  but  little  during  KING  PHILIP'S  WAR,* 
which  broke  out  in  1675,  with  the  exception  of  some  settlements  high  up  on 
the  fresh  water  river.10  Yet  it  furnished  its  full  quota  of  men  and  supplies,  and 
its  soldiers  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  giving  the  vigorous  blows  which  broke 
the  power  of  the  New  England  Indians.11  At  the  same  time,  the  colonists 
were  obliged  to  defend  their  liberties  against  the  attempted  usurpations  of  Ed- 
mund Andros,  then  governor  of  New  York.22  He  claimed  jurisdiction  to  the 


1  This  report  was  set  afloat  by  Uncas,  the  mischievous  Mohegan  sachem  [page  87],  who  hated 
the  Narragansetts.     It  had  no  foundation  in  truth.     See,  also,  page  21. 

2  Page  141  3  Pago  121. 

4  Roger  Williams,  then  in  England,  managed  to  delay  the  sailing  of  the  fleet,  and  thus,  again, 
that  eminent  peace-maker  prevented  bloodshed.  Page  87. 

6  John  Winthrop,  son  of  Governor  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts.  lie  was  chosen  governor  of 
Connecticut  in  1657,  and  held  the  office  several  years.  Such  was  his  station  when  he  appeared  in 
England  to  ask  a  charter  of  the  king.  Hopkins  (who  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  New  Haven 
colony)  was  chosen  the  first  governor  of  the  Connecticut  colony,  and  for  several  years  he  and 
Haynes  were  alternately  chosen  chief  magistrates. 

8  This  original  charter  is  now  [185G]  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  State  of  Connecticut.  It 
contains  a  portrait  of  Charles  the  Second,  handsomely  drawn  in  India  ink,  and  forming  part  of  an 
initial  letter.  This  was  the  instrument  afterward  hidden  in  the  great  oak  mentioned  on  the  next  page. 

T  Page  88.     Thus  the  several  settlements  were  united  under  the  general  name  of  Connecticut. 

8  Page  156.  9  Page  124.  10  Page  85.  "  Page  22.  ia  Page  147. 


156  THE     COLONIES.  [1639. 

mouth  of  the  Connecticut  River,  and  in  July,  1675,  he  proceeded  to  Saybrook 
with  a  small  naval  force,  to  assert  his  authority.  He  was  permitted  to  land ; 
but  when  he  ordered  the  garrison  in  the  fort  to  surrender,  and  began  to  read  his 
commission  to  the  people,  Captain  Bull,  the  commander,  ordered  him  to  be 
silent.  Perceiving  the  strength  and  determination  of  his  adversary,  Andros 
wisely  withdrew,  and  greatly  irritated,  returned  to  New  York. 

During  the  next  dozen  years,  very  little  occurred  to  disturb  the  quiet  and 
prosperity  of  Connecticut.  Then  a  most  exciting  scene  took  place  at  Hartford, 
in  which  the  liberties  of  the  colony  were  periled.  Edmund  Andros  again  ap- 
peared as  »  usurper  of  authority.  He  had  been  appointed  governor  of  New 
England  in  1686, 1  and  on  his  arrival  he  demanded  a  surrender  of  the  charters 
of  all  the  provinces.  They  all  complied, ,  except  Connecticut.  She  steadily 
refused  to  give  up  the  guaranty  of  her  political  rights  ;  and  finally  Andros  pro- 
ceeded to  Hartford  with  sixty  armed  men,  to  enforce  obedience.  The  Assem- 
bly were  in  session  when  he  arrived  [Nov.  10,  1687],  and  received  him  court- 
eously. He  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  charter,  and  declared  the  colonial 
government  dissolved.  Already  a  plan  had  been  arranged  for  securing  the  safety 
of  that  precious  instrument,  and  at  the  same  time  to  preserve  an  appearance  of 
loyalty.  The  debates  were  purposely  protracted  until  the  candles  were  lighted, 
at  evening,  when  the  charter  was  brought  in  and  laid 
upon  the  table.  Just  as  Andros  stepped  forward  to 
take  it,  the  candles  were  suddenly  extinguished.  The 
charter  was  seized  by  Captain  Wadsworth,  of  the  mil- 
itia, and  under  cover  of  the  night  it  was  effectually 
concealed  in  the  hollow  trunk  of  a  huge  oak,  standing 
not  far  from  the  Assembly  chamber.2  When  the  can- 
dles were  relighted,  the  members  were  in  perfect 

s\     £? —          3^W2i!Si^SE/ 

order,  but  the  charter  could  not  bo  found.     Andros 

THE   CHARTER  OAK.  '        ,  1         L     V    •  xl  r   "1     1       i.  l_ 

was  highly   incensed  at  being   thus   foiled,   but  he 

wisely  restrained  his  passion,  assumed  the  government,  and  with  his  own  hand 
wrote  the  word  FINIS  after  the  last  record  of  the  Charter  Assembly.  The  gov- 
ernment was  administered  in  his  own  name  until  he  was  driven  from  Boston  in 
1689, 3  when  the  charter  was  taken  from  the  oak  [May  19,  1689],  a  popular 
Assembly  was  convened,  Robert  Treat  was  chosen  governor,  and  Connecticut 
again  assumed  her  position  as  an  independent  colony. 

Petty  tyrants  continued  to  molest.  A  little  more  than  four  years  later,  the 
Connecticut  people  were  again  compelled  to  assert  their  chartered  liberties. 
Colonel  Fletcher,  then  governor  of  New  York,4  held  a  commission  which  gave 
him  command  of  the  militia  of  Connecticut.5  As  that  power  was  reserved  to 

1  Pago  129. 

3  That  tree  remained  vigorous  until  ten  minutes  before  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  August  21, 
1856,  when  it  was  prostrated  during  a  heavy  storm,  and  nothing  but  a  stump  remains.  It  stood 
on  the  south  side  of  Charter-street,  a  few  rods  from  Main-street,  in  the  city  of  Hartford.  The  cavity 
in  which  the  charter  was  concealed,  had  become  partially  closed. 

3  Page  130.  4  Page  147. 

6  The  declared  object  of  this  commission  was  to  enable  Fletcher  to  call  forth  the  Connecticut 
militia  when  proper,  to  repel  an  expected  invasion  of  Northern  New  York,  by  the  French  and 
Indians. 


1755.]  RHODE     ISLAND.  357 

the  colony  by  the  charter,  the  Legislature  refused  to  acknowledge  Fletcher's 
authority.  In  November,  1693,  he  repaired  to  Hartford,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  Legislature  was  in  session,  and  again  promptly  denied  his  jurisdiction,  he 
ordered  the  militia  to  assemble.  The  Hartford  companies,  under  Captain 
Wadsworth,1  were  drawn  up  in  line  ;  but  the  moment  Fletcher  attempted  to 
read  his  commission,  the  drums  were  beaten.  His  angry  order  of  "  Silence!" 
was  obeyed  for  a  moment ;  but  when  he  repeated  it,  Wadsworth  boldly  stepped 
in  front  of  him,  and  said,  "  Sir,  if  they  are  again  interrupted,  I  '11  make  the  sun 
shine  through  you  in  a  moment."  Fletcher  perceived  the  futility  of  a  parley, 
or  further  assumption  of  authority  ;  and,  pocketing  his  commission,  he  and  his 
attendants  returned  to  New  York,  greatly  chagrined  and  irritated.  The  mat- 
ter was  compromised  when  referred  to  the  king,  who  gave  the  governor  of  Con- 
necticut militia  jurisdiction  in  time  of  peace,  but  in  the  ft  vent  of  war,  Colonel 
Fletcher  should  have  the  command  of  a  certain  portion  of  the  troops  of  that 
colony. 

And  now,  in  the  year  1700,  Connecticut  had  a  population  of  about  thirty 
thousand,  which  rapidly  increased  during  the  remainder  of  her  colonial  career. 
During  Qnee?i  Anne's  Warf  and  the  stirring  events  in  America  from  that 
time  until  the  commencement  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,3  when  her  people 
numbered  one  hundred  thousand,  Connecticut 'went  hand  in  hand  with  her  sis- 
ter colonies  for  mutual  welfare  ;  arid  her  history  is  too  closely  interwoven  with 
theirs  to  require  further  separate  notice. 


CHAPTER   V I  : 

RHODE     ISLAND.     [1644.] 

WHEN  the  Providence  and  Rhode  Island  plantations  were  united  under 
the  same  government  in  1644,  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island  commenced  its  inde- 
pendent career.4  That  charter  was  confirmed  by  the  Long  Parliament5  in 
October,  1652,  and  this  put  an  end  to  the  persevering  efforts  of  Massachusetts 
to  absorb  "  Williams's  Narraganset  Plantation."  That  colony  had  always 
coveted  the  beautiful  Aquiday,6  and  feared  the  reaction  of  Williams's  tolerant 
principles  upon  the  people  from  whose  bosom  he  had  been  cruelly  expelled.7  A 
dispute  concerning  the  eastern  boundary  of  Rhode  Island  was  productive  of 
much  ill  feeling  during  the  progress  of  a  century,  when,  in  1741,  commission- 
ers decided  the  present  line  to  be  the  proper  division,  and  wrangling  ceased. 


1  Page  156.  2  Page  135.  3  Page  179. 

4  Page  91.  A  general  assembly  of  deputies  from  the  several  towns,  met  at  Portsmouth  on  the 
29th  of  May,  1647,  and  organized  the  new  government  by  the  election  of  a  president  and  other  offi- 
cers. At  that  time  a  code  of  laws  was  adopted,  which  declared  the  government  to  be  a  democracy, 
and  that  "all  men  might  walk  as  their  conscience  persuaded  them."  Page  151. 

6  Note  1,  page  150.  6  Note  5,  page  91.  7  Page  91. 


158  THE     COLONIES.  [1644. 

Nor  was  Rhode  Island  free  from  those  internal  commotions,  growing  out  of  relig- 
ious disputes  and  personal  ambition,  which  disturbed  the  repose  of  other  colonies. 
These  were  quieted  toward  the  close  of  1653,  when  Roger  Williams  was  chosen 
president.  Cromwell  confirmed  the  royal  charter  on  the  22d  of  May,  1655, 
and  during  his  administration  the  colony  prospered.  On  the  accession  of 
Charles  the  Second,1  Rhode  Island  applied  for  and  obtained  a  new  charter 
[July  8,  1663],  highly  democratic  in  its  general  features,  and  similar,  in  every 
respect,  to  the  one  granted  to  Connecticut.2  The  first  governor  elected  under 
this  instrument,  was  Benedict  Arnold ; 3  and  by  a  colonial  law,  enacted  during 
his  first  administration,  the  privileges  of  freemen  were  granted  only  to  free- 
holders and  their  eldest  sons. 

Bowing  to  the  mandates  of  royal  authority,  Rhode  Island  yielded  to  Andros, 
in  January,  1687  ;  but  the  moment  intelligence  reached  the  people  of  the  acces- 
sion of  William  and  Mary4  [May  11,  1689],  and  the  imprisonment  of  the  petty 
tyrant  at  Boston,5  they  assembled  at  Newport,  resumed  their  old  charter,  and 
re-adopted  their  seal — an  anchor •,  with  Hope  for  a  motto.  Under  this  charter, 
Rhode  Island  continued  to  be  governed  for  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  years, 
when  the  people,  in  representative  convention,  in  1842,  adopted  a  constitution.8 
Newport  soon  became  a  thriving  commercial  town :  and  when,  in  1732,  John 
Franklin  established  there  the  first  newspaper  in  the  colony,  it  contained  five 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  the  whole  province  about  eighteen  thousand.7  Near 
Newport  the  celebrated  Dean  Berkeley  purchased  lands  in  1729 ;  and  with 
him  came  John  Smibert,  an  artist,  who  introduced  portrait  painting  into  Amer- 
ica.8 Notwithstanding  Rhode  Island  was  excluded  from  the  New  England 
confederacy,9  it  always  bore  its  share  in  defensive  efforts;  and  its  history  is 
identified  with  that  of  New  England  in  general,  from  the  commencement  of 
King  William's  War.10 


1  Page  109. 

2  Page  154.     This  charter  guarantied  free  toleration  in  religious  matters,  and  the  legislature  of 
the  colony  re-asserted  the  principle,  so  as  to  give  it  the  popular  force  of  law.     The  assertion,  made 
by  some,  that  Eoman  Catholics  were  excluded  from  voting,  and  that  Quakers  were  outlawed,  is 
erroneous. 

3  He  was  governor  several  times,  serving  in  that  office,  altogether,  about  eleven  years.     He  was 
chief  magistrate  of  the  colony  when  he  died,  in  1618.  4  Page  130. 

6  Page  130.  6  Page  477. 

7  Of  these,  about  one  thousand  were  Indians,  and  more  than  sixteen  hundred  were  negroes. 

8  Berkeley  preached  occasionally  in  a  small  Episcopal  church  at  Newport,  and  presented  the 
congregation  with  an  organ,  the  first  ever  heard  in  America.     Smibert  was  a  Scotchman,  and 
married  and  settled  at  Boston.     His  picture  qf  Berkeley  and  his  family  is  still  preserved  at  Yale 
College  [page  178],  in  New  Haven.     Berkeley  (afterward  made  bishop  of  a  diocese  in  Ireland)  made 
great  efforts  toward  the  establishment  of  the  Arts  and  Learning,  in  America.     Failing  in  his  project 
of  founding  a  new  University,  he  became  one  of  the  most  liberal  benefactors  of  Yale  College.     In 
view  of  the  future  progress  of  the  colonies,  he  wrote  that  prophetic  poem,  the  last  verse  of  which 
contains  the  oft-quoted  line — 

"Westward  the  course  of  Empire  takes  its  way." 

9  Page  121.  10  Page  130. 


LT55.]  NEW    JERSEY.  159 

CHAPTER    VII. 

NEW      JERSEY.      [1  G  64.] 

THE  settlements  in  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Delaware,  wo  have 
considered  together  in  the  same  chapter/  as  constituting  a  series  of  events  hav- 
ing intimate  relations  with  each  other.  The  history  of  the  colonial  organization 
of  the  first  two,  is  separate  and  distinct,  Delaware  was  never  an  independent 
colony  or  State,  until  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  in  1776.  The 
founding  of  the  New  Jersey  colony  occurred  when,  in  1664,  the  Duke  of  York 
sold  the  territory  to  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret,2  and  the  new 
proprietors  began  the  work  of  erecting  a  State.  They  published  a  form  of 
agreement  which  they  called  "  Concessions,"3  in  which  liberal  offers  were  made 
to  emigrants  who  might  settle  within  the  territory.  Among  other  provisions, 
the  people  were  to  be  exempt  from  the  payment  of  quit-rents  and  other  burdens, 
for  the  space  of  five  years.  Allured  by  the  liberality  of  the  "  Concessions,"  as 
well  as  by  the  salubrity  of  the  climate  and  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  many  families 
came  from  Long  Island  in  1664,  and  settled  at  Elizabethtown  ;4  and  in  August, 
the  following  year,  Philip  Carteret  (brother  of  one  of  the  proprietors)  was 
appointed  governor,  and  arrived  at  Elizabethtown  with  a  number  of  settlers. 

At  first  all  was  peaceable.  Nothing  disturbed  the  repose  of  the  colony 
during  the  five  years'  exemption  from  rents  ;  but  when,  in  1670,  the  specified 
halfpenny,  for  the  use  of  each  acre  of  land,  was  required,  murmurs  of  discon- 
tent were  loud  and  universal.  Those  who  had  purchased  land  from  the  Indians, 
denied  the  right  of  the  proprietors  to  demand  rent  from  them ;  and  some  of  the 
towns  had  even  denied  the  authority  of  the  Assembly,  at  its  first  sitting,  in 
1668.  The  whole  people  combined  in  resisting  the  payment  of  quit-rents ; 
and  after  disputing  with  the  proprietors  almost  two  years,  they  revolted,  called 
a  new  Assembly,  appointed  a  dissolute,  illegitimate  son  of  Sir  George  Carteret, 
governor,  in  May,  1672,  and  in  July  following,  compelled  Philip  Carteret  to 
leave  the  province.  Preparations  were  in  progress  to  coerce  the  people  into 
submission,  when  New  Jersey,  and  all  other  portions  of  the  territory  claimed 
by  the  Duke  of  York,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Dutch,5  in  August,  1673.  On 
the  restoration  of  the  territory  to  the  English,0  in  November,  1674,  the  Duke 
of  York  procured  a  new  charter,7  and  then,  regardless  of  the  rights  of  Berkeley 
and  Carteret,  he  appointed  Edmund  Andros,  "the  tyrant  of  New  England," 

1  Page  92. 

a  Page*94.  The  province  was  called  Now  Jersey,  in  honor  of  Carteret,  who  was  governor  of 
the  island  of  Jersey,  in  the  British  Channel,  during  the  civil  war.  He  was  a  staunch  royalist,  and 
was  the  last  commander  to  lower  the  royal  flag,  when  the  Parliament  had  triumphed. 

3  This  was  a  sort  of  constitution,  which  provided  for  a  government  to  be  composed  of  a  governor 
and  council  appointed  by  the  proprietors,  and  an  Assembly  chosen  by  the  freeholders  of  the  prov- 
ince.    The  legislative  power  resided  in  the  Assembly;  the  executive  in  the  governor.     The  Council 
and  the  Assembly  were  each  restricted  to  twelve  members. 

4  So  called,  in  honor  of  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Sir  George  Carteret. 

6  Page  147.  6  Pago  147.  7  Paw  147.  e  Pajjc  130. 


160  THE     COLONIES.  [1664. 

governor  of  the  whole  domain.  Carteret  demurred,  and  the  duke  partially 
restored  his  rights  ;  not,  however,  without  leaving  Andros  a  sufficient  pretense 
for  asserting  his  authority,  and  producing  annoyances.  Berkeley  had  become 
disgusted,  and  sold  his  interest  in  the  province  [March  28,  1674]  to  Edward 
Byllinge,  an  English  Quaker.  Pecuniary  embarrassment  caused  Byllinge  to 
assign  his  interest  to  William  Penn,  and  two  others,1  in  1675.  These  purchas- 
ers, unwilling  to  maintain  a  political  •  union  with  other  parties,  successfully 
negotiated  with  Carteret  for  a  division  of  the  province,  which  took  place  on  the 
llth  of  July,  1676.  Carteret  received  the  eastern  portion  as  his  share,  and 
the  Quakers  the  western  part.  From  that  time  the  divisions  were  known  as 
EAST  and  WEST  JERSEY. 

The  WEST  JERSEY  proprietors  gave  the  people  a  remarkably  liberal  consti- 
tution of  government  [March  13,  1677] ;  and  in  1677,  more  than  four  hundred 
Quakers  came  from  England  and  settled  below  the  Raritan.  Andros  required 
them  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Duke  of  York.  They  refused  ;  and 
the  matter  was  referred  to  the  eminent  Sir  William  Jones  (the  oriental  scholar) 
for  adjudication,  who  decided  against  the  claims  of  the  duke.  The  latter  sub- 
mitted to  the  decision,  released  both  provinces  from  allegiance  to  him,  and  the 
JERSEYS  became  independent  of  foreign  control.  The  first  popular  assembly 
in  West  Jersey  met  at  Salem,  in  November,  1681,  and  adopted  a  code  of  laws 
for  the  government  of  the  people.2 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Carteret,  in  December,  1679,  the  trustees  of  his 
estate  offered  East  Jersey  for  sale.  It  was  purchased  by  William  Penn  and 
eleven  of  his  brethren,  on  the  llth  of  February,  1682,  who  obtained  a  new 
charter,  and  on  the  27th  of  July,  1683,  appointed  Robert  Barclay,3  a  very 
eminent  Quaker  preacher,  from  Aberdeen,  governor  for  life.  A  large  number 
of  his  sect  came  from  Scotland  and  England ;  and  others  from  New  England 
and  Long  Island  settled  in  East  Jersey  to  enjoy  prosperity  and  repose.  But 
repose,  as  well  as  the  administration  of  Barclay,  was  of  short  duration;  for 
when  James  succeeded  Charles,4  he  appeared  to  consider  his  contracts  made 
while  duke,  not  binding  upon  his  honor  as  king.  He  sought  to  annul  the 
American  charters,  and  succeeded,  as  we  have  seen,  in  subverting  the  govern- 
ments of  several,5  through  the  instrumentality  of  Andros.  The  JERSEYS  were 
sufferers  in  this  respect,  and  were  obliged  to  bow  to  the  tyrant.  When  he  was 
driven  from  the  country  in  1689,6  the  provinces  were  left  without  regular  gov- 
ernments, and  for  more  than  twelve  years  anarchy  prevailed  there.  The  claims 
of  the  proprietors  to  jurisdiction,  were  repudiated  by  the  people;  and  in  1702, 
they  gladly  relinquished  the  government  by  surrendering  it,  on  the  25th  of 

1  These  purchasers  immediately  sold  one  half  of  their  interest  to  the  Earl  of  Perth,  from  whom 
the  present  town  of  Perth  Amboy  derives  a  part  of  its  name.     Amboy,  or  Ambo,  is  an  Indian 
name. 

2  A  remarkable  law  was  enacted  at  that  session.     It  provided  that  in  all  criminal  cases,  except 
treason,  murder,  and  theft,  the  aggrieved  party  should  have  power  to  pardon  the  offender. 

3  He  was  the  author  of  "  An  Apology  for  Quakers,"  a  work  highly  esteemed  by  his  sect.     It 
was  written  in  Latin,  and  translated  into  several  continental  languages.     Barclay  and  Penn  were 
intimate  personal  friends,  and  travelled  much  together.     He  died  in  Ury,  in  1690,  aged  42  years. 

4  Page  113.  5  Pages  129,  156,  and  158.  6  Page  130. 


1755.]  PENNSYLVANIA. 

April,  to  the  crown.1  The  two  provinces  were  united  as  a  royal  domain,  and 
placed  under  the  government  of  Lord  Combury,  the  licentious  ruler  of  New 
York,2  in  July  following. 

The  province  of  New  Jersey  remained  a  dependency  of  New  York,  with  a 
distinct  legislative  assembly  of  its  own,  until  1738,  when,  through  the  efforts 
of  Lewis  Morris,3  the  connection  was  for  ever  severed.  Morris  was  appointed 
the  first  royal  governor  of  New  Jersey,  and  managed  public  affairs  with  ability 
and  general  satisfaction.  From  that  period  until  the  independence  of  the  colo- 
nies was  declared,  in  1776,  the  history  of  the  colony  presents  but  few  events  of 
interest  to  the  general  reader. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PENNSYLVANIA.      [1682.] 

THE  colonial  career  of  Pennsylvania  began  when,  in  the  autumn  of  1682, 
William  Penn  arrived,4  and  by  a  surrender  by  the  agents  of  the  Duko  of  York, 
and  a  proclamation  in  the  presence  of  the  popular  Assembly,  the  Territories 
which  now  constitute  the  State  of  Delaware  were  united  with  his  province.5 
Already,  Penn  had  proclaimed  his  intention  of  being  governed  by  the  law  of 
kindness  in  his  treatment  of  the  Indians  ;  and  when  he  came,  he  proceeded  to 
lay  the  foundation  of  his  new  State  upon  Truth  and  Justice.6  Where  the  Ken- 
sington portion  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  now  stands,  as  we  have  elsewhere 
mentioned,  he  met  the  Delaware  chiefs  in  council,  under  the  leafless  branches 
of  a  wide-spreading  elm,7  on  the  4th  of  November,  1682,  and  there  made  with 
them  a  solemn  covenant  of  peace  and  friendship,  and  paid  them  the  stipulated 
price  for  their  lands.  The  Indians  were  delighted,  and  their  hearts  melted  with 
good  feeling.  Such  treatment  was  an  anomaly  in  the  history  of  the  intercourse 
of  their  race  with  the  white  people.  Even  then  the  fires  of  a  disastrous  war 
were  smouldering  on  the  New  England  frontiers.8  It  was  wonderful  how  the 
savage  heart,  so  lately  the  dwelling  of  deepest  hatred  toward  the  white  man,  be- 
came the  shrine  of  the  holiest  attribute  of  our  nature.  i  l  We  will  live  in  love 


1  The  proprietors  retained  their  property  in  the  soil,  and  their  claims  to  quit-rents.  Their 
organization  has  never  ceased;  and  unsold,  barren  tracts  of  land  in  West  Jersey  are  still  held  by 
that  ancient  tenure.  2  Page  149. 

8  Son  of  an  officer  in  Cromwell's  army,  who  purchased  an  estate  near  New  York,  known  as 
Morrisiana.  He  died  in  1740.  Apart  of  that  estate  yet  [1856]  remains  in  possession  of  the  Morris 
family  *  Page  96.  5  Page  96. 

6  By  his  direction,  his  agent,  William  Markham,  had  opened  a  friendly  correspondence  with  the 
Indians,  and  Penn  himself  had  addressed  a  letter  to  them,  assuring  them  of  his  love  and  brotherly 
feelings  toward  them. 

7  The  Penn  Society  of  Philadelphia  erected  a  monument  upon  the  spot  where  the  venerable  elm 
stood,  near  the  intersection  of  Hanover  and  Beach- streets,  Kensington  district.    The  tree  was  blown 
down  in  1810,  and  was  found  to* be  283  years  old.     The  monument  is  upon  the  site  of  the  tree,  and 
bears  suitable  inscriptions.  8  King  Philip's  War,  page  92. 


162  THE     COLONIES.  [1682. 

with  William  Penn  and  his  children/'  they  said,  "  as  long  as  the  moon  and  the 
sun  shall  endure."  They  were  true  to  their  promise — not  a  drop  of  Quaker 
blood  was  ever  shed  by  an  Indian. 

Having  secured  the  lands,  Penn's  next  care  was  to  found  a  capital  city. 
This  he  proceeded  to  do,  immediately  after  the  treaty  with  the  Indians,  upon 
lands  purchased  from  the  Swedes,  lying  between  the  Delaware  and  the  Schuyl- 
kill  Rivers.  The  boundaries  of  streets  were  marked  upon  the  trunks  of  the 
chestnut,  walnut,  pine,  and  other  forest  trees  which  covered  the  land,1  and  the 
city  was  named  Philadelphia,  which  signifies  brotherly  love.  Within  twelve 
months  almost  a  hundred  houses  were  erected,2  and  the  Indians  came  daily 
with  wild  fowl  and  venison,  as  presents  for  their  "good 
Father  Penn."  Never  was  a  State  blessed  with  a  more 
propitious  beginning,  and  internal  peace  and  prosperity 
marked  its  course  while  the  Quakers  controlled  its  coun- 
cils. 

The  proprietor  convened  a  second  Assembly  at  Phil- 
adelphia, in  March,  1683,  and  then  gave  the  people  a 
"  Charter  of  Liberties,"  signed  and  sealed  by  his  own 

1  JD.N.N  o    liOLb-hj.  v 

hand.     It  was  so  ample  and  just,  that  the  government 

was  really  a  representative  democracy.  Free  religious  toleration  was  ordained, 
and  laws  for  the  promotion  of  public  and  private  morality  were  framed.3  Un- 
like other  proprietors,  Penn  surrendered  to  the  people  his  rights  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  officers ;  and  until  his  death,  his  honest  and  highest  ambition  appeared 
to  be  to  promote  the  happiness  of  the  colonists.  Because  of  this  happy  relation 
between  the  people  and  the  proprietor,  and  the  security  against  Indian  hostili- 
ties, Pennsylvania  outstripped  all  of  its  sister  colonies  in  rapidity  of  settlement 
and  permanent  prosperity. 

In  August,  1684,  Penn  returned  to  England,  leaving  five  members  of  the 
Council  with  Thomas  Lloyd,  as  president,  to  administer  the  government  during 
his  absence.  Soon  afterward,  the  English  Revolution  occurred  [1688]  and 
king  James  was  driven  into  exile.4  Penn's  personal  regard  for  James  contin- 
ued after  his  fall ;  and  for  that  loyalty,  which  had  a  deeper  spring  than  mere 
political  considerations,  he  was  accused  of  dissaffection  to  the  new  government, 
and  suffered  imprisonments.  In  the  mean  while,  discontents  had  sprung  up  in 


1  This  fact  was  the  origin  of  the  names  pf  Chestnut,  Walnut,  Pine,  Spruco,  and  other  streets  in 
Philadelphia.     For  many  years  after  the  city  was  laid  out.  these  living  street-marks  remained,  and 
afforded  shade  to  the  inhabitants. 

2  Markham,  Penn's  agent,  erected  a  house  for  the  proprietor's  use,  in  1G82.     It  is  yet  [1856] 
standing  in  Letitia  court,  the  entrance  to  which  is  from  Market-street,  between  Front  and  Second- 
streets.     Another,  and  finer  house,  was  occupied  by  Penn  in  1700.     It  yet  remains  on  the  corner 
of  Norris's  alley  and  Second-street.     It  was  the  residence  of  General  Arnold  in  1778.     Note  3, 
page  287. 

"3  It  was  ordained  "that to  prevent  lawsuits,  three  arbitrators,  to  be  called  Peace  Makers,  should 
MO  appointed  by  the  county  courts,  to  hear  and  determine  small  differences  between  man  and  man ; 
that  children  should  be  taught  some  useful  trade ;  that  factors  wronging  their  employers  should 
make  satisfaction,  and  one  third  over ;  that  all  causes  for  irreligion  and  vulgarity  should'  be  repress- 
ed ;  and  that  no  man  should  be  molested  for  his  religious  opinions* 
*  Note  7,  page  113. 


1735.]  THE     CAROLINAS. 

Pennsylvania,  and  the  "  three  lower  counties  on  the  Delaware,"1  offended  at 
the  action  of  some  of  the  Council,  withdrew  from  the  Union2  in  April,  1691. 
Penn  yielded  to  their  wishes  so  far  as  to  appoint  a  separate  deputy  governor 
for  them. 

An  important  political  change  now  occurred  in  the  colony.  Penn's  provin- 
cial government  was  taken  from  him  in  1692  [Oct.  31],  and  Pennsylvania  was 
placed  under  the  authority  of  Governor  Fletcher,  of  New  York,  who  reunited 
the  Delaware  counties  [May,  1693],  to  the  parent  province.  All  suspicions  of 
Penn's  disloyalty  having  been  removed  in  1694,  his  chartered  rights  were 
restored  to  him  [Aug.  30],  and  he  appointed  his  original  agent,  William  Mark- 
ham,  deputy  governor.  He  returned  to  America  in  December,  1699,  and  was 
pained  to  find  his  people  discontented,  and  clamorous  for  greater  political  priv- 
ileges. Considering  their  demands  reasonable,  he  gave  them  a  new  charter,  or 
frame  of  government  [Nov.  6,  1701],  more  liberal  in  its  concessions  than  the 
former.  It  was  cheerfully  accepted  by  the  Pennsylvania  people,  but  those  of 
the  Delaware  territories,  whose  delegates  had  already  withdrawn  from  the 
Assembly  [Oct.  20],  evidently  aiming  at  independence,  declined  it.  Penn 
acquiesced  in  their  decision,  and  allowed  them  a  distinct  Assembly.  This  satis- 
fied them,  and  their  first  independent  legislature  was  convened  at  Newcastle  in 
1703.  Although  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  ever  afterward  continued  to  have 
separate  legislatures,  they  were  under  the  same  governor  until  the  Revolution 
in  1776. 

A  few  weeks  after  adjusting  difficulties,  and  granting  the  new  charter,  Penn 
returned  to  England  [Dec.,  1701],  and  never  visited  America,  again.  His 
departure  was  hastened  by  the  ripening  of  a  ministerial  project  for  abolishing 
all  the  proprietary  governments  in  America.  His  health  soon  afterward  de- 
clined, and  at  his  death  he  left  his  American  possessions  to  his  three  sons 
(Thomas,  John,  and  Richard),  then  minors,  who  continued  to  administer  the 
government,  chiefly  through  deputies,  until  the  War  for  Independence  in  1776. 
Then  it  became  a  free  and  independent  State,  and  the  commonwealth  purchased 
all  the  claims  of  Penn's  heirs  in  the  province,  for  about  five  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  dollars.3 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE    CAROLINAS.     [1665  —  1680.] 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  many  failures  which  had  dampened  the  ardor  of 
English  speculators,  who  had  engaged  in  planting  settlements  in  America,  hope 
still  remained  buoyant.  Success  finally  crowned  the  efforts  in  New  England 

1  Page  96.  2  Page  96. 

8  On  account  of  the  expenses  incurred  in  Pennsylvania,  Penn  was  compelled  to  borrow  $30,000, 
ind  mortgage  his  province  as  security.  This  was  the  commencement  of  the  State  debt  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, now  [1856]  amounting  to  about  $40,000,000. 


164  THE     COLONIES.  [1665. 

and  further  south,  and  the  proprietors  of  the  Carolinas,  when  settlements 
within  that  domain  became  permanent,1  and  tides  of  emigration  from  various 
sources  flowed  thitherward,  began  to  have  gorgeous  visions  of  an  empire  in 
America,  that  should  outshine  those  of  the  Old  World.  It  then  became  their 
first  care  to  frame  a  constitution  of  government,  with  functions  adequate  to  the 
grand  design,  and  to  this  task,  the  earl  of  Shaftesbury,  one  of  the  ablest  states- 
men of  his  time,  and  John  Locke,  the  eminent  philosopher,  were  called.  They 
completed  their  labors  in  March,  1669,  and  the  instrument  was  called  the 
Fundamental  Constitutions?  It  was  in  the  highest  degree  monarchical  in  its 
character  and  tendency,  and  contemplated  the  transplantation,  in  America,  of 
all  the  ranks  and  aristocratic  distinctions  of  European  society.3  The  spirit  of 
the  whole  thing  was  adverse  to  the  feelings  of  the  people,  and  its  practical 
development  was  an  impossibility  ;  so,  after  a  contest  between  proprietors  and 
colonists,  for  twenty  years,  the  magnificent  scheme  was  abandoned,  arid  the 
people  were  allowed  to  govern  themselves,  in  their  own  more  simple  way.4  The 
disorders  which  prevailed  when  the  first  attempts  were  made  to  impose  this 
scheme  of  government  upon  the  people,  soon  ripened  into  rebellion,  especially  in 
the  Albemarle,  or  northern  colony.5  Excessive  taxation  and  commercial  restric- 
tions bore  heavily  upon  the  industry  of  the  people,  and  engendered  wide-spread 
discontent.  This  was  fostered  by  refugees  from  Virginia,  after  Bacon's  rebel- 
lion, in  1676, 6  who  sought  shelter  among  the  people  below  the  Roanoke.  They 
scattered,  broad-cast,  over  a  generous  soil,  vigorous  ideas  of  popular  freedom, 
and  a  year  after  Bacon's  death,7  the  people  of  the  Albemarle  Comity  Colony* 
revolted.  The  immediate  cause  of  this  movement  was  the  attempt  of  the  acting 
governor  to  enforce  the  revenue  laws  against  a  New  England  vessel.  Led  on 
by  John  Culpepper.  a  refugee  from  the  CARTERET  County  Colony  of  South 
Carolina,9  the  people  seized  the  chief  magistrate  [Dec.  10,  1677]  and  the  pub- 
lic funds,  imprisoned  him  and  six  of  his  council,  called  a  new  Assembly,  ap- 
pointed a  new  magistrate  and  judges,  and  for  two  years  conducted  the  affairs  of 
government  independent  of  foreign  control.  Culpepper  went  to  England  to 
plead  the  cause  of  the  people,  and  was  arrested  and  tried  on  a  charge  of  treason. 


1  Pages  97  and  98. 

2  It  consists  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  articles,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  production, 
chiefly,  of  the  mind  of  Shaftesbury. 

3  There  were  to  be  two  orders  of  nobility :  the  higher  to  consist  of  landgraves,  or  earls,  the 
lower  of  caciques,  or  barons.   The  territory  was  to  be  divided  into  counties,  each  containing  480,000 
acres,  with  one  landgrave,  and  two  cacique^.     There  were  also  to  be  lords  of  manors,  who,  like  the 
nobles,  might  hold  courts  and  exercise  judicial  functions.     Persons  holding  fifty  acres  were  to  be 
freeholders ;  the  tenants  held  no  political  franchise,  and  could  npver  attain  to  a  higher  rank.     The 
four  estates  of  proprietors,  earls,  barons,  and  commons,  were  to  sit  in  one  legislative  chamber.    The 
proprietors  were  always  to  be  eight  in  number,  to  possess  the  whole  judicial  powrer,  and  have  the 
supreme  control  of  all  tribunals.     The  commons  were  to  have  four  members  in  the  legislature  to 
every  three  of  the  nobility.     Thus  an  aristocratic  majority  was  always  secured,  and  the  real  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  had  no  power.     Every  religion  was  professedly  tolerated,  but  the  Church 
of  England,  only,  was  declared  to  be  orthodox.     Such  is  an  outline  of  the  absurd  scheme  proposed 
for  governing  the  free  colonies  of  the  Carolinas. 

4  A  governor,  with  a  council  of  twelve — six  chosen  by  the  proprietors,  and  six  by  the  Assembly 
— and  a  House  of  Delegates  chosen  by  the  freeholders. 

5  Page  97.  6  Page  110.  7  Page  112. 
8  Page  97.  9  Page  98. 


1680.]  THE     CAROLINAS.  165 

Shaftesbury  procured  his  acquittal,  and  he  returned  to  the  Carolinas.1  Quiet 
was  restored  to  the  colony,  and  until  the  arrival  of  the  unprincipled  Seth 
Sothel  (one  of  the  proprietors),  as  governor,  the  people  enjoyed  repose.  Thus 
early  the  inhabitants  of  that  feeble  colony  practically  asserted  the  grand  politi- 
cal maxim,  that  taxation  without  representation  is  tyranny?  for  the  defense 
of  which  our  Revolutionary  fathers  fought,  a  century  afterward. 

Governor  Sothel  arrived  in  North  Carolina  in  1683.  Martin  says  that 
"the  dark  shades  of  his  character  were  not  relieved  by  a  single  ray  of  virtue;" 
and  Chalmers  asserts  that  "  the  annals  of  delegated  authority  included  no  name 
so  infamous  as  Sothel."  He  plundered  the  people,  cheated  the  proprietors,  and 
on  all  occasions  prostituted  his  office  to  purposes  of  private  gain.  After  endur- 
ing his  oppression  almost  six  years,  the  people  seized  him  [1689],  and  were 
about  sending  him  to  England  to  answer  their  accusations  before  the  proprietors, 
when  he  asked  to  be  tried  by  the  colonial  Assembly.  The  favor  was  granted, 
and  he  was  sentenced  to  banishment  for  one  year,  and  a  perpetual  disquali- 
fication for  the  office  of  governor.  He  withdrew  to  the  southern  colony,  where 
we  shall  meet  him  again.3  His  successor,  Philip  Ludwcll,  an  energetic,  incor- 
ruptible man,  soon  redressed  the  wrongs  of  the  people,  and  restored  order  and 
good  feelings.  Governors  Harvey  and  Walker  also  maintained  quiet  and  good 
will  among  the  people.  And  the  good  Quaker,  John  Archdale,  who  came  to 
govern  both  Carolinas  in  1695,  placed  the  colony  in  a  position  for  attaining 
future  prosperity,  hitherto  unknown. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  in  the  northern  colony,  the  people  of 
the  Carter  et^  or  southern  colony,  were  steadily  advancing  in  wealth  and  num- 
bers. Their  first  popular  legislature  of  which  we  have  records,  was  convened 
in  1674, 5  but  it  exhibited  an  unfavorable  specimen  of  republican  government. 
Jarring  interests  and  conflicting  creeds  produced  violent  debates  and  irreconcil- 
able discord.  For  a  long  time  the  colony  was  distracted  by  quarrels,  and 
anarchy  prevailed.  At  length  the  Stono  Indians  gathered  in  bands,  and  plun- 
dered the  plantations  of  grain  and  cattle,  and  even  menaced  the  settlers  with 
destruction.  The  appearance  of  this  common  enemy  healed  their  dissensions, 
and  the  people  went  out  as  brothers  to  chastise  the  plunderers.  They  com- 
pletely subdued  the  Indians,  in  1680.  Many  of  them  were  made  prisoners, 
and  sold  for  slaves  in  the  West  Indies,  arid  the  Stonos  never  afterward  had  a 
tribal  existence. 

Wearied  by  the  continual  annoyance  of  the  Indians,  many  English  families 


1  Culpepper  afterward  became  surveyor-general  of  the  province,  and  in  1680.  he  was  employed 
in  laying  out  the  new  city  of  Charleston.    [See  next  page.]    His  previous  expulsion  from  the  southern 
colony,  was  on  account  of  his  connection  with  a  rebellious  movement  in  1672. 

2  Page  211.  3  Page  167.  4  Pago  98. 

6  The  settlers  brought  with  them  an  unfinished  copy  of  the  "  Fundamental  Constitutions"  but 
they  at  onco  perceived  the  impossibility  of  conformity  to  that  scheme  of  government.  They  held  a 
"parliamentary  convention"  in  1672,  and  twenty  delegates  were  elected  by  the  people  to  act  with 
the  governor  and  the  council,  as  a  legislature.  Thus  early,  representative  government  was  estab- 
lished, but  its  operations  seem  not  to  have  been  very  successful,  and  a  legislature  proper,  of  which 
we  have  any  record,  was  not  organized  until  1674,  when  an  upper  and  a  lower  House  was  estab- 
lished, and  laws  for  the  province  were  enacted. 


166 


THE    COLONIES. 


[1665. 


CHARLESTON   IN    1680. 


crossed  the  Ashley,  and  seated  themselves  upon  the  more  eligible  locality  of 
Oyster  Point,  where  they  founded  the  present  city  of  Charleston,1  in  1680. 

There  a  flourishing  village  soon  appeared ; 
and  after  the  subjugation  of  the  savages,3 
the  old  settlement  was  abandoned,  and  now 
not  a  vestige  of  it  remains  upon  the  culti- 
vated plantation   at  Old  Town,  where  it 
stood.     The    Dutch   settlers3  spread  over 
the  country  along  the    Edisto   and    San- 
tee,  and  planted  the  seeds  of  future  flour- 
ishing communities,  while  immigrants  from 
different  parts  of  Europe  and  from  New 
England  swelled  the  population  of  Charles- 
ton and  vicinity.     Nor  did  they  neglect  political  affairs.     While  they  were 
vigilant  in  all  that  pertained  to  their  material  interests,  they  were  also  aspir- 
ants, even  at  that  early  day,  for  political  independence. 

Another  popular  legislature  was  convened  at  Charleston  in  1682.  It  ex- 
hibited more  harmony  than  the  first,4  and  several  useful  laws  were  framed. 
Emigration  was  now  pouring  in  a  tide  of  population  more  rapid  than  any  of  the 
colonies  below  New  England  had  yet  experienced.  Ireland,  Scotland,5  Holland, 
and  France,  contributed  largely  to  the  flowing  stream.  In  1686-7,  quite  a 
large  number  of  Huguenots,  who  had  escaped  from  the  fiery  persecutions  which 
were  revived  in  France  by  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,6  landed  at 
Charleston.  English  hatred  of  the  French7  caused  the  settlers  to  look  with 
jealousy  upon  these  refugees,  and  for  more  than  ten  years  [1686  to  1697]  the 
latter  were  denied  the  rights  of  citizenship. 

Shaftesbury's  scheme  of  government  was  as  distasteful  to  the  people  of 
South  Carolina,  as  to  those  of  the  northern  colony,5  and  they  refused  to  accept 
it.  They  became  very  restive,  and  seemed  disposed  to  cast  off  all  allegiance  to 
the  proprietors  and  the  mother  country.  At  this  crisis,  James  Colleton,  a 
brother  of  one  of  the  proprietors,  was  appointed  governor  [1686].  and  was 
vested  with  full  powers  to  bring  the  colonists  into  submission.  His  administra- 
tion of  about  four  years  was  a  very  turbulent  one.  He  was  in  continual  colli- 

1  Note  1,  page  165.     The  above  engraving  illustrates  the  manner  of  fortifying  towns,  as  a  de- 
fense against  foes.     It  exhibits  the  walls  of  Charleston  in  1680,  and  the  location  of  churches  in 
1704.     The  points  marked  a  a  a,  etc.,  are  bastions  for  cannons.     P,  English  church;  Q,  French 
church ;  R,  Independent  church ;  S,  Anabaptist  church ;  and  T,  Quaker  meeting-house. 

2  Page  165. 

3  They  had  founded  the  village  of  Jamestown  several  miles  up  the  Ashley  River. 

4  Page  164. 

8  In  1684,  Lord  Garden,  and  ten  Scotch  families,  who  had  suffered  persecution,  came  to  South 
Carolina,  and  settled  at  Port  Royal.  The  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine  claimed  jurisdiction  over  Port 
Royal;  and  during  the  absence  of  Cardon  [1686],  they  attacked  and  dispersed  the  settlers,  and  des- 
olated their  plantations. 

6  In  the  city  of  Nantes,  Henry  the  Fourth  of  France  issued  an  edict,  in  1598.  in  favor  of  the 
Huguenots,  or  Protestants,  allowing  them  free  toleration.  The  profligate  Louis  the  Fourteenth, 
stung  with  remorse  in  his  old  age,  sought  to  gain  the  favor  of  Heaven  by  bringing  his  whole  people 
into  the  bosom  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  He  revoked  the  famous  edict  in  1686,  and  instantly 
the  fires  of  persecution  were  kindled  throughout  the  empire.  Many  thousands  of  the  Protestants 
left  France,  and  found  refuge  in  other  countries.  7  Page  180.  8  Page  97- 


1755.]  THE     CAROLINES. 

sion  with  the  people,  and  at  length  drove  them  to  open  rebellion.  They  seized 
the  public  records,  imprisoned  the  secretary  of  the  province,  and  called  a  new 
Assembly.  Pleading  the  danger  of  an  Indian  or  Spanish  invasion,1  the  gov- 
ernor called  out  the  militia,  and  proclaimed  the  province  to  be  under  martial 
law.2  This  measure  only  increased  the  exasperation  of  the  people,  and  he  was 
impeached,  and  banished  from  the  province  by  the  Assembly,  in  1690. 

While  this  turbulence  and  misrule  was  at  its  height,  Sothel  arrived  from 
North  Carolina,  pursuant  to  his  sentence  of  banishment,3  and  the  people  un- 
wisely consented  to  his  assumption  of  the  office  of  governor.4  They  soon 
repented  their  want  of  judgment.  For  two  years  he  plundered  and  oppressed 
them,  and  then  [1692]  the  Assembly  impeached  and  banished  him  also.  Then 
came  Philip  Ludlow  to  re-establish  the  authority  of  the  proprietors,  but  the 
people,  thoroughly  aroused,  resolved  not  to  tolerate  even  so  good  a  man  as  he. 
if  his  mission  was  to  enforce  obedience  to  the  absurd  Fundamental  Constitu- 
tions? After  a  brief  and  turbulent  administration,  he  gladly  withdrew  to  Vir- 
ginia, and  soon  afterward  [1698],  the  proprietors  abandoned  Shaftesbury's 
scheme,  and  the  good  Quaker,  John  Archdale,  was  sent,  in  1695,  to  administer 
a  more  simple  and  republican  form  of  government,  for  both  the  Carolinas.  His 
administration  was  short,  but  highly  beneficial  ;6  and  the  people  of  South  Car- 
olina always  looked  back  to  the  efforts  of  that  good  man,  with  gratitude.  He 
healed  dissensions,  established  equitable  laws,  and  so  nearly  effected  an  entire 
reconciliation  of  the  English  to  the  French  settlers,  that  in  the  year  succeeding 
his  departure  from  the  province,  the  Assembly  admitted  the  latter  [1697]  to  all 
the  privileges  of  citizens  and  freemen.  From  the  close  of  Archdale' s  adminis- 
tration, the  progress  of  the  two  Carolina  colonies  should  be  considered  as  separ- 
ate and  distinct,  although  they  were  not  politically  separated  until  1729.7 

NORTH     C  A  R 0  L I  X  A . 

We  may  properly  date  the  permanent  prosperity  of  North  Carolina  from  the 
adminstration  of  Archdale,8  when  the  colonists  began  to  turn  their  attention  to 
the  interior  of  the  country,  where  richer  soil  invited  the  agriculturist,  and  the 
fur  of  the  beaver  and  otter  allured  the  adventurous  hunter.  The  Indians  along 
the  sea-coast  were  melting  away  like  frost  in  the  sunbeams.  The  powerful 
Hatteras  tribe,9  which  numbered  three  thousand  in  Raleigh's  time,  were  reduced 
to  fifteen  bowmen ;  another  tribe  had  entirely  disappeared ;  and  the  remnants 
of  some  others  had  sold  their  lands  or  lost  them  by  fraud,  and  were  driven  back 
to  the  deep  wilderness.  Indulgence  in  strong  drinks,  and  other  vices  of  civiliz- 


1  The  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine  had  menaced  the  English  settlements  in  South  Carolina,  and, 
as  we  have  seen  [note  5,  page  1 66],  had  actually  broken  up  a  little  Scotch  colony  at  Port  Royal. 

2  Note  8,  page  170.  3  Page  165. 

4  On  his  arrival.  Sothel  took  sides  with  the  people  against  Colleton,  and  thus,  in  the  moment  of 
their  anger,  he  unfortunately  gained  their  good  will  and  confidence.  5  Page  164. 

6  The  culture  of  rice  was  introduced  into  South  Carolina  during  Archdale's  administration. 
Some  seed  was  given  to  the  governor  by  the  captain  of  a  vessel  from  Madagascar.     It  was  distrib- 
uted among  several  planters,  and  thus  its  cultivation  began. 

7  Page  171.  8  Page  165.  9  Note  5,  page  20. 


1(38  THE     COLONIES.  [1665. 

ation,  bad  decimated  them,  and  their  beautiful  land,  all  the  way  to  the  Yadkin 
and  Catawba,  was  speedily  opened  to  the  sway  of  the  white  man. 

At  the  commencement  of  the ''eighteenth  century,  religion  began  to  exert  an 
influence  in  North  Carolina.  The  first  Anglican1  church  edifice  was  then  built 
in  Chowan  county,  in  1705.  The  Quakers'  multiplied ;  and  in  1707,  a  com- 
pany of  Huguenots,3  who  had  settled  in  Virginia,  came  and  sat  down  upon  the 
beautiful  banks  of  the  Trent,  a  tributary  of  the  Neuse  River.  Two  years  later 
[1709],  a  hundred  German  families,  driven  from  their  homes  on  the  Rhine,  by 
persecution,  penetrated  the  interior  of  North  Carolina,  and  under  Count  Graf- 
fenried,  founded  settlements  along  the  head  waters  of  the  Neuse,  and  upon  the 
Roanoke.  While  settlements  were  thus  spreading  and  strengthening,  and  gen- 
eral prosperity  blessed  the  province,  a  fearful  calamity  fell  upon  the  inhabitants 
of  the  interior.  The  broken  Indian  tribes  made  a  last  effort,  in  1711,  to  regain 
the  beautiful  country  they  had  lost.  The  leaders  in  the  conspiracy  to  crush 
the  white  people,  were  the  Tuscaroras1  of  the  inland  region,  and  the  Corees5 
further  south  and  near  the  sea- board.  They  fell  like  lightning  from  the  clouds 
upon  the  scattered  German  settlements  along  the  Roanoke  and  Pamlico  Sound. 
In  one  night  [Oct.  2,  1711],  one  hundred  and  thirty  persons  perished  by  the 
hatchet.  Along  Albernarle  Sound,  the  savages  swept  with  the  knife  of  mur- 
der in  one  hand,  and  the  torch  of  desolation  in  the  other,  and  for  three  days 
they  scourged  the  white  people,  until  disabled  by  fatigue  and  drunkenness. 
Those  who  escaped  the  massacre  called  upon  their  brethren  of  the  southern 
colony  for  aid,  and  Colonel  Barnwell,  with  a  party  of  Carolinians  and  friendly 
Indians  of  the  southern  nations,0  marched  to  their  relief.  He  drove  the  Tus- 
caroras to  their  fortified  town  in  the  present  Craven  county,  and  there  made  a 
treaty  of  peace  with  them.  His  troops  violated  the  treaty  on  their  way  back, 
by  outrages  upon  the  Indians,  and  soon  hostilities  were  renewed.  Late  in  the 
year  [Dec.,  1712],  Colonel  Moore7  arrived  from  South  Carolina  with  a  few  white 
men  and  a  large  body  of  Indians,  and  drove  the  Tuscaroras  to  their  fort  in  the 
present  Greene  county,  wherein  [March,  1713]  he  made  eight  hundred  of  them 
prisoners.  The  remainder  of  the  Tuscaroras  fled  northward  in  June,  and  join- 
ing their  kindred  on  the  southern  borders  of  Lake  Ontario,  they  formed  the 
sixth  nation  of  the  celebrated  IROQUOIS  confederacy  in  the  province  of  New 
York.8  A  treaty  of  peace  was  made  with  the  Corees  in  1715,  and  North  Car- 
olina never  afterward  suffered  from  Indian  hostilities.9 

* 

SOUTH     CAROLINA. 

Although  really  united,  the  two  colonies  acted  independently  of  each  other 
from  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century.     Soon  after  the  commencement  of 

The  established  Church  of  England  was  so  called,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Romish  Church. 
Page  122.  3  Page  49.  4  Page  25.  5  Page  20. 

They  consisted  of  Creeks,  Catawbas,  Cherokees,  and  Yamassees.    See  pages  26  to  30,  inclusive. 
A  son  of  James  Moore,  who  was  governor  of  South  Carolina  in  1700.  8  Page  23. 

The  province  issued  bills  of  credit  (for  the  first  time)  to  the  amount  of  about  forty  thousand 
dollars,  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  war. 


1755.]  THE     CAROLINES.  159 

Queen  Anne's  Vv^ar1  [May,  1702],  Governor  Moore  of  South  Carolina,  proposed 
an  expedition  against  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine.2  The  Assembly  assented, 
and  appropriated  almost  ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  service.  Twelve  hundred 
men  (one  half  Indians)  were  raised,  and  proceeded,  in  two  divisions,  to  the 
attack.  The  main  division,  under  the  governor,  went  by  sea,  to  blockade  the 
harbor,  and  the  remainder  proceeded  along  the  coast,  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Daniels.  The  latter  arrived  first,  and  attacked  and  plundered  the 
wwn.  The  Spaniards  retired  within  their  fortress  with  provisions  for  four 
months ;  and  as  the  Carolinians  had  no  artillery,  their  position  was  im.preg- 
nable.  Daniels  was  then  sent  to  Jamaica,  in  the  West  Indies,  to  procure  bat- 
tery cannon,  but  before  his  return,  two  Spanish  vessels  had  appeared,  and  so 
frightened  Governor  Moore  that  he  raised  the  blockade,  and  fled.  Daniels 
barely  escaped  capture,  on  his  return,  but  he  reached  Charleston  in  safety. 
This  ill-advised  expedition  burdened  the  colony  with  a  debt  of  more  than 
twenty-six  thousand  dollars,  for  the  payment  of  which,  bills  of  credit  were 
issued.  This  was  the  first  emission  of  paper  money  in  the  Carolinas. 

A  more  successful  expedition  was  undertaken  by  Governor  Moore,  in  De- 
cember, 1703,  against  the  Apalachian3  Indians,  who  were  in  league  with  the 
Spaniards.  Their  chief  villages  were  between  the  Alatamaha,  and  Savannah 
Rivers.  These  were  desolated.  Almost  eight  hundred  Indians  were  taken 
prisoners,  and  the  whole  territory  of  the  Apalachians  was  made  tributary  to  the 
English.  The  province  had  scarcely  become  tranquil  after  this  chastisement  of 
the  Indians,  when  a  new  cause  for  disquietude  appeared.  Some  of  the  proprie- 
tors had  long  cherished  a  scheme  for  establishing  the  Anglican  Church.4  as  the 
State  religion,  in  the  Carolinas.  When  Nathaniel  Johnson  succeeded  Governor 
Moore,  he  found  a  majority  of  churchmen  in  the  Assembly,  and  by  their  aid, 
the  wishes  of  the  proprietors  were  gratified.  The  Anglican  Church  was  made 
the  established  religion,  and  Dissenters5  were  excluded  from  all  public  offices. 
This  was  an  usurpation  of  chartered  rights ;  and  the  aggrieved  party  laid  the 
matter  before  the  imperial  ministry.  Their  cause  was  sustained  :  and  by  order 
of  Parliament,  the  colonial  Assembly,  in  November,  1706,  repealed  the  law  of 
disfranchisement,  but  the  Church  maintained  its  dominant  position  until  the 
Revolution. 

The  ire  of  the  Spaniards  was  greatly  excited  by  the  attack  upon  St.  Augus- 
tine,6 and  an  expedition,  composed  of  five  French  and  Spanish  vessels,7  with  a 
large  body  of  troops,  was  sent  from  Havana  to  assail  Charleston,  take  posses- 
sion of  the  province,  and  annex  it  to  the  Spanish  domain  of  Florida.8  The 
squadron  crossed  Charleston  bar  in  May,  1706,  and  about  eight  hundred  troops 
were  landed  at  different  points.  The  people  seized  their  arms,  and,  led  by  the 
governor  and  Colonel  Rhett,  they  drove  the  invaders  back  to  their  vessels,  after 


1  Page  135.  2  Pago  51. 

A  tribe  of  the  Mobilian  family  [page  29]  situated  south  of  the  Savannah  River. 

Note  1,  page  168.  5  Note  2,  page  76.  6  Page  51. 

7  It  will  be  remembered  [see  page  135]  that  in  1702,  England  declared  war  against  France,  and 
that  Spain  was  a  party  to  the  quarrel.  8  Page  42. 


170  THE     COLONIES.  [1665. 

killing  or  capturing  almost  three  hundred  men.  They  also  captured  a  French 
vessel,  with  its  crew.  It  was  a  complete  victory.  So  the  storm  which  appeared 
so  suddenly  and  threatening,  was  dissipated  in  a  day,  and  the  sunshine  of  peace 
and  prosperity  again  gladdened  the  colony. 

A  few  years  later,  a  more  formidable  tempest  brooded  over  the  colony, 
when  a  general  Indian  confederacy  was  secretly  formed,  to  exterminate  the 
white  people  by  a  single  blow.  Within  forty  days,  in  the  spring  of  1715,  the 
Indian  tribes  from  the  Cape  Fear  to  the  St.  Mary's,  and  back  to  the  mountains, 
had  coalesced  in  the  conspiracy ;  and  before  the  people  of  Charleston  had  any 
intimation  of  danger,  one  hundred  white  victims  had  been  sacrificed  in  the 
remote  settlements.  The  Creeks,1  Yamasees,2  and  Apalachians3  on  the  south, 
confederated  with  the  Cherokees,4  Catawbas,5  and  Congarees"1  on  the  west,  in  all  six 
thousand  strong ;  while  more  than  a  thousand  warriors  issued  from  the  Neuse 
region,  to  avenge  their  misfortunes  in  the  wars  of  1712-1 8. 7  It  was  a  cloud 
of  fearful  portent  that  hung  in  the  sky ;  and  the  people  were  filled  with  terror, 
for  they  knew  not  at  what  moment  the  consuming  lightning  might  leap  forth. 
At  this  fearful  crisis,  Governor  Craven  acted  with  the  utmost  wisdom  and 
energy.  He  took  measures  to  prevent  men  from  leaving  the  colony  ;  to  secure 
all  the  arms  and  ammunition  that  could  be  found,  and  to  arm  faithful  negroes 
to  assist  the  white  people.  He  declared  the  province  to  be  under  martial  law,8 
and  then,  at  the  head  of  twelve  hundred  men,  black  and  white,  he  marched  to 
meet  the  foe  who  were  advancing  with  the  knife,  hatchet,  and  torch,  in  fearful 
activity.  The  Indians  were  at  first  victorious,  but  after  several  bloody  encount- 
ers, the  Yamassees  and  their  southern  neighbors  were  driven  across  the  Savan- 
nah [May,  1715],  and  halted  not  until  they  found  refuge  under  Spanish  guns 
at  St.  Augustine.  The  Cherokees  and  their  northern  neighbors  had  not  yet 
engaged  in  the  war,  and  they  returned  to  their  hunting  grounds,  deeply 
impressed  with  the  strength  and  greatness  of  the  white  people. 

And  now  the  proprietary  government  of  South  Carolina  was  drawing  to  a 
close.  The  governors  being  independent  of  the  people,  were  often  haughty  and 
exacting,  and  the  inhabitants  had  borne  the  yoke  of  their  rule  for  many  years, 
with  great  impatience.  While  their  labor  was  building  up  a  prosperous  State, 
the  proprietors  refused  to  assist  them  in  times  of  danger,  or  to  re-imburse 
their  expenses  in  the  protection  of  the  province  from  invasion.  The  whole 
burden  of  debt  incurred  in  the  war  with  the  Yamassees,  was  left  upon  the 
shoulders  of  the  people.  The  proprietors  not  only  refused  to  pay  any  por- 
tion of  it,  but  enforced  their  claims  for  quit-rents  with  great  severity.  The 
people  saw  no  hope  in  the  future,  but  in  royal  rule  and  protection.  So  they 
met  in  convention ;  resolved  to  forswear  all  allegiance  to  the  proprietors ;  and 
on  Governor  Johnson's  refusal  to  act  as  chief  magistrate,  under  the  king,  they 


1  Page  30.  2  Page  30.  s  Note  3,  page  168.  4  Page  27.  5  Page  26, 

6  This  was  a  small  tribe  that  inhabited  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  city  of  Colum- 
bia, in  South  Carolina.  7  Page  168. 

8  Martial  law  may  be  proclaimed  by  rulers,  in  an  emergency,  and  the  civil  law,  for  the  time 
being,  is  made  subservient  to  the  military.  The  object  is  to  allow  immediate  and  energetic  action 
for  repelling  invasions,  or  for  other  purposes. 


1755.]  GEORGIA. 

appointed  [December  21,  1719]  Colonel  Moore1  governor  of  the  colony.  The 
matter  was  laid  before  the  imperial  government,  when  the  colonists  were  sus- 
tained, and  South  Carolina  became  a  royal  province.2 

The  people  of  North  Carolina3  also  resolved  on  a  change  of  government; 
and  after  a  continued  controversy  for  ten  years,  the  proprietors,  in  1729,  sold 
to  the  king,  for  about  eighty  thousand  dollars,  all  their  claims  to  the  soil  and 
incomes  in  both  provinces.  North  and  South  Carolina  were  then  separated. 
George  Burringtori  was  appointed  the  first  royal  governor  over  the  former,  and 
Robert  Johnson  over  the  latter.  From  that  period  until  the  commencement  of 
the  French  and  Indian  war,4  the  general  history  of  the  CAEOLIXAS  presents  but 
few  features  of  interest,  except  the  efforts  made  for  defending  the  colony  against 
the  Spaniards  and  the  Indians.  The  people  gained  very  little  by  a  change  of 
owners  ;  and  during  forty-five  years,  until  the  revolution  made  the  people 
independent,  there  was  a  succession  of  disputes  with  the  royal  governors. 


CHAPTER     X . 

GEORGIA.      [1732.] 

THE  colony  founded  by  Oglethorpe  on  the  Savannah  River  rapidly 
increased  in  numbers,  and  within  eight  years,  twenty-five  hundred  immigrants 
were  sent  over,  at  an  expense  to  the  trustees5  of  four  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Yet  prosperity  did  not  bless  the  enterprise.  Many  of  the  settlers  were  unac- 
customed to  habits  of  industry,  and  were  mere  drones ;  and  as  the  use  of  slave 
labor  was  prohibited,  tillage  was  neglected.  Even  the  industrious  Scotch,  Ger- 
man, and  Swiss  families  who  came  over  previous  to  1740,  could  not  give  that 
vitality  to  industrial  pursuits,  which  was  necessary  to  a  development  of  the 
resources  of  the  country.  Anxious  for  the  permanent  growth  of  the  colony, 
Oglethorpe  went  to  England  in  1734,  and  returned  in  1736,  with  about  three 
hundred  immigrants.  Among  them  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  Highlanders, 
well  skilled  in  military  affairs.  These  constituted  the  first  army  of  the  colony 
during  its  early  struggles.  John  Wesley,  founder  of  the  Methodist  denom- 
ination, also  came  with  Oglethorpe,  to  make  Georgia  a  religious  colony,  and  to 
spread  the  gospel  among  the  Indians.  He  was  unsuccessful :  for  his  strict 
moral  doctrines,  his  fearless  denunciations  of  vice,  and  his  rigid  exercise  of 
ecclesiastical  authority  made  him  quite  unpopular  among  the  great  mass  of  the 
colonists,  who  winced  at  restraint.  The  eminent  George  Whitefield  also  visited 
Georgia  in  1738,  when  only  twenty-three  years  of  age,  and  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing an  orphan  asylum  near  Savannah,  which  flourished  many  years,  and 

1  Note  7,  page  168. 

3  The  first  governor,  by  royal  appointment,  was  Francis  Nicholson,  who  had  been  successively 
governor  of  New  York  [page  144],  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  Nova  Scotia. 

3  Page  167.  *  Page  179.  B  Page  100. 


172  THE     COLONIES.  [173L>. 

was  a  real  blessing.  The  Christian  efforts  of  those  men,  prosecuted  with  the 
most  sincere  desire  for  the  good  of  their  fellow-mortals,  were  not  appreciated. 
Their  seed  fell  upon  stony  ground,  and  after  the  death  of  Whitefield,  in  1770. 
his  "House  of  Mercy"  in  Georgia,  deprived  of  his  sustaining  influence,  became 
a  desolation. 

A  cloud  of  trouble  appeared  in  the  Southern  horizon.  The  rapid  increase 
of  the  new  colony  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine,  arid 
the  vigilant  Oglethorpc,  expecting  such  a  result,  prepared  to  oppose  any  hos- 
tile movements  against  his  settlement.  He  established  a  fort  on  the  site  of 
Augusta,  as  a  defence  against  the  Indians,  and  he  erected  fortifications  at 

&  /  o  ' 

Darien,  on  Cumberland  Island,  at  Frederica  (St.  Simon's  Island),  and  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  St.  John,  the  southern  boundary  of  the  English  claims. 
Spanish  commissioners  caine  from  St.  Augustine  to  protest  against  these  prepar- 
ations, and  to  demand  the  immediate  evacuation  of  the  whole  of  Georgia,  and 
of  all  South  Carolina  below  Port  lloyal.1  Oglethorpe,  of  course,  refused  com- 
pliance, and  the  Spaniards  threatened  him  with  war.  In  the  winter  of  1736-7. 
Oglethorpe  went  to  England  to  make  preparations  to  meet  the  exigency.  He 
returned  in  October  following,  bearing  the  commission  of  a  brigadier,  and  lead- 
ing a  regiment  of  six  hundred  Avell-disciplined  troops,  for  the  defense  of  the 
whole  southern  frontier  of  the  English  possessions.2  But  for  two  years  their 
services  were  not  much  needed  :  then  war  broke  out  between  England  and 
Spain  [November,  1739],  and  Oglethorpe  prepared  an  expedition  against  St. 
Augustine.  In  May,  1740,  he  entered  Florida  with  four  hundred  of  his  best 
troops,  some  volunteers  from  South  Carolina,  and  a  large  body  of  friendly 
Creek  Indians  ;3  in  all  more  than  two  thousand  men.  His  first  conquest  was 
Fort  Diego,  twenty  miles  from  St.  Augustine.  Then  Fort  Moosa,  within  two 
miles  of  the  city,  surrendered :  but  when  he  appeared  before  the  town  and  for- 
tress, and  demanded  instant  submission,  he  was  answered  by  a  defiant  refusal. 
A  small  fleet  under  Captain  Price  blockaded  the  harbor,  and  for  a  time  cut  off 
supplies  from  the  Spaniards,  but  swift-winged  galleys'  passed  through  the  block- 
ading fleet,  and  supplied  the  garrison  with  several  weeks'  provisions.  Ogle- 
thorpe had  no  artillery  with  which  to  attack  the  fortress,  and  being  warned  by 
the  increasing  heats  of  summer,  and  sickness  in  his  camp,  not  to  wait  for  their 
supplies  to  become  exhausted,  he  raised  the  siege  and  returned  to  Savannah. 

The  ire  of  the  Spaniards  was  aroused,  and  they,  in  turn,  prepared  to  invade 
Georgia  in  the  summer  of  1742.  An  armament,  fitted  out  at  Havana  and  St. 
Augustine,  and  consisting  of  thirty-six  vessels,  with  more  than  three  thousand 
troops,  entered  the  harbor  of  St.  Simon's,  and  landed  a  little  above  the  town 
of  the  same  name,  on  the  16th  of  July,  1742,  and  erected  a  battery  of  twenty 
guns.  Oglethorpe  had  been  apprised  of  the  intentions  of  the  Spaniards,  and 


1  Note  5,  page  166. 

"  His  commission  gave  him  the  command  of  the  militia  of  South  Carolina  also,  and  he  stood  as 
a  guard  between  the  English  and  Spanish  possessions  of  the  southern  country.  3  Page  30. 

4  A  low  built  vessel  propelled  by  both  sails  and  oars.  The  war  vessels  of  the  ancients  were  all 
galleys.  See  Norman  vessel,  page  35. 


r732.]  GEORGIA.  173 

after  unsuccessfully  applying  to  the  governor  of  South  Carolina  for  troops  and 
supplies,  he  marched  to  St.  Simon's,  and  made  his  head- quarters  at  his  princi- 
fortress  at  Frederica.1  He  was  at  Fort  Simon,  near  the  landing  place  of  the 
invaders,  with  less  than  eight  hundred  men,  exclusive  of  Indians,  when  the 
enemy  appeared.  He  immediately  spiked  the  guns  of  the  fort,  destroyed  his 
stores,  and  retreated  to  Frederica.  There  he  anxiously  awaited  hoped-for  rein- 
forcements and  supplies  from  Carolina,  and  then  he  successfully  repulsed  several 
detachments  of  the  Spaniards,  who  attacked  him.  He  finally  resolved  to  make 
a  night  assault  upon  the  enemy's  battery,  at  St.  Simon's.  A  deserter  (a 
French  soldier)  defeated  his  plan ;  but  the  sagacity  of  Oglethorpe  caused  the 
miscreant  to  be  instrumental  in  driving  the  invaders  from  the  coast.  He  bribed 
a  Spanish  prisoner  to  carry  a  letter  to  the  deserter,  which  contained  information 
respecting  a  British  fleet  that  was  about  to  attack  St.  Augustine.2  Of  course 
the  letter  was  handed  to  the  Spanish  commander,  and  the  Frenchman  was 
arrested  as  a  spy.  The  intelligence  in  Oglethorpe' s  letter  alarmed  the  enemy; 
and  while  the  officers  were  holding  a  council,  some  Carolina  vessels,  with  sup- 
plies for  the  garrison  at  Frederica,  appeared  in  the  distance.  Believing  them 
to  be  part  of  the  British  fleet  alluded  to,  the  Spaniards  determined  to  attack 
the  Georgians  immediately,  and  then  hasten  to  St.  Augustine.  On  their  march 
to  assail  Frederica,  they  were  ambuscaded  in  a  swamp.  Great  slaughter  of  the 
invaders  ensued,  and  the  place  is  still  called  Bloody  Marsh.  The  survivors 
retreated  in  confusion  to  their  vessels,  and  sailed  immediately  to  St.  Augustine.3 
On  their  way,  they  attacked  the  English  fort  at  the  southern  extremity  of  Cum- 
berland Island,1  on  the  19th  of  July,  but  were  repulsed  with  the  loss  of  two 
galleys.  The  whole  expedition  was  so  disastrous  to  the  Spaniard;],  that  tho 
commander  (Don  Manuel  de  Monteano)  was  dismissed  from  the  service.  Ogle- 
thorpe's  stratagem  saved  Georgia,  and,  perhaps,  South  Carolina,  from  utter 
ruin. 

Having  fairly  established  his  colony,  Oglethorpe  went  to  England  in  1743. 
and  never  returned  to  Georgia,  where,  for  ten  years,  he  had  nobly  labored  to 
secure  an  attractive  asylum  for  the  oppressed.5  He  left  the  province  in  a  tran- 
quil state.  The  mild  military  rule  under  which  the  people  had  lived,  was 
changed  to  civil  government  in  1743,  administered  by  a  president  and  council, 
under  the  direction  of  the  trustees,6  yet  the  colony  continued  to  .languish. 
Several  causes  combined  to  produce  this  condition.  We  have  already  alluded 
to  the  inefficiency  of  most  of  the  earlier  settlers,  and  the  prohibition  of  slave 
labor.7  They  were  also  deprived  of  the  privileges  of  commerce  and  of  traffic 


1  The  remains  of  Fort  Frederica  yet  [185G]  form  a  very  picturesque  ruin  on  tho  plantation  of 
W.  W.  Hazzard,  Esq.,  of  St.  Simon's  Island. 

2  Oglethorpe  addressed  the  Frenchman  as  if  he  was  a  spy  of  the  English.     He  directed  the 
deserter  to  represent  the  Georgians  as  in  a  weak  condition,  to  advise  the  Spaniards  to  attack  them 
immediately,  and  to  persuade  the  Spaniards  to  remain  three  days  longer,  within  which  time  six 
British  men-of-war,  and  two  thousand  men,  from  Carolina,  would  probably  enter  the  harbor  of  St 
Augustine. 

3  They  first  burned  Fort  Simon,  but  in  their  haste  they  left  several  of  their  cannons  and  a 
quantity  of  provisions  behind  them. 

4  Fort  William.     There  was  another  small  fort  on  the  northern  end  of  the  island,  called  Fort 
Andrew.  5  Page  100.  8  Page  100.  7  Page  171. 


174  THE     COLONIES.  [1492. 

with  the  Indians ;  and  were  not  allowed  the  ownership,  in  fee,  of  the  lands 
which  they  cultivated.1  In  consequence  of  these  restrictions,  there  were  no 
incentives  to  labor,  except  to  supply  daily  wants.  General  discontent  pre- 
vailed. They  saw  the  Carolinians  growing  rich  by  the  use  of  slaves,  and  by 
commerce  with  the  West  Indies.  Gradually  the  restrictive  laws  were  evaded. 
Slaves  were  brought  from  Carolina,  and  hired,  first  for  a  short  period,  and  then 
for  a  hundred  years,  or  for  life.  The  price  paid  for  life-service  was  the  money 
value  of  the  slave,  and  the  transaction  was,  practically,  a  sale  and  purchase. 
Then  slave-ships  came  to  Savannah  directly  from  Africa ;  slave  labor  was  gen- 
erally used  in  1750,  and  Georgia  became  a  planting  State.  In  1752,  at  the 
expiration  of  the  twenty-one  years  named  in  the  patent,2  the  trustees  gladly 
resigned  the  charter  into  the  hands  of  the  king,  and  from  that  time  until  the 
Revolution,  Georgia  remained  a  royal  province. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

A     RETROSPECT.     [1492—1756.] 

Lsr  the  preceding  pages  we  have  considered  the  principal  events  which 
occurred  within  the  domain  of  our  Republic  from  the  time  of  first  discoveries, 
in  1492.  to  the  commencement  of  the  last  inter-colonial  war  between  the  En- 
glish and  French  settlers,  a  period  of  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  years. 
During  that  time,  fifteen  colonies  were  planted,3  thirteen  of  which  were  com- 
menced within  the  space  of  about  fifty-six  years — from  1607  to  1673.  By  the 
union  of  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts,4  and  Connecticut  and  New  Haven,5  the 
number  of  colonies  was  reduced  to  thirteen,  and  these  were  they  which  went 
into  the  revolutionary  contest  in  1775.  The  provinces  of  Canada  and  Nova 
Scotia,  conquered  by  the  English,  remained  loyal,  and  to  this  day  they  continue 
to  be  portions  of  the  British  empire. 

In  the  establishment  of  the  several  colonies,  which  eventually  formed  the 
thirteen  United  States  of  America,  several  European  nations  contributed  vig- 
orous materials ;  and  people  of  opposite  habits,  tastes,  and  religious  faith,  became 
commingled,  after  making  impressions  of  their  distinctive  characters  where  their 
influence  was  first  felt.  England  mrnished  the  largest  proportion  of  colonists, 
and  her  children  always  maintained  sway  in  the  government  and  industry  of  the 
whole  country  ;  while  Scotland,  Ireland,  Germany,  Holland,  France,  Sweden, 
Denmark,  and  the  Baltic  region,  contributed  large  quotas  of  people  and  other 
colonial  instrumentalities.  Churchmen  and  Dissenters,6  Roman  Catholics  and 


1  Page  116.  Q  Page  100. 

3  Virginia,  Plymouth,  Massachusetts  Bay,  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut.  New  Haven,  Rhode 
Island,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and 
Georgia.  4  Page  132.  6  Page  89.  6  Note  2,  page  76. 


1756.]  A    RETROSPECT. 

Quakers,1  came  and  sat  down  by  the  side  of  each  other.  For  a  while,  the  dis- 
sonance of  nations  and  creeds  prevented  entire  harmony ;  but  the  freedom  en- 
joyed, the  perils  and  hardships  encountered  and  endured,  the  conflicts  with 
pagan  savages  on  one  hand,  and  of  hierarchical2  and  governmental  oppression 
on  the  other,  which  they  maintained  for  generations,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  dif- 
fused a  brotherhood  of  feeling  throughout  the  whole  social  body  of  the  colonists, 
and  resulted  in  harmony,  sympathy,  and  love.  And  when,  as  children  of  one 
family,  they  loyally  defended  the  integrity  of  Great  Britain  (then  become  the 
"mother  country"  of  nearly  all)  against  the  aggressions  of  the  French  and  In- 
dians3 [1756  to  1763],  and  yet  were  compelled,  by  the  unkindness  of  that 
mother,  to  sever  the  filial  bond1  [1776],  their  hearts  beat  as  with  one  pulsation, 
and  they  struck  the  dismembering  blow  as  Avith  one  hand. 

There  was  a  great  diversity  of  character  exhibited  by  the  people  of  the  sev- 
eral colonies,  differing  according  to  their  origin  and  the  influence  of  climate  and 
pursuits.  The  Virginians  and  their  southern  neighbors,  enjoying  a  mild  cli- 
mate, productive  of  tendencies  to  voluptuousness  and  ease,  were  from  those 
classes  of  English  society  where  a  lack  of  rigid  moral  discipline  allowed  free 
living  and  its  attendant  vices.  They  generally  exhibited  less  moral  restraint, 
more  hospitality,  and  greater  frankness,  and  social  refinement,  than  the  people 
of  New  England.  The  latter  were  from  among  the  middle  classes,  and  in- 
cluded a  great  many  religious  enthusiasts,  possessing  more  zeal  than  knowl- 
edge. They  were  extremely  strict  in  their  notions ;  very  rigid  in  manners, 
and  jealous  of  strangers.  Their  early  legislation,  recognizing,  as  it  did,  the 
most  minute  regulations  of  social  life,  often  presented  food  for  merriment.5 
Yet  their  intentions  were  pure ;  their  designs  were  noble  ;  and,  in  a  great  de- 
gree, their  virtuous  purposes  were  accomplished.  They  aimed  to  make  every 
member  of  society  a  Christian,  according  to  their  own  pattern  ;  and  if  they 
did  not  fully  accomplish  their  object,  they  erected  strong  bulwarks  against  those 


1  Note  6,  page  122,  and  note  3,  page  123. 

3  Hierarchy  is,  in  a  general  sense,  a  priestly  or  ecclesiastical  government.  Such  was  the  original 
form  of  government  of  the  ancient  Jews,  when  the  priesthood  held  absolute  rule. 

3  Period  IV.,  chapter  xii.,  page  179.  4  Page  251. 

6  They  assumed  the  right  to  regulate  the  expenditures  of  the  people,  even  for  wearing-apparel, 
according  to  their  several  incomes.  The  general  court  of  Massachusetts,  on  one  occasion,  required 
the  proper  officers  to  notice  the  "apparel"  of  the  people,  especially  their  "ribands  and  great  boots." 
Drinking  of  healths,  wearing  funeral  badges,  and  many  other  things  that  seemed  improper,  were 
forbidden.  At  Hartford,  the  general  court  kept  a  constant  eye  upon  the  morals  of  the  people.  Free- 
men were  compelled  to  vote  under  penalty  of  a  fine  of  sixpence ;  the  use  of  tobacco  was  prohibited 
to  persons  under  twenty  years  of  age,  without  the  certificate  of  a  physician ;  and  no  others  were 
allowed  to  use  it  more  than  once  a  day,  and  then  they  must  be  ten  miles  from  any  house.  The 
people  of  Hartford  were  all  obliged  to  rise  in  the  morning  when  the  watchman  rang  his  bell.  These 
are  but  a  few  of  the  hundreds  of  similar  enactments  found  on  the  records  of  the  New  England 
courts.  In  1646,  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  passed  a  law,  which  imposed  the  penalty  of  a 
flogging  upon  any  one  who  should  kiss  a  woman  in  the  streets.  More  than  a  hundred  years  after- 
ward, this  law  was  enforced  in  Boston.  The  captain  of  a  British  man-of-war  happened  to  return 
from  a  cruise,  on  Sunday.  His  overjoyed  \v  ife  met  him  on  the  wharf,  and  he  kissed  her  several 
times.  The  magistrates  ordered  him  to  be  flogged.  The  punishment  incurred  no  ignominy,  and  he 
associated  freely  with  the  best  citizens.  "When  about  to  depart,  the  captain  invited  the  magistrates 
and  others  on  board  his  vessel,  to  dine.  "When  dinner  was  over,  he  caused  all  the  magistrates  to 
be  flogged,  on  deck,  in  sight  of  the  town.  Then  assuring  them  that  he  considered  accounts  settled 
between  him  and  them,  he  dismissed  them,  and  set  sail. 


THE     COLONIES. 


[1492. 


EARLY 


after    the 


English 


[16GO.] 


little  vices  which  compose  great  private  and  public 
evils.  Dwelling  upon  a  parsimonious  soil,  and  pos- 
sessing neither  the  means  nor  the  inclination  for 
sumptuous  living,  indulged  in  by  their  southern  breth- 
ren, their  dwellings  were  simple,  and  their  habits 
frugal. 

In  New  York,  and  portions  of  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey,  the   manners,  customs,  and   pursuits   of 

the     Dutch     prevailed     even    a    century 

conquest  of  New  Netherland2  [1664],  and  society  had  become 
permeated  by  English  ideas  and  customs.  They  were  plodding 
money-getters  ;  abhorred  change  arid  innovation,  and  loved  ease. 
They  possessed  few  of  the  elements  of  progress,  but  many  of  the 
substantial  social  virtues  necessary  to  the  stability  of  a  State,  and 
the  health  of  society.  From  these  the  Swedes  and  Finns  upon  the 
Delaware"  did  not  differ  much  ;  but  the  habits  of  the  Quakers, 
who  finally  predominated  in  West  Jersey4  and  Pennsylvania,5 
were  quite  different.  They  always  exhibited  a  refined  simplicity 
and  equanimity,  without  ostentatious  displays  of  piety,  that  won 
esteem  ;  and  they  were  governed  by  a  religious  sentiment  without 
fanaticism,  which  formed  a  powerful  safeguard  against  vice  and 
immorality.  . 

In  Maryland,0  the  earlier  settlers  were  also  less  rigid  moralists  than  the 
New  Englanders,  and  greater  formalists  in  religion.  They  were  more  refined, 
equally  industrious,  but  lacked  the  stability  of  character  and  perseverance 
in  pursuits,  of  the  people  of  the  East.  But  at  the  close  of  the  period  we  have 
been  considering  [1756],  the  peculiarities  of  the  inhabitants  of  each  section 
were  greatly  modified  by  inter-migration,  and  a  general  conformity  to  the  ne- 
cessities of  their  several  conditions,  as  founders  of  new  States  in  a  wilderness. 
The  tooth  of  religious  bigotry  and  intolerance  had  lost  its  keenness  and  its 
poison,  and  when  the  representatives  of  the  several  colonies  met  in  a  general 
Congress7  [Sept.,  1774],  for  the  public  good,  they  stood  as  brethren  before  one 
altar,  while  the  eloquent  Duche  laid  the  fervent  petitions  of  their  hearts  before 
the  throne  of  Omnipotence.8 

The  chief  pursuit  of  the  colonists  was,  necessarily,  agriculture ;  yet,  during 
the  time  we  have  considered,  manufactures  and  commerce  were  not  wholly  neg- 
lected. Necessity  compelled  the  people  to  make  many  things  which  their 
poverty  would  not  allow  them  to  buy  ;  and  manual  labor,  especially  in  the  New 
England  provinces,  was  dignified  from  the  beginning.  The  settlers  came  where 
a  throne  and  its  corrupting  influences  were  unknown,  and  where  the  idleness 
and  privileges  of  aristocracy  had  no  abiding-place.  In  the  magnificent  forests 


1  This  is  a  picture  of  one  of  the  oldest  houses  in  New  England,  and  is  a  favorable  specimen  of 
the  best  class  of  frame  dwellings  at  that  time.  It  is  yet  standing  [1856],  we  believe,  near  Medfield, 
in  Massachusetts.  2  Page  144.  3  Page  93.  "  4  Page  160. 

6  Page  161.  6  Page  81.  7  Page  228.  8  Page  228. 


1756.]  A    RETROSPECT. 

of  the  New  World,  where  a  feudal  lord1  had  never  stood,  they  began  a  life  full 
of  youth,  vigor,  and  ,  labor,  such  as  the  atmosphere  of  the  elder  governments  of 
the  earth  could  not  then  sustain.  They  were  compelled  to  be  self-reliant,  and 
what  they  could  not  buy  from  the  workshops  of  England  for  their  simple  ap- 
parel and  furniture,  and  implements  of  culture,  they  rudely  manufactured,2  and 
were  content. 

The  commerce  of  the  colonies  had  but  a  feeble  infancy ;  and  never,  until 
they  were  politically  separated  from  Great  Britain  [1776],  could  their  inter- 
change of  commodities  be  properly  dignified  with  the  name  of  Commerce.  En- 
gland early  became  jealous  of  the  independent  career  of  the  colonists  in  respect 
to  manufactured  articles,  and  navigation  acts,3  and  other  unwise  and  unjust 
restraints  upon  the  expanding  industry  of  the  Americans,  were  brought  to  bear 
upon  them.  As  early  as  1686,  a  Massachusetts  vessel  of  thirty  tons  made  a 
trading  voyage  to  the  West  Indies;  and  two  years  later  [1638],  another  vessel 
went  from  Salem  to  New  Providence,  and  returned  with  a  cargo  of  salt,  cotton, 
tobacco,  and  negroes.4  This  was  the  dawning  of  commerce  in  America.  The 
eastern  people  also  engaged  quite  extensively  in  fishing ;  and  all  were  looking 
forward  to  wealth  from  ocean  traffic,  as  well  as  that  of  the  land,  when  the  pass- 
age of  the  second  Navigation  Act,6  in  1660,  evinced  the  strange  jealousy  of 
Great  Britain.  From  that  period,  the  attention  of  Parliament  was  often 
directed  to  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  colonies,  and  in  1719,  the  House  of 
Commons  declared  "that  erecting  any  manufactories  in  the  colonies,  tended  to 
lessen  their  dependence  upon  Great  Britain."  Woolen  goods,  paper,  hemp, 
and  iron  were  manufactured  in  Massachusetts  and  other  parts  of  New  England, 
as  early  as  1732 ;  and  almost  every  family  made  coarse  cloth  for  domestic  use. 
Heavy  duties  had  been  imposed  upon  colonial  iron  sent  to  England ;  and  the 
colonists,  thus  deprived  of  their  market  for  pig  iron,  were  induced  to  attempt 
the  manufacture  of  steel  and  bar  iron  for  their  own  use.  It  was  not  until 
almost  a  century  [1750]  afterward  that  the  mother  country  perceived  the  folly 
of  her  policy  in  this  respect,  and  admitted  colonial  pig  iron,  duty  free,  first  into 
London,  and  soon  afterward  into  the  rest  of  the  kingdom.  Hats  were  manufac- 


1  Note  15,  page  62. 

2  From  the  beginning  of  colonization  there  were  shoemakers,  tailors,  and  blacksmiths  in  the  sev- 
eral colonies.     Chalmers  says  of  New  England  in  1673:   "There  be  fine  iron  works  which  cast  no 
guns;  no  house  in  New  England  has  above  twenty  rooms;  not  twenty  in  Boston  have  ten  rooms 
each;  a  dancing-school  was  set  up  here,  but  put  down  ;  a  fencing-school  is  allowed.     There  be  no 
musicians  by  trade.     All  cordage,  sail-cloth,  and  mats,  come  from  England ;  no  cloth  made  there 
wortli  four  shillings  per  yard ;   no  alum,  no  copperas,  no  salt,  made  by  their  sun." 

3  The  first  Navigation  Act  [1651]  forbade  all  importations  into  England,  except  in  English 
ships,  or  those  belonging  to  English  colonies.    In  1G60,  this  act  was  confirmed,  and  unjust  additions 
were  made  to  it.     The  colonies  were  forbidden  to  export  their  chief  productions  to  any  country  ex- 
cept to  England  or  its  dependencies.     Similar  acts,  all  bearing  heavily  upon  colonial  commerce, 
were  made  law,  from  time  to  time.     See  note  4,  page  109. 

4  This  was  the  first  introduction  of  slaves  into  New  England.     The  first  slaves  introduced  into 
the  English  colonies,  were  those  landed  and  sold  in  Virginia  in  1620.    [See  note  6,  page  105.]    They 
were  first  recognized  as  such,  by  law,  in  Massachusetts,  in  1641 ;  in  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island, 
about  1650;  in  New  York,  in  1656;  in  Maryland,  in  1663;  and  in  New  Jersey,  in  1665.     There 
were  but  few  slaves  in  Pennsylvania,  and  those  were  chiefly  in  Philadelphia.     There  were  some 
there  as  early  as  1690.     The  people  of  Delaware  held  some  at  about  the  same  time.     The  introduc- 
tion of  slaves  into  the  Carolinas  was  coeval  with  their  settlement,  and  into  Georgia  about  the  year 
1750,  when  the  people  generally  evaded  the  prohibitory  law.     Page  174.       6  Note  4,  page  109. 

12 


178  THE    COLONIES.  [1492. 

tured  and  carried  from  one  colony  to  the  other  in  exchange  ;  and  at  about  the 
same  time,  brigantines  and  small  sloops  were  built  in  Massachusetts  and  Penn- 
sylvania, and  exchanged  with  West  India  merchants  for  rum,  sugar,  wines,  and 
silks.  These  movements  were  regarded  with  disfavor  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment, and  unwisely  considering  the  increase  of  manufactures  in  the  colonies  to 
be  detrimental  to  English  interests,  greater  restrictions  were  ordained.  It  was 
enacted  that  all  manufactories  of  iron  and  steel  in  the  colonies,  should  be  con- 
sidered a  "  common  nuisance,"  to  be  abated  within  thirty  days  after  notice 
being  given,  or  the  owner  should  suffer  a  fine  of  a  thousand  dollars.1  The  ex- 
portation of  hats  even  from  one  colony  to  another  was  prohibited,  and  no  hatter 
was  allowed  to  have  more  than  two  apprentices  at  one  time.  The  importation 
of  sugar,  rum,  and  molasses  was  burdened  with  exorbitant  duties ;  and  the  Caro- 
linians were  forbidden  to  cut  down  the  pine-trees  of  their  vast  forests,  and  con- 
vert their  wood  into  staves,  and  their  juice  into  turpentine  and  tar,  for  commer- 
cial purposes.2  These  unjust  and  oppressive  enactments  formed  a  part  of  that 
"bill  of  particulars"  which  the  American  colonies  presented  in  their  account 
with  Great  Britain,  when  they  gave  to  the  world  their  reasons  for  declaring 
themselves  "  free  and  independent  States." 

From  the  beginning,  education  received  special  attention  in  the  colonies, 
particularly  in  New  England.  Schools  for  the  education  of  both  white  and 
Indian  children  were  formed  in  Virginia  as  early  as  1621 ;  and  in  1692,  Wil- 
liam and  Mary  College  was  established  at  Williamsburg.8  Harvard  College,  at 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  was  founded  in  1637.  Yale  College,  in  Connecti- 
cut, was  established  at  Saybrook  in  1701,"  and  was  removed  to  its  present  loca- 
tion, in  New  Haven,  in  1717.  It  wras  named  in  honor  of  Elihu  Yale,  pres- 
ident of  the  East  India  Company,  and  one  of  its  most  liberal  benefactors.  The 
college  of  New  Jersey,  at  Princeton,  called  Nassau  Hall,  was  incorporated  in 
1738  ;5  and  King's  (now  Columbia)  College,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  was 
foudned  in  1750.  The  college  of  Philadelphia  was  incorporated  in  1760. 
The  college  of  Rhode  Island  (now  Brown  University)  was  established  at  War- 
ren in  1764.  Queen's  (now  Rutger's)  College,  in  New  Jersey,  was  founded 
in  1770 ;  and  Dartmouth  College,  at  Hanover,  New  Hamshire,  Avas  opened  in 


1  A  law  was  enacted  in  1750,  which  prohibited  the  "erection  or  contrivance  of  any  mill  or  other 
engine  for  slitting  or  rolling  iron,  or  any  plating  forge  to  work  with  a  tilt  hammer,  or  any  furnace 
for  making  steel  in  the  colonies."  Such  was  the  condition  of  manufactures  in  the  United  States  one 
hundred  years  ago.  Notwithstanding  wo  are  eminently  an  agricultural  people,  the  census  of  1850 
shows  that  we  have,  in  round  numbers,  $530,000,000  invested  in  manufactures.  The  value  of 
raw  material  is  estimated  at  $550,000,000.  The  amount  paid  for  labor  during  that  year,  was 
$240,000,000,  distributed  among  1,050,000  operatives.  The  value  of  manufactured  articles  is  esti- 
mated at  more  than  a  thousand  millions  of  dollars ! 

8  For  a  hundred  years  the  British  government  attempted  to  confine  the  commerce  of  the  colo- 
nies to  the  interchange  of  their  agricultural  products  for  English  manufactures  only.  The  trade  of  the 
growing  colonies  was  certainly  worth  securing.  From  1738  to  1748,  the  average  value  of  exports 
from  Great  Britain  to  the  American  colonies,  was  almost  three  and  a  quarter  millions  of  dollars 
annually. 

3  The  schools  previously  established  did  not  flourish,  and  the  funds  appropriated  for  their  sup- 
port were  given  to  the  college. 

4  In  1700,  ten  ministers  of  the  colony  met  at  Saybrook,  and  each  contributed  books  for  the 
establishment  of  a  college.     It  was  incorporated  in  1701.     See  note  8,  page  158. 

6  It  was  a  feeble  institution  at  first.     In  1747,  Governor  Belcher  became  its  patron. 


1756.]  THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR.  179 

1771.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  colonies  could  boast  of  no  less  than  nine  col- 
leges when  the  War  for  Independence  commenced — three  of  them  under  the 
supervision  of  Episcopalians,  three  under  Congregationalists,  one  each  under 
Presbyterians,  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  and  the  Baptists.  But  the  pride 
and  glory  of  New  England  have  ever  been  its  common  schools.  Those  received 
the  earliest  and  most  earnest  attention.  In  1636,  the  Connecticut  Legislature 
enacted  a  law  which  required  every  town  that  contained  fifty  families,  to  main- 
tain a  good  school,  and  every  town  containing  one  hundred  householders,  to 
have  a  grammar  school.1  Similar  provisions  for  general  education  soon  pre- 
vailed throughout  New  England  ;  and  the  people  became  remarkable  for  their 
intelligence.  The  rigid  laws  which  discouraged  all  frivolous  amusements, 
induced  active  minds,  during  leisure  hours,  to  engage  in  reading.  The  sub- 
jects contained  in  books  then  in  general  circulation,  were  chiefly  History  and 
Theology,  and  of  these  a  great  many  were  sold.  A  traveler  mentions  the  fact, 
that,  as  early  as  1686,  several  booksellers  in  Boston  had  "  made  fortunes  by 
their  business."2  But  newspapers,  the  great  vehicle  of  general  intelligence  to 
the  popular  mind  of  our  day,  were  very  few  and  of  little  worth,  before  the  era 
of  the  Revolution.3 

Such,  in  brief  and  general  outline,  were  the  American  people,  and  such  their 
political  and  social  condition,  at  the  commencement  of  the  last  inter-colonial 
war,  which  we  arc  now  to  consider,  during  which  they  discovered  their  strength, 
the  importance  of  a  continental  union,  and  their  real  independence  of  Great 
Britain. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR.  [175G— 1763.] 

WE  are  now  to  consider  one  of  the  most  important  episodes  in  the  history 
of  the  United  States,  known  in  Europe  as  the  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR,  and  in 

1  These  townships  were,  in  general,  organized  religious  communities,  and  had  many  interests  in 
common. 

2  Previous  to  1753,  there  had  been  seventy  booksellers  in  Massachusetts,  two  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, two  in  Connecticut,  one  in  Rhode  Island,  two  in  New  York,  and  seventeen  in  Pennsylvania. 

3  The  first  newspaper  ever  printed  in  America  was  the  Boston  NKIVS  Letter,  printed  in  1704 
The  next  was  established  in  Philadelphia,  in  1719.     The  first  in  New  York  was  in  1725  ;  in  Mary- 
land, in  1728  ;  in  South  Carolina,  in  1731  ;  in  Rhode  Island,  in  1732  ;  in  Virginia,  in  1736;  in  New 
Hampshire,  in  1753;  in  Connecticut,  in  1755;  in  Delaware,  in  1761;  in  North  Carolina,  in  1763; 
in  Georgia,  in  1763;  and  in  New  Jersey,  in  1777.     In  1850.  there  were  published  in  the  United 
States,  2,800  newspapers  and  magazines,  having  a  circulation  of  5.000,000  of  copies.     The  number 
of  copies  printed  during  that  whole  year  was  about  423,000,000. 

4  We  have  no  exact  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  colonies ;  but  Mr.  Bancroft,  after  a 
careful  examination  of  many  official  returns  and  private  computations,  estimates  the  number  of 
white  people  in  the  colonies,  at  the  commencement  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  to  have  been 
about  1,165,000,  distributed  as  follows:   In  New  England  (N.  H.,  Mass.,  R.  I.,  and  Conn.),  425,000; 
in  the  middle  colonies  (N.  Y.,  N.  J.,  Perm.,  Del,  and  Md.),  457,000  ;  and  in  the  southern  colonies 
(Va.,  N.  and  S.  Carolina,  and  Geo.),  283,000.     The  estimated  number  of  slaves,  260,000,  of  whom 
about  11,000  were  in  New  England  ;  middle  colonies,  71,000;  and  the  southern  colonies,  178.000. 
Of  the  1,165,000  white  people,  Dr.  Franklin  estimated  that  only  about  80,000  were  of  foreign  birth, 
showing  the  fact  that  emigration  to  America  had  almost  ceased.     At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, in  1775,  the  estimated  population  of  the  thirteen  colonies  was  2,803,000.     The  documents  of 
Congress,  in  1775,  gives  the  round  number  of  3,000,000. 


180  THE     COLONIES.  [1756. 

America  as  the  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR.  It  may  with  propriety  be  con- 
sidered introductory  to  the  War  for  Independence,  which  resulted  in  the  birth 
of  our  Republic.  The  first  three  inter-colonial  wars,  or  the  conflicts  in  America 
between  the  English  and  French  colonies,  already  noticed,1  originated  in  hostil- 
ities first  declared  by  the  two  governments,  and  commenced  in  Europe.  The 
fourth  and  List,  which  resulted  in  establishing  the  supremacy  of  the  English  in 
America,  originated  here  in  disputes  concerning  territorial  claims.  For  a  hun- 
dred years,  the  colonies  of  the  two  nations  had  been  gradually  expanding  and 
increasing  in  importance.  The  English,  more  than  a  million  in  number,  occu- 
pied the  seaboard  from  the  Penobscot  to  the  St.  Mary,  a  thousand  miles  in 
extent,  all  eastward  of  the  great  ranges  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  far  northward 
toward  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  French,  not  more  than  a  hundred  thousand 
strong,  made  settlements  along  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  shores  of  the  great  lakes, 
on  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  and  upon  the  borders  of  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico. They  early  founded  Detroit  [] 683],  Kaskaskia  [1684],  Vincennes  [1690], 
and  New  Orleans  [1717].  The  English  planted  agricultural  colonies;  the 
French  were  chiefly  engaged  in  traffic  with  the  Indians.  This  trade,  and  the 
operations  of  the  Jesuit2  missionaries,  who  were  usually  the  self-denying  pio- 
neers of  commerce  in  its  penetration  of  the  wilderness,  gave  the  French  great 
influence  over  the  tribes  of  a  vast  extent  of  country  lying  in  the  rear  of  the 
English  settlements.3 

France  and  England  at  that  time  were  heirs  to  an  ancient  quarrel.  Origin- 
ating far  back  in  feudal  ages,  and  kept  alive  by  subsequent  collisions,  it  burned 
vigorously  in  the  bosoms  of  the  respective  colonists  in  America,  where  it  was 
continually  fed  by  frequent  hostilities  on  frontier  ground.  They  had  ever 
regarded  each  other  with  extreme  jealousy,  for  the  prize  before  them  was 
supreme  rule  in  the  New  World.  The  trading  posts  and  missionary  stations 
of  the  French,  in  the  far  north-west,  and  in  the  bosom  of  a  dark  wilderness, 
several  hundred  miles  distant  from  the  most  remote  settlement  on  the  English 
frontier,  attracted  very  little  attention,  until  they  formed  a  part  of  more  exten- 
sive operations.  But  when,  after  the  capture  of  Louisburg,4  in  1745,  the  French 
adopted  vigorous  measures  for  opposing  the  extension  of  British  power  in  Amer- 
ica :  when  they  built  strong  vessels  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Ontario5 — made  treaties 
of  friendship  with  the  Delaware6  and  Shawnee7  tribes ;  strengthened  Fort  Niag- 
ara ;8  and  erected  a  cordon  of  fortifications,  more  than  sixty  in  number,  between 
Montreal  and  New  Orleans — the  English  were  aroused  to  immediate  and  effective 
action  in  defense  of  the  territorial  claims  given  them  in  their  ancient  charters. 
By  virtue  of  these,  they  claimed  dominion  westward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  south 
of  the  latitude  of  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Erie ;  while  the  French  claimed  a  title 
to  all  the  territory  watered  by  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  under  the 
more  plausible  plea,  that  they  had  made  the  first  explorations  and  settlements 


1  King  William's  War  (page  130);  Queen  Anne's  War  (page  135);  and  King  George's  War  (page 
136).                       2  Note  4,  page  130.  3  Chiefly  of  the  Algonquin  nation.'    Page  17. 

4  Page  138.  6  At  Fort  Frontenac,  now  Kingston,  Upper  Canada. 

6  Page  20.  7  Page  19.  8  Page  200. 


1763.]  THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR.  181 

in  that  region.1     The  claims  of  the  real  owner,  the  Indian,  were  lost  sight  of 
in  the  discussion.2 

These  disputes  soon  ended  in  action.  The  territorial  question  was  speedily 
brought  to  an  issue.  In  1749,  George  the  Second  granted  six  hundred  thou- 
sand acres  of  land,  on  the  south-east  bank  of  the  Ohio  River,  to  a  company 
composed  of  London  merchants  and  Virginia  land  speculators,  with  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  traffic  with  the  Indians.  It  was  called  The  Ohio  Company. 
Surveyors  were  soon  sent  to  explore,  and  make  boundaries,  and  prepare  for 
settlements;  and  English  traders  went  even  as  far  as  the  country  of  the 
Miamies3  to  traffic  with  the  natives.  The  French  regarded  them  as  intruders, 
and,  in  1753,  seized  and  imprisoned  some  of  them.  Apprehending  the  loss  of 
traffic  and  influence  among  the  Indians,  and  the  ultimate  destruction  of  their 
line  of  communication  between  Canada  and  Louisiana,  the  French  commenced 
the  erection  of  forts  between  the  Alleghany  River  and  Lake  Erie,  near  the 
present  western  line  of  Pennsylvania.4  The  Ohio  Company  complained  of 
these  hostile  movements ;  and  as  their  grant  lay  within  the  chartered  limits  of 
Virginia,  the  authorities  of  that  colony  considered  it  their  duty  to  interfere. 
Robert  Dinwiddie,  the  lieutenant-governor,  sent  a  letter  of  remonstrance  to  M. 
De  St.  Pierre,  the  French  commander.5  George  Washington  was  chosen  to  be 
the  bearer  of  the  dispatch.  He  was  a  young  man,  less  than  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  but  possessed  much  experience  of  forest  life.  He  already  held  the  com- 
mission of  adjutant-general  of  one  of  the  four  militia  districts  of  Virginia. 
From  early  youth  he  had  been  engaged  in  land  surveying,  had  become  accus- 
tomed to  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  the  wilderness,  and  was  acquainted  with 
the  character  of  the  Indians,  and  of  the  country  he  was  called  upon  to  traverse. 

Young  Washington,  as  events  proved,  was  precisely  the  instrument  needed 
for  such  a  service.  His  mission  involved  much  personal  peril  and  hardship. 
It  required  the  courage  of  the  soldier,  and  the  sagacity  of  the  statesman,  to 
perform  the  duty  properly.  The  savage  tribes  through  which  he  had  to  pass, 
were  hostile  to  the  English,  and  the  French  he  was  sent  to  meet  were  national 
enemies,  wily  and  suspicious.  With  only  two  or  three  attendants,6  Washington 
started  from  Williamsburg  late  in  autumn  [Oct.  31,  1753],  and  after  journey- 
ing full  four  hundred  miles  (more  than  half  the  distance  through  a  dark  wilder- 
ness), encountering  almost  incredible  hardships,  amid  snow,  and  icy  floods,  and 
hostile  Indians,  he  reached  the  French  outpost  at  Venango  on  the  4th  of  De- 


1  Page  180. 

2  When  the  agent  of  the  Ohio  Company  wont  into  the  Indian  country,  on  the  borders  of  the 
Ohio  River,  a  messenger  was  sent  by  two  Indian  sachems,  to  make  the  significant  inquiry,  "  Where 
is  the  Indian's  land  ?      The  P]nglish  claim  it  all  on  one  side  of  the  river,  the  French  on  the  other; 
where  does  the  Indian's  land  lay?"  3  Page  19. 

4  Twelve  hundred  men  erected  a  fort  on  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  at  Presque  Isle,  now 
Erie ;  soon  afterward,  another  was  built  at  Le  Bceuf,  on  the  Venango  (French  Creek),  now  the  vil- 
lage of  Waterford;  and  a  third  was  erected  at  Yenango,  at  the  junction  of  French  Creek  and  tho 
Alleghany  River,  now  the  village  of  Franklin. 

5  Already  the  governors  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  had  received  orders  from  the  imperial 
government,  to  repel  the  French  by  force,  whenever  they  were  "  found  within  the  undoubted  limits 
of  their  province." 

6  He  was  afterward  joined  by  two  others  at  Willis  Creek  (now  Cumberland),  in  Maryland. 


182  THE     COLONIES.  [1756. 

cember.  He  was  politely  received,  and  his  visit  was  made  the  occasion  of  great 
conviviality  by  the  officers  of  the  garrison.  The  free  use  of  wine  made  the 
Frenchmen  incautious,  and  they  revealed  to  the  sober  Washington  their  hostile 
designs  against  the  English,  which  the  latter  had  suspected.  He  perceived  the 
necessity  of  dispatching  business,  and  returning  to  Williamsburg,  as  speedily 
as  possible  ;  so,  after  tarrying  a  day  at  Venango,  he  pushed  forward  to  the 
head-quarters  of  St.  Pierre,  at  Le  Boeuf.  That  officer  entertained  him  politely 
during  four  days,  and  then  gave  him  a  written  answer  to  Dimviddie's  remon- 
strance, enveloped  and  sealed.  Washington  retraced  his  perilous  pathway 
through  the  wilderness,  and  after  an  absence  of  eleven  weeks,  he  again  stood  in 
the  presence  of  Governor  Dinwiddie,  on  the  16th  of  January,  1754,  his  mission 
fulfilled  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  His  judgment,  sagacity,  courage,  and  execu- 
tive force — qualities  which  eminently  fitted  him  for  the  more  important  duties 
as  chief  of  the  Revolutionary  armies,  more  than  twenty  years  afterward  [1775] 
— were  nobly  developed  in  the  performance  of  his  mission.  They  were  publicly 
acknowledged,  and  were  never  forgotten. 

Already  the  Virginians  were  restive  under  royal  rule,  and  at  that  time 
were  complaining  seriously  of  an  obnoxious  fee  allowed  by  the  Board  of  Trade, 
in  the  issue  of  patents  for  lands.  The  House  of  Burgesses  refused,  at  first,  to 
pay  any  attention  to  Dinwiddie' s  complaints  against  the  French ;  but  at  length 
they  voted  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  support  of  troops  which  had  been 
enlisted  to  march  into  the  Ohio  country.  The  revelations  made  to  Washington, 
and  the  tenor  of  St.  Pierre's  reply,  confirmed  the  suspicions  of  Dinwiddie,  and 
showed  the  wisdom  of  the  legislative  co-operation.  St.  Pierre  said  he  was  acting 
in  obedience  to  the  orders  of  his  superior,  the  Marquis  Du  Quesne,1  at  Montreal, 
and  refused  to  withdraw  his  troops  from  the  disputed  territory.  Dinwiddie 
immediately  prepared  an  expedition  against  the  French,  and  solicited  the  co-op- 
eration of  the  other  colonies.  It  was  the  first  call  for  a  general  colonial  union 
against  a  common  enemy.  All  hesitated  except  North  Carolina.  The  legisla- 
ture of  that  colony  promptly  voted  four  hundred  men,  and  they  wrere  soon  on 
the  march  for  Winchester,  in  Virginia.  They  eventually  proved  of  little  use, 
for  becoming  doubtful  as  to  their  pay,  a  greater  part  of  them  had  disbanded 
before  reaching  Winchester.  Some  volunteers  from  South  Carolina  and  New 
York,  also  hastened  toward  the  seat  of  future  war.  The  Virginians  responded 
to  the  call,  and  a  regiment  of  six  hundred  men  was  soon  organized,  with  Colonel 
Joshua  Fry  as  its  commander,  and  M»ajor  Washington  as  his  lieutenant.  The 
troops  rendezvoused  at  Alexandria,  and  from  that  city,  Washington,  at  the  head 
of  the  advanced  corps,  marched  [April  2,  1754]  toward  the  Ohio. 

Private  and  public  interest  went  hand  in  hand.  While  these  military  prep- 
arations were  in  progress,  the  Ohio  Company  had  sent  thirty  men  to  construct 
a  fort  at  the  confluence  of  the  Alleghany  and  Monongahela  Rivers,  now  the  site  of 
Pittsburg.  They  had  just  commenced  operations  [April  18],  when  a  party  of 
French  and  Indians,  under  Contrecoeur,  attacked  and  expelled  them,  completed 

1  Pronounced  Du  Kane. 


1763.]  THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR. 

the  fortification,  and  named  it  Du  Quesne,  in  honor  of  the  governor-general  of 
Canada.1  When  intelligence  of  this  event  reached  Washington  on  his  march, 
he  hastened  forward  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  to  a  point  on  the  Monon- 
gahela,  less  than  forty  miles  from  Fort  Du  Quesne.  There  he  was  informed 
that  a  strong  force  was  marching  to  intercept  him,  and  he  cautiously  fled  back 
to  the  Great  Meadows,  where  he  erected  a  stockade,2  and  called  it  Fort  Neces- 
sity.3 Before  completing  it,  a  few  of  his  troops  attacked  an  advanced  party  of 
the  French,  under  Jumonville.  They  were  surprised  at  the  dead  of  night 
[May  28],  and  the  commander  and  nine  of  his  men  were  slain.  Of  the  fifty 
who  formed  the  French  detachment,  only  about  fifteen  escaped.  This  was  the 
first  blood-shedding  of  that  long  and  eventful  conflict  known  as  the  French  and 
Indian  War.  Two  days  afterward  [May  30],  Colonel  Fry  died,  and  the 
whole  command  devolved  on  Washington.  Troops  hastened  forward  to  join  the 
young  leader  at  Fort  Necessity,  and  with  about  four  hundred  men,  he  proceeded 
toward  Fort  Du  Quesne.  M.  do  Villicrs,  brother  of  the  slain  Jumonville,  had 
marched  at  about  the  same  time,  at  the  head  of  more  than  a  thousand  Indians 
and  some  Frenchmen,  to  avenge  the  death  of  his  kinsman.  Advised  of  his 
approach,  Washington  fell  back  to  Fort  Necessity,  and  there,  on  the  3d  of  July, 
he  was  attacked  by  almost  fifteen  hundred  foes.  After  a  conflict  of  about  ten 
hours,  de  Villiers  proposed  an  honorable  capitulation.4  Washington  signed  it 
on  the  morning  of  the  4th,  and  marching  out  of  the  stockade  with  the  honors 
of  war,  departed,  with  his  troops,  for  Virginia. 

It  was  during  this  military  campaign,  that  a  civil  movement  of  great  import- 
ance was  in  progress.  The  English  and  French  governments  had  listened  to 
the  disputes  in  America  with  interest.  At  length  the  British  ministry,  per- 
ceiving war  to  be  inevitable,  advised  the  colonies  to  secure  the  continued 
friendship  of  the  Six  NATIONS/  and  to  unite  in  a  plan  for  general  defense. 
All  the  colonies  were  invited  to  appoint  delegates  to  meet  in  convention  at 
Albany,  in  the  summer  of  1754.  Only  seven  responded  by  sending  delegates.6 
The  convention  was  organized  on  the  19th  of  June.7  Having  renewed  a  treaty 
with  the  Indians,  the  subject  of  colonial  union  was  brought  forward.  A  plan 
of  confederation,  similar  to  our  Federal  Constitution,  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Franklin, 
was  submitted.8  It  was  adopted  on  the  4th  of  July,  1754,  and  was  ordered  to 
be  laid  before  the  several  colonial  Assemblies,  and  the  imperial  Board  of  Trade,0 

1  Pago  182. 

2  Stockade  is  a  general  name  of  structures  for  defense,  formed  by  driving  strong  posts  in  the 
ground,  so  as  to  make  a  safe  inelosure.     It  is  the  same  as  a  palisade.     See  picture  on  page  127. 

3  Near  the  national  road  from  Cumberland  to  Wheeling,  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  Fayetto 
county,  Pennsylvania.     The  Great  Meadows  are  on  a  fertile  bottom  about  four  miles  from  the  foot 
of  Laurel  Hill,  and  fifty  from  Cumberland. 

4  A  mutual  restoration  of  prisoners  was  to  take  place,  and  the  English  were  not  to  erect  any 
establishment  beyond  the  mountains,  for  the  space  of  a  year.     The  English  troops  were  to  march, 
unmolested,  back  to  Virginia.  5  Page  25. 

6  New  Hampshire,   Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Maryland. 

7  James  Delancy,  of  New  York  was  elected  president.     There  were  twenty-five  delegates  in  all. 

8  Franklin  was  a  delegate  from  Pennsylvania.     The  idea  of  union  was  not  a  new  one.     "William 
Penn  suggested  the  advantage  of  a  union  of  all  the  English  colonies  as  early  as  1700;  and  Coxe, 
Speaker  of  the  New  Jersey  Assembly,  advocated  it  in  1722.     Now  it  first  found  tangible  expression 
under  the  sanction  of  authority.  9  Note  5,  page  134. 


184  THE     COLONIES.  [1756. 

for  ratification.1  Its  fate  was  singular.  The  Assemblies  considering  it  too 
aristocratic — giving  the  royal  governor  too  much  power — refused  their  assent ; 
and  the  Board  of  Trade  rejected  it  because  it  was  too  democratic?  Although 
a  legal  union  was  not  consummated,  the  grand  idea  of  political  fraternization 
then  began  to  bud.  It  blossomed  in  the  midst  of  the  heat  of  the  Stamp  Act 
excitement  eleven  years  later  [1765],  and  its  fruit  appeared  in  the  memorable 
Congress  of  1774. 

The  convention  at  Albany  had  just  closed  its  labors,  when  the  Indians  com- 
menced murderous  depredations  upon  the  New  England  frontiers  [August  and 
September,  1754] ;  and  among  the  tribes  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  French  emis- 
saries were  busy  arousing  them  to  engage  in  a  war  of  extermination  against  the 
English.  Even  in  full  view  of  these  menaces,  some  of  the  colonies  were  tardy 
in  preparations  to  avert  the  evil.  Shirley  was  putting  forth  energetic  efforts  in 
Massachusetts  ;  New  York  voted  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  for  military  serv- 
ice, and  Maryland  thirty  thousand  dollars  for  the  same.  The  English  govern- 
ment sent  over  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  use  of  the  colonists,  and  with  it  a 
commission  to  Governor  Sharpe  of  Maryland,  appointing  him  commander-in- 
chief  of  all  the  colonial  forces.  Disputes  about  military  rank  and  precedence 
soon  ran  high  between  the  Virginia  regimental  officers,  and  the  captains  of 
independent  companies.  To  silence  these,  Dinwiddie  unwisely  dispensed  with 
all  field  officers,  and  broke  the  Virginia  regiments  into  separate  companies.  This 
arrangement  displeased  Washington ;  he  resigned  his  commission,  and  the  year 
1754  drew  to  a  close  without  any  efficient  preparations  for  a  conflict  with  the 
French.3 

CAMPAIGN     OF     1755. 

Yet  war  had  not  been  declared  by  the  two  nations ;  and  for  more  than  a 
year  and  a  half  longer  the  colonies  were  in  conflict,  before  England  and  France 
formally  announced  hostility  to  each  other.  In  the  mean  while  the  British 
government,  perceiving  that  a  contest,  more  severe  than  had  yet  been  seen, 
must  soon  take  place  in  America,  extended  its  aid  to  its  colonies.  Edward 
Braddock,  an  Irish  officer  of  distinction,  arrived  in  Chesapeake  Bay,  with  two 
regiments  of  his  countrymen,  on  the  20th  of  February,  1755.  He  had  been 


1  It  proposed  a  general  government  to  be  administered  by  one  chief  magistrate,  to  be  appointed 
by  the  crown,  and  a  council  of  forty-eight  members,  chosen  by  the  several  legislatures.     This  coun- 
cil, answering  to  our  Senate,  was  to  have  poVer  to  declare  war,  levy  troops,  raise  money,  regulate 
trade,  conclude  peace,  and  many  other  things  necessary  for  the  general  good.      The  delegates  from 
Connecticut  alone,  objected  to  the  plan,  because  it  gave  the  governor-general  veto  power,  or  the 
right  to  refuse  his  signature  to  laws  ordained  by  the  Senate,  and  thus  prevent  them  becoming  stat- 
utes. 

2  The  Board  of  Trade  had  proposed  a  plan  which  contained  all  the  elements  of  a  system  for  the 
utter  enslavement  and  dependence  of  the  Americans.    They  proposed  a  general  government,  composed 
of  the  governors  of  the  several  colonies,  and  certain  select  members  of  the  several  councils.     These 
were  to  have  power  to  draw  on  the  British  Treasury  for  money  to  carry  on  the  impending  war :  the 
sum  to  be  reimbursed  by  taxes  imposed  upon  the  colonists  by  Parliament.     The  colonists  preferred 
to  do  their  own  fighting,  and  levy  their  own  taxes,  independent  of  Great  Britain. 

3  According  to  a  return  made  to  the  Board  of  Trade  at  about  this  time,  the  population  of  the  colo- 
nies amounted  to  one  million  four  hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand,  six  hundred  and  thirty-four. 
Of  these,  two  hundred  and  ninety-two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-eight  were  negroes. 


1763.]  THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR.  185 

appointed  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  British  and  provincial  forces  in  Amer- 
ica ;  and  at  his  request,  six  colonial  governors1  met  in  convention  at  Alexandria, 
in  April  following,  to  assist  in  making  arrangements  for  a  vigorous  campaign. 
Three  separate  expeditions  were  planned ;  one  against  Fort  du  Quesnc,  to  be 
led  by  Braddock ;  a  second  against  Niagara  and  Frontenac  (Kingston),  to  be 
commanded  by  Governor  Shirley ;  and  a  third  against  Crown  Point,  on  Lake 
Champlain,  under  General  William  Johnson;2  then  an  influential  resident  among 
the  Mohawk  nation  of  the  IRO QUOIS  confederacy.3  Already  a  fourth  expedition 
had  been  arranged  by  Shirley  and  Governor  Lawrence  of  Nova  Scotia,  designed 
to  drive  the  French  out  of  that  province,  and  other  portions  of  ancient  Acadie.4 
These  extensive  arrangements,  sanctioned  by  the  imperial  government,  awakened 
the  most  zealous  patriotism  of  all  the  colonists,  and  the  legislatures  of  the  sev- 
eral provinces,  except  Pennsylvania  and  Georgia,  voted  men  and  supplies  for 
the  impending  war.  The  Quaker  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  was  opposed  to 
military  movements  ;  the  people  of  Georgia  were  too  poor  to  contribute. 

There  was  much  enthusiasm  in  New  England,  and  the  eastern  expedition 
first  proceeded  to  action.  Three  thousand  men,  under  General  John  Winslow,6 
sailed  from  Boston  on  the  20th  of  May,  1755,  and  landed  at  the  head  of  the 
Bay  of  Fundy.  There  they  were  joined  by  Colonel  Monckton  with  three  hun- 
dred British  regulars6  from  the  neighboring  garrison,  and  that  officer,  having 
official  precedence  of  Winslow,  took  the  command.  They  captured  the  forts  in 
possession  of  the  French  there,  in  June,  without  difficulty,  and  placed  the  whole 
region  under  martial  rule.7  This  was  the  legitimate  result  of  war.  But  the 
cruel  sequel  deserves  universal  reprobation.  The  total  destruction  of  the  French 
settlements  was  decided  upon.  Under  the  plea  that  the  Acadians  would  aid 
their  French  brethren  in  Canada,  the  innocent  and  happy  people  were  seized  in 
their  houses,  fields,  and  churches,  and  conveyed  on  board  the  English  vessels. 
Families  were  broken,  never  to  be  united ;  and  to  compel  the  surrender  of  those 
who  fled  to  the  woods,  their  starvation  was  insured  by  a  total  destruction  of 
their  growing  crops.  The  Acadians  were  stripped  of  every  thing,  and  those 
who  were  carried  away,  were  scattered  among  the  English  colonies,  helpless 
beggars,  to  die  heart-broken  in  a  strange  land.  In  one  short  month,  their 
paradise  had  become  a  desolation,  and  a  happy  people  were  crushed  into  the  dust. 

The  western  expedition,  under  Braddock,  was  long  delayed  on  account  of 
difficulties  in  obtaining  provisions  and  wagons.  The  patience  of  the  commander 
was  sorely  tried,  and  in  moments  of  petulance  ho  used  expressions  against  the 
colonists,  which  they  long  remembered  with  bitterness.  He  finally  commenced 
his  march  from  Will's  Creek  (Cumberland)  on  the  10th  of  June,  1755,  with 
about  two  thousand  men,  British  and  provincials.  Anxious  to  reach  Fort  du 

1  Shirley,  of  Massachusetts ;  Dimviddie,  of  Virginia ;  Delancoy,  of  New  York ;  Sharpo,  of  Mary- 
land; Morris,  of  Pennsylvania;  and  Dobbs.  of  North  Carolina.  Admiral  Kcppc-1,  commander  of  the 
British  fleet,  was  also  present.  2  Page  190.  3  Page  25.  4  Page  58. 

He  was  a  great  grandson  of  Edward  Winslow,  the  third  governor  of  Plymouth.  He  was  a 
major-general  in  the  Massachusetts  militia,  but  on  this  occasion  held  the  office  of  lieutenant-colonel. 

This  term  is  used  to  denote  soldiers  who  are  attached  to  the  regular  army,  and  as  distinguished 
from  volunteers  and  militia.  The  latter  term  applies  to  the  great  body  of  citizens  who  are  liable  to 
do  perpetual  military  duty  only  in  time  of  war.  7  Note  8,  page  170. 


186 


THE     COLONIES. 


[1756. 


FORT  DU  QUESNE. 


Quesno  before  the  garrison  should  receive  re-inforcements,  he  made  forced 
marches  with  twelve  hundred  men,  leaving  Colonel  D unbar, 
his  second  in  command,  to  follow  with  the  remainder,  and 
the  wagons.  Colonel  Washington1  had  consented  to  act  as 
Braddock7  s  aid,  and  to  him  was  given  the  command  of  the 
provincials.  Knowing,  far  better  than  Braddock,  the  perils 
of  their  march  and  the  kind  of  warfare  they  might  expect,  he 
ventured,  modestly,  to  give  advice,  founded  upon  his  experi- 
ence. But  the  haughty  general  would  listen  to  no  suggestions, 
especially  from  a  provincial  subordinate.  This  obstinacy  resulted  in  his  ruin. 
When  within  ten  miles  of  Fort  du  Quesne,  and  while  marching  at  noon-day,  on 
the  9th  of  July,  in  fancied  security,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Monongahela,  a 
volley  of  bullets  and  a  cloud  of  arrows  assailed  the  advanced  guard,  under 
Lieutenant- Colonel  Gage.2  They  came  from  a  thicket  and  ravine  close  by, 
where  a  thousand  dusky  warriors  lay  in  ambush.  Again  Washington  asked 
permission  to  fight  according  to  the  provincial  custom,  but  was  refused. 
Braddock  must  maneuver  according  to  European  tactics,  or  not  at  all.  For 
three  hours,  deadly  volley  after  volley  fell  upon  the  British  columns,  while 
Braddock  attempted  to  maintain  order,  where  all  was  confusion.  The  slain 
soon  covered  the  ground.  Every  mounted  officer  but  Washington  was  killed  or 
maimed,  and  finally,  the  really  brave  Braddock  himself,  after  having  several 
horses  shot  under  him,  was  mortally  wounded.3  Washington  remained  unhurt.4 
Under  his  direction  the  provincials  rallied,  while  the  regulars,  seeing  their  gen- 
eral fall,  were  fleeing  in  great  confusion.  The  provincials  covered  their  retreat 
so  gallantly,  that  the  enemy  did  not  follow.  A  week  after- 
ward, Washington  read  the  impressive  funeral  service  of  the 
Anglican  Church,5  over  the  corpse  of  Braddock,  by  torch- 
light [July  15,  1755]  ;  and  he  was  buried,  where  his  grave 
may  now  [1856]  be  seen,  near  the  National  road,  between  the 
fifty-third  and  fifty-fourth  mile  from  Cumberland,  in  Mary- 
land. Colonel  Dunbar  received  the  flying  troops,  and  marched 
to  Philadelphia  in  August,  with  the  broken  companies.  Wash- 
ington, with  the  southern  provincials,  went  back  to  Virginia. 
GEN.  BRADDOCK.  Thus  ended  the  second  expedition  of  the  campaign  of  1755. 

1  Page  181.  2  Afterward  General  G  age,  commander-in-chief  of  the  British  troops  at 

Boston,  at  the  beginning  of 'the  Revolution.     Page  226. 

3  Braddock  was  shot  by  Thomas  Faucett,  one  of  the  provincial  soldiers.     His  plea  was  self- 
preservation.     Braddock  had  issued  a  positive  order,  that  none  of  the  English  should  protect  them- 
selves behind  trees,  as  the  French  and  Indians  did.     Faucett's  brother  had  taken  such  position,  and 
when  Braddock  perceived  it,  he  struck  him  to  the  earth  with  his  sword.     Thomas,  on  seeing  his 
brother  fall,  shot  Braddock  in  the  back,  and  then  the  provincials,  righting  as  they  pleased,  were 
saved  from  utter  destruction. 

4  Dr.  Craik,  who  was  with  Washington  at  this  time,  and  also  attended  him  in  his  last  illness, 
says,  that  while  in  the  Ohio  country  with  him,  fifteen  }rears  afterward,  an  old  Indian  chief  came,  as 
he  said,  "  a  long  way"  to  see  the  Virginia  colonel  at  whom  he  fired  his  rifle  fifteen  times  during  the 
battle  on  the  Monongahela,  without  hitting  him.     Washington  was  never  wounded  in  battle.     On 
this  occasion  he  had  two  horses  shot  under  him,  and  four  bullets  passed  through  his  coat.    Writing 
of  this  to  his  brother,  he  remarked,  "By  the  all-powerful  dispensations  of  Providence,  I  have  been 
protected  beyond  all  human  probability  or  expectation,    *     *     *    although  death  was  leveling  my 
companions  on  every  side."  5  Note  1,  page  168.     See  picture  on  page  187. 


BURIAL  OF  BRADDOCK. 


1763.]  THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR.  189 

The  third  expedition,  under  Governor  Shirley,  designed  to  operate  against 
the  French  posts  at  Niagara  and  Frontenac,  experienced  less  disasters,  but  was 
quite  as  unsuccessful.  It  was  late  in  August  before  Shirley  had  collected  the 
main  body  of  his  troops  at  Oswego,  from  whence  he  intended  to  go  to  Niagara 
by  water.  His  force  was  twenty-five  hundred  strong  on  the  1st  of  September, 
yet  circumstances  compelled  him  to  hesitate.  The  prevalence  of  storms,  and 
of  sickness  in  his  camp,  arid,  finally,  the  desertion  of  the  greater  part  of  his 
Indian  allies,1  made  it  perilous  to  proceed,  and  he  relinquished  the  design. 
Leaving  sufficient  men  to  garrison  the  forts  which  he  had  commenced  at 
Oswego,8  he  marched  the  remainder  to  Albany  [Oct.  24],  and  returned  to 
Massachusetts. 

The  fourth  expedition,  under  General  Johnson,  prepared  for  attacking 
Crown  Point, 3  accomplished  more  than  that  of  Braddock4  or  Shirley,  but  failed 
to  achieve  its  main  object.  In  July  [1755],  about  six  thousand  troops, 
drawn  from  New  England,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey,  had  assembled  at  the 
head  of  boat  navigation  on  the  Hudson  (now  the  village  of  Fort  Edward),  fifty 
miles  north  of  Albany.  They  were  under  the  command  of  General  Lyman,5 
of  Connecticut ;  and  before  the  arrival  of  General  Johnson,  in  August,  with 
cannons  and  stores,  they  had  erected  a  strong  fortification,  which  was  afterward 
called  Fort  Edward.6  On  his  arrival,  Johnson  took  command,  and  with  the 
main  body  of  the  troops,  marched  to  the  head  of  Lake  George,  about  fifteen 
miles  distant,  where  he  established  a  camp,  protected  on  both  sides  by  an  im- 
passable swamp. 

While  the  provincial  troops  were  making  these  preparations,  General  the 
Baron  Dieskau  (a  French  officer  of  much  repute),  with  about  two  thousand 
men,  chiefly  Canadian  militia  and  Indians,  was  approaching  from  Montreal, 
by  way  of  Lake  Champlaio,  to  meet  the  English.7  When  Johnson  arrived  at 
Lake  George,  on  the  7th  of  September,  Indian  scouts  informed  him  that  Dies- 
kau was  disembarking  at  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain  (now  the  village  of 


1  Tribes  of  the  Six  NATIONS  [page  25],  and  some  Stockbrklge  Indian?.     The  latter  were  called 
Housntonics,  from  the  river  on  which  they  were  found.     They  were  a  division  of  the  Mohegan 
[page  21]  tribe. 

2  Fort  Ontario  on  the  east,  and  Fort  Pepperell  on  the  west  of  Oswego  River.     Fort  Pepperell 
was  afterward  called  Fort  Oswego.     See  map,  page  192.     The  house  was  built  of  stone,  and  the 
walls  were  three  feet  thick.     It  was  within  a  square  inclosure  composed  of  a  thick  wall,  and  two 
strong  square  towers. 

3  Upon  this  tongue  of  land  on  Lake  Champlain,  the  French  erected  a  fortification,  which  they 
called  Fort  St.  Frederick.     On  the  Vermont  side  of  the  lake,  opposite,  there  was  a  French  settle- 
ment as  early  as  17H1.     In  allusion  to  the  chimnies  of  their  houses,  which  rcmdned  long  after  the 
settlement  was  destroyed,  it  is  still  known  as  Chimney  Point. 

4  Page  185. 

5  Born  in  Durham,  Connecticut,  in  the  year  1710      Ho  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  and  be- 
came a  lawyer.     He  was  a  member  of  the  colonial  Assembly  in  1750,  and  performed  important 
services  during  the  whole  war  that  soon  afterward  ensued.     He  commanded  the  expedition  that 
captured  Havana  in  1762;  and  at  the  peace,  in  1763,  he  became  concerned  in  lands  in  the  Missis- 
sippi region.     He  died  in  Florida  in  1775. 

6  It  was  first  called  Fort  Lyman.     Johnson,  meanly  jealous  of  General  Lyman,  changed  the 
name  to  Fort  Edward. 

7  Dieskau  and  his  French  troops,  on  their  way  from  France,  narrowly  escaped  capture  by  Ad- 
miral Boscawon,  who  was  cruising,  with  an  English  fleet,  off  Newfoundland.     They  eluded  his  fleet 
during  a  fog,  and  went  in  safety  up  the  St.  Lawrence. 


190 


THE     COLONIES. 


[1756. 


FORT   EDWARD. 


Whitehall),  preparatory  to  marching  against  Fort  Edward.     The  next  scouts 
brought  Johnson  the  intelligence  that  Dieskairs  Indians, 
terrified  by  the   English   cannons  when  they  approached 
Fort  Edward,  had  induced  him  to  change  his  plans,  and 
that    he    was    marching   to    attack    his    camp.       Colonel 
Ephraim  Williams,  of  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  was  imme- 
diately sent  [Sept.  8],  with  a  thousand  troops  from  that 
colony,  and  two  hundred  Mohawks,1  under  the  famous  chief, 
Hendrick,  to  intercept  the  enemy.     They  met  in  a  narrow 
defile,  four  miles  from  Lake  George.     The  English  sud- 
denly fell  into  an  ambuscade.      Williams  and    Hendrick 
were  both  killed,2  and  their  followers  fell  back  in  great  con- 
fusion, upon  Johnson's  camp,  hotly  pursued  by  the  victors.     One  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts regiments,  which  fought  bravely  in  this  action,  was  commanded  by 
Timothy  Ruggles,  who  was  president  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress,8  held  at  New 
York  in  1765,  but  who,  when  the  Revolution  broke  out,  was  active  on  the  side 
of  the  Crown. 

The  commander-in-chief  was  assured  of  the  disaster  before  the  flying  fugi- 
tives made  their  appearance.  He  immediately  cast  up  a  breastwork  of  logs  and 
limbs,  placed  upon  it  two  cannons  which  he  had  received  from  Fort  Edward 
two  days  before,  and  when  the  enemy  came  rushing  on, 
close  upon  the  heels  of  the  English,  he  was  prepared  t'> 
receive  them.  The  fugitives  had  just  reached  Johnson  Y> 
camp  when  Dieskau  and  his  flushed  victors  appeared. 
Unsuspicious  of  heavy  guns  upon  so  rude  a  pile  as  John- 
son's battery  exhibited,  they  rushed  forward,  with  sword, 
pike,  and  tomahawk,  and  made  a  spirited  attack.  One 
volley  from  the  English  cannons  made  the  Indians  flee  in 
terror  to  the  shelter  of  the  deep  forests  around.  The  Ca- 
nadian militia  also  fled,  as  General  Lyman  and  a  body  of 
troops  approached  from  Fort  Edward ;  and,  finally,  the  French  troops,  after 
continuing  the  conflict  scver.il  hours,  and  losing  their  commander,4  withdrew, 
and  hastened  to  Crown  Point.  Their  baggage  was  captured  by  some  New 
Hampshire  troops  from  Fort  Edward,  and  the  defeat  was  complete. 

General  Johnson  erected  a  fortification  on  the  site  of  his  camp,  at  the  head 
of  the  lake,  and  called  it  Fort  William  Henry.  It  was  constructed  under  the 
direction  of  Richard  Gridley,  who  commanded  the  artillery  in  the  siege  of 
Louisburg,  ten  years  before.5  Being  informed  that  the  French  were  strength- 


SIR  AVILLIAM  JOIINSOX. 


1  Page  23. 

2  While  on  his  way  north,  "Williams  stopped  at  Albany,  made  his  will,  and  bequeathed  certain 
property  to  found  a  free  school  for  western  Massachusetts.     That  was  the  foundation  of  "  Williams' 
College" — his  best  monument.     The  rock  near  which  his  body  was  found,  on  the  right  side  of  the 
road  from  Glenn's  Falls  to  Lake  George,  still  bears  his  name  ;  and  a  collection  of  water  on  the  bat- 
tle-ground, is  called  Bloody  Pond.  3  Page  215. 

4  Dieskau  was  found  mortally  wounded,  carried  into  the  English  camp,  and  there  tenderly 
treated.  He  was  afterward  conveyed  to  Now  York,  from  whence  he  sailed  to  England,  where  he 
died.  5  Note  1,  page  137. 


1763.] 


THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR. 


191 


ening  their  works  at  Crown  Point,  and  were  fortifying  Ticonderoga,1  he  thought 

it  prudent  to  cease  offensive  operations.     He  garrisoned  Fort  Edward  and  Fort 

William  Henry,  returned  to  Albany,  and  as  the  season  was 

advanced  [October,  1755J,  he  dispersed  the  remainder  of  his 

troops.   For  his  services  in  this  campaign,  the  king  conferred 

the  honor  of  knighthood  upon  him,  and  gave  him  twenty-five 

thousand  dollars  with  which  to  support  the  dignity.     This 

honor  and  emolument  properly  belonged  to  General  Lyman, 

the  real  hero  of  the  campaign.2  Johnson  had  Sir  Peter  Warren 

and  other  friends  at  court,  and  so  won  the  unmerited  prize. 


FORT  WILLIAM 
HENRY. 


CAMPAIGN     OF     1756. 

The  home  governments  now  took  up  the  quarrel.     The  campaign  of  1755, 
having  assumed  all  the  essential  features  of  regular  war,  and  there  appearing 
no  prospect  of  reconciliation  of  the  belligerents,  England  formally  proclaimed 
hostilities  against  France,  on  the  17th  of  May,  1756,  and  the  latter  soon  after- 
ward  [June  9]    reciprocrated   the   action.       Governor 
Shirley,  who  had  become  commander-in  chief,  after  the 
death  of  Braddock,  was  superseded  by  General  Aber- 
crombie3  in  the  spring  of  1756.     He  came  as  the  lieu- 
tenant of  Lord  Loudon,  whom  the  king  had  appointed 
to  the  chief  command  in  America,  and  also  governor  of 
Virginia.     Loudon  was  an  indolent  man,  and  a  remark- 
"  able  procrastinater,  and  the  active  general-in-chief  was 
Abercrombie,    who,   also,  was  not  remarkable  for  his 
skill  and  forethought  as  a  commander.       He  arrived 
with  several  British  regiments  early   in  June.       The 

plan  of  the  campaign  for  that  year  had  already  been  arranged  by  a  convention 
of  colonial  governors  held  at  Albany  early  in  the  season.  Ten  thousand  men 
were  to  attack  Crown  Point;4  six  thousand  were  to  proceed  against  Niagara;6 
three  thousand  against  Fort  du  Quesne  ;G  and  two  thousand  were  to  cross  the 
country  from  the  Kennebec,  to  attack  the  French  settlements  on  the  Chaudiere 
River. 

The  command  of  the  expedition  against  Crown  Point  was  intrusted  to  Gen- 
eral Winslow,7  who  had  collected  seven  thousand  men  at  Albany,  when  Aber- 


1  Pago  196. 

2  Lyman  urged  Johnson  to  pursue  the  French,  and  assail  Crown  Point.     The  Mohawks  burned 
for  an  opportunity  to  avenge  the  death  of  Hendrick.     But  Johnson  preferred  ease  and  safety,  and 
spent  the  autumn  in  constructing  Fort  William  Henry.     He  meanly  withheld  all  praise  from  Ly- 
man, in  his  dispatches  to  government.     Johnson  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  1714.     He  carne  to  Amer- 
ica to  take  charge  of  the  lands  of  his  uncle,  Admiral  Warren  [page  137],  on  the  Mohawk  River, 
and  gained  great  influence  over  the  Indians  of  New  York.     He  died  at  his  seat  (now  the  village 
of  Johnstown)  in  the  Mohawk  valley,  in  1774. 

3  A  strong  party  in  England,  irritated  by  the  failures  of  the  campaign  of  1755,  cast  the  blame 
of  Braddock's  defeat  and  other  disasters,  upon  the  Americans,  and  finally  procured  the  recall  of 
Shirley.     He  completely  vindicated  his  character,  and  was  afterward  appointed  governor  of  the 
Bahama  Islands.  4  Page  200.  5  Page  200.  6  Page  186.  7  Page  185. 


192 


THE    COLONIES. 


[1756. 


crombie  arrived.  Difficulties  immediately  occurred,  respecting  military  rank, 
and  caused  delay.  They  were  not  adjusted  when  the  tardy  Loudon  arrived,  at 
midsummer  ;  and  his  arrogant  assumption  of  superior  rank  for  the  royal  officers, 
increased  the  irritation  and  discontent  of  the  provincial  troops.  When  these 
matters  were  finally  adjusted,  in  August,  the  French  had  gained  such  positive 
advantages,  that  the  whole  plan  of  the  campaign  was  disconcerted. 

Baron  Dieskau1  was  succeeded  by  the  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  in  the  com- 
mand of  the  French  troops  in  Canada.  Perceiving  the  delay  of  the  English, 
and  knowing  that  a  large  number  of  their  troops  was  at  Albany,  short  of  pro- 
visions, and  suffering  from  small -pox,  and  counting  wisely  upon  the  inefficiency 
of  their  commander-in-chief,  he  collected  about  five  thousand  Frenchmen,  Ca- 
nadians, and  Indians,  at  Frontenac,2  and  crossing  Lake  Ontario,  landed,  with 
thirty  pieces  of  cannon,  a  few  miles  east  of  Oswego.  Two  days  afterward,  he 
appeared  before  Fort  Ontario  [Aug.  11,  1756],  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
then  in  command  of  Colonel  Mercer.  After  a  short  but  brave  resistance,  the 
garrison  abandoned  the  fort  [Aug.  12],  and  withdrew  to  an  older  fortification, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river.3  Their  commander  was  killed,  and  they  were 
soon  obliged  to  surrender  themselves  [Aug.  14]  prisoners 
of  war.  The  spoils  of  victory  for  Montcalm,  were  four- 
teen hundred  prisoners,  a  large  amount  of  military  stores, 
consisting  of  small  arms,  ammunition,  and  provisions  ;  one 
hundred  and  thirty-four  pieces  of  cannon,  and  several  ves- 
sels, large  and  small,  in  the  harbor.  After  securing  them, 
he  demolished  the  forts,4  and  returned  to  Canada.  The 
whole  country  of  the  Six  NATIONS  was  now  laid  open  to 
the  incursions  of  the  French. 

The  loss  of  Oswego  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  English.  When  intelligence 
of  that  event  reached  Loudon,  he  recalled  the  troops  then  on  their  way  toward 
Lake  Champlain  ;  and  all  the  other  expeditions  were  abandoned.  Forts  Wil- 
liam Henry5  and  Edward0  were  strengthened  ;  fifteen  hundred  volunteers  and 
drafted  militia,  under  Washington,  were  placed  in  stockades7  for  the  defense  of 
the  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  frontiers ;  and  on  the  western  borders  of  the 
Carolinas  several  military  posts  were  established  as  a  protection  against  the 


FORTS   AT   OSWEGO. 


1  Page  189.  Q  Note  5,  page  180. 

3  A  palisaded  block-house,  built  by  order  of  Governor  Burnet  in 
1727,  near  the  spot  where  Fort  Pepperell  was  erected.     A  redoubt 
or  block-house  is  a  fortified  building,  of  peculiar  construction,  well  cal- 
culated for  defense.     They  were  generally  built  of  logs,  in  the  form 
represented  in  the  engraving.     They  were  usually  two  stories,  with 
narrow  openings  through  which  to  fire  muskets  from  within.     They 
were  sometimes  prepared  with  openings  for  cannons. 

4  This  was  to  please  the  Six  NATIONS,  who  had  never  felt  con- 
tented with  this  supporter  of  power  in  their  midst.     The  demolition 
of  these  forts,  induced  the  Indians  to  assume  an  attitude  of  neutrality, 
by  a  solemn  treaty. 

5  Page  191.    It  commanded  a  view  of  the  lake  from  its  head  to 
the  Narrows,  fifteen  miles. 

6  Page  190.     The  Hudson  is  divided  at  Fort  Edward,  into   two  channels,  by  Roger's  Island, 
upon  which  the  provincial  troops  out  of  the  fort,  usually  encamped.  7  Note  2,  page  183. 


BLOCK  HOUSE. 


1763.]  THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR.  193 

Cherokees1  and  Creeks,2  whom  French  emissaries  were  exciting  to  hostilities 
against  the  English.  Hitherto,  since  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  some  of 
the  colonial  Assemblies  had  been  slow  to  make  appropriations  for  the  support 
of  the  war.  Pennsylvania  and  South  Carolina,  actuated  by  different  motives, 
had  held  back,  but  now  the  former  made  an  appropriation  of  thirty  thousand 
pounds,  to  be  issued  in  paper,  and  the  latter  granted  four  thousand  pounds 
toward  enlisting  two  companies  for  the  public  service. 

The  most  important  achievement  of  the  provincials  during  that  year,  was 
the  chastisement  of  the  Indians  at  Kittaning,  their  chief  town,  situated  on  the 
Alleghany  River.  During  several  months  they  had  spread  terror  and  desola- 
tion along  the  western  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  and  almost  a 
thousand  white  people  had  been  murdered  or  carried  into  captivity.  These  acts 
aroused  the  people  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Dr.  Franklin  undertook  the  military 
command  of  the  frontier,  with  the  rank  of  colonel.  His  troops  were  voluntary 
militia.  Under  his  directions,  a  chain  of  forts  and  blockhouses  was  erected 
along  the  base  of  the  Kittaning  mountains,  from  the  Delaware  to  the  Maryland 
line.  Franklin  soon  perceived  that  he  was  not  in  his  right  place,  and  he 
abandoned  military  life  forever.  The  Indians  continuing  their  depredations, 
Colonel  John  Armstrong  of  Pennsylvania,3  accompanied  by  Captain  Mercer4  of 
Virginia,  with  about  three  hundred  men,  attacked  them  on  the  night  of  the  8th 
of  September  [1756],  killed  their  principal  chiefs,  destroyed  their  town,  and 
completely  humbled  them.  Thus  ended  the  campaign  of  1756.  The  French 
still  held  in  possession  almost  all  of  the  territory  in  dispute,  and  of  the  most 
important  of  their  military  posts.  They  had  also  expelled  the  English  from 
Oswego  and  Lake  George,  and  had  compelled  the  powerful  Six  NATIONS  to 
make  a  treaty  of  neutrality.  On  the  whole,  the  campaign  of  1756  closed  with 
advantages  on  the  part  of  the  French. 

CAMPAIGN     0  F     1757. 

A  military  council  was  held  at  Boston  on  the  19th  of  January,  1757,  when 
Lord  Loudon  proposed  to  confine  the  operations  of  that  year  to  an  expedition 
against  Louisburg,5  and  to  the  defense  of  the  frontiers.  Because  he  was  com- 
mander-in-chief,  wiser  and  better  men  acquiesced  in  his  plans,  but  deplored  his 
want  of  judgment  and  executive  force.  The  people  of  New  England,  in  par- 
ticular, were  greatly  disappointed  when  they  ascertained  that  the  execution  of 
their  favorite  scheme  of  driving  the  French  from  Lake  Champlain  was  to  be 
deferred.  However,  the  general  ardor  of  the  colonists  was  not  abated,  and  the 
call  for  troops  was  so  promptly  responded  to,  that  Loudon  found  himself  at  the 
head  of  six  thousand  provincials  on  the  first  of  June.  The  capture  of  Louis- 
burg  was  Loudon's  first  care.  He  sailed  from  New  York  on  the  20th  of  that 
month,  and  on  arriving  at  Halifax  ten  days  afterward  [June  30],  he  was  joined 


1  Page  27.  '  Page  30. 

3  He  was  a  general  in  the  war  for  Independence,  twenty  years  later.     See  note  1,  page  249. 

4  Page  269.  5  Page  137. 

13 


194 


THE     COLONIES. 


[1756. 


by  Admiral  Holborne,  with  a  powerful  naval  armament  and  five  thousand  land 
troops,  from  England.  They  were  about  to  proceed  to  Cape  Breton,1  when 
they  were  informed  that  six  thousand  troops  were  in  the  fortress  at  Louisburg,3 
and  that  a  French  fleet,  larger  than  Holborne' s,  was  lying  in  that  harbor. 
The  latter  had  arrived  and  taken  position  while  London  was  moving  slowly, 
with  his  characteristic  indecision.  The  enterprise  was  abandoned,  and  London 
returned  to  New  York  [Aug.  31],  to  hear  of  defeat  and  disgrace  on  the  north- 
ern frontier,  the  result  of  his  ignorance  and  utter  unskillfulness. 

Montcalm  had  again  borne  away  important  trophies  of  victory.  Toward 
the  close  of  July,  he  left  Ticonderoga  with  about  nine  thousand  men  (of  whom 
two  thousand  were  Indians),  and  proceeded  to  besiege  Fort  William  Henry,  at 
the  head  of  Lake  George.3  The  garrison  of  three  thousand  men  was  commanded 
by  Colonel  Monro,  a  brave  English  officer,  who  felt  strengthened  in  his  position 
by  the  close  proximity  of  his  chief,  General  Webb,  who  was  at  the  head  of  four 
thousand  troops  at  Fort  Edward,4  only  fifteen  miles  distant.  But  his  confidence 
in  his  commanding  general  was  sadly  misplaced.  When  Montcalm  demanded  a 
surrender  of  the  fort  and  garrison  [August  3,  1757],  Monro  boldly  refused,  and 
sent  an  express  to  General  Webb,  for  aid.  It  was  not  furnished.  For  six  days 
Montcalm  continued  the  siege,  and  expresses  were  sent  daily  to  Webb  for  rein- 
forcements, but  in  vain.  Even  when  General  Johnson, &  with  a  corps  of 
provincials  and  Putnam's  Rangers,0  had,  on  reluctant  permission,  marched 
several  miles  in  the  direction  of  the  beleaguered  fort,  Webb 
recalled  them,  and  sent  a  letter  to  Monro.  advising  him  to 
surrender.  That  letter  was  intercepted  by  Montcalm,7  and 
with  a  peremptory  demand  for  capitulation,  he  sent  it  to 
Monro.  Perceiving  further  resistance  to  be  useless,  Monro 
yielded.  Montcalm  was  so  pleased  with  the  bravery  dis- 
played by  the  garrison,  that  he  agreed  upon  very  honorable 
terms  of  surrender,  and  promised  the  troops  a  safe  escort  to 
Fort  Edward.  His  Indians,  expecting  blood  and  booty, 
were  enraged  by  the  merciful  terms,  arid  at  the  moment 
when  the  English  entered  the  forests  a  mile  from  Fort  Wil- 
liam Henry,  the  savages  fell  upon  them  with  great  fury, 
slaughtered  a  large  number,  plundered  their  baggage,  and 
pursued  them  to  within  cannon  shot  of  Fort  Edward. 
Montcalm  declared  his  inability  to  restrain  the  Indians,  and 
expressed  his  deep  sorrow.  The  fort  and  all  its  appendages  were  burned 
or  otherwise  destroyed.8  It  was  never  rebuilt ;  and  until  1854,  nothing  marked 

1  Note  5,  page  137.  "  Page  ]37.  3  Pago  191.  4  Page  190.  6  Page  190. 

6  Israel  Putnam,  afterward  a  major-general  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution.    tHe  now  held  the 
commission  of  major,  and  with  Major  Rogers  and  his  rangers,  performed  important  services  during 
the  whole  French  and  Indian  War. 

7  It  is  said  that  Montcalm  was  just  on  the  point  of  raising  the  siege  and  returning  to  Ticon- 
deroga, when  Webb's  cowardly  letter  fell  into  his  hands.     The  number  and  strength  of  Johnson's 
troops  had  been  greatly  exaggerated,  and  Montcalm  was  preparing  to  flee. 

"  Major  Putnam  visited  the  ruins  while  the  fires  were  yet  burning,  and  he  described  the  scene 
as  very  appalling.     The  bodies  of  murdered  Englishmen  were  scattered  in  every  direction,  some  of 


LAKE  GEORGE  AND 
VICINITY. 


1763.]  FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR.  195 

its  site  but  an  irregular  line  of  low  mounds  on  the  border  of  the  lake,  a  short 
distance  from  the  village  of  Caldwell.  Since  then  a  hotel  has  been  erected 
upon  the  spot,  for  the  accommodation  of  summer  tourists.  Thus  ended  the 
military  operations  of  the  inefficient  Earl  of  Loudon,  for  the  year  1757. 

The  position  of  affairs  in  America  now  alarmed  the  English  people.  The 
result  of  the  war,  thus  far,  was  humiliating  to  British  pride,  while  it  incited 
the  French  to  greater  efforts  in  the  maintenance  of  their  power  in  the  West. 
In  the  Anglo-American1  colonies  there  was  much  irritation.  Thoroughly 
imbued  with  democratic  ideas,  arid  knowing  their  competency,  unaided  by  royal 
troops,  to  assert  and  maintain  their  rights,  they  regarded  the  interferences  of 
the  home  government  as  clogs  upon  their  operations.  Some  of  the  royal  gov- 
ernors were  incompetent  and  rapacious,  and  all  wrere  marked  by  a  haughty 
deportment,  offensive  to  the  sturdy  democracy  of  the  colonists.  Their  demands 
for  men  and  money,  did  not  always  meet  with  cheerful  and  ample  responses ; 
and  the  arrogant  assumption  of  the  English  officers,  disgusted  the  commanders 
of  the  provincial  troops,  and  often  cooled  the  zeal  of  whole  battalions  of  brave 
Americans.  Untrammeled  by  the  orders,  exactions,  and  control  of  imperial 
power,  the  Americans  would  probably  have  settled  the  whole  matter  in  a  single 
campaign:  but  at  the  close  of  the  second  year  of  the  war  [1756]  the  result 
appeared  more  uncertain  and  remote  than  ever.  The  people  of  England  had 
perceived  this  clearly,  and  clamored  for  the  dismissal  of  the  weak  and  corrupt 
ministry  then  in  power.  The  popular  will  prevailed,  and  William  Pitt,  by  far 
the  ablest  statesman  England  had  yet  produced,  was  called  to  the  control  of 
public  affairs  in  June,  1757.  Energy  and  good  judgment  marked  every  move- 
ment of  his  administration,  especially  in  measures  for  prosecuting  the  war  in 
America.  Lord  Loudon  was  recalled,2  and  General  Abercrombie3  was  appointed 
to  succeed  him.  A  strong  naval  armament  was  prepared  and  placed  under  the 
command  of  Admiral  Boscawen ;  and  twelve  thousand  additional  English  troops 
were  allotted  to  the  service  in  America.4  Pitt  addressed  a  letter  to  the  several 
colonies,  asking  them  to  raise  and  clothe  twenty  thousand  men.  He  promised, 
in  the  name  of  Parliament,  to  furnish  arms,  tents,  and  provisions  for  them : 
and  also  to  reimburse  the  several  colonies  all  the  money  they  should  expend  in 
raising  and  clothing  the  levies.  These  liberal  pffers  had  a  magical  effect,  and 
an  excess  of  levies  soon  appeared.  New  England  alone  raised  fifteen  thousand 
men;5  New  York  furnished  almost  twenty-seven  hundred,  New  Jersey  one 

them  half  consumed  among  the  embers  of  the  conflagration.  Among  the  dead  were  more  than  one 
hundred  women,  many  of  whom  had  been  scalped  [note  4,  page  14]  by  the  Indians. 

1  This  is  the  title  given  to  Americans  who  are  of  English  descent.  Those  who  are  descendants 
of  the  Saxons  who  settled  in  England,  are  called  Anglo-Saxons. 

Pitt  gave  as  a  chief  reason  for  recalling  Loudon,  that  he  could  never  hear  from  him.  and  did 
not  know  what  he  was  about.  Loudon  was  always  arranging  great  plans,  but  executed  nothing. 
It  was  remarked  to  Dr.  Franklin,  when  he  made  inquiries  concerning  him,  tr.at  he  was  "like  St. 
George  on  the  signs — always  on  horseback,  but  never  rides  forward."  3  Page  191. 

Pitt  had  arranged  such  an  admirable  militia  system  for  home  defense,  that  a  large  number  of 
the  troops  of  the  standing  army  could  be  spared  for  foreign  service. 

Public  and  private  advances  during  1758,  in  Massachusetts  alone,  amounted  to  more  than  a 
million  of  dollars.  The  taxes  on  real  estate,  in  order  to  raise  money,  were  enormous ;  in  many 
instances  equal  to  two  thirds  of  the  income  of  the  tax-payers.  Yet  it  was  levied  by  their  own  repre- 
sentatives, and  they  did  not  murmur.  A  few  years  later,  an  almost  nominal  tax  in  the  form  of  duty 


196 


THE    COLONIES. 


[1756. 


thousand,  Pennsylvania  almost  three  thousand,  and  Virginia  over  two  thousand. 
Some  came  from  other  colonies.  Royal  American  troops  (as  they  were  called) 
organized  in  the  Carolinas,  were  ordered  to  the  North  ;  and  when  Abercrombie 
took  command  of  the  army  in  the  month  of  May,  1758,  he  found  fifty  thousand 
men  at  his  disposal ;  a  number  greater  than  the  whole  male  population  of  the 
French  dominions  in  America,  at  that  time.1 

CAMPAIGN     OF     1758. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  of  1758,  was  comprehensive.  Louisburg,2  Ticon- 
deroga,  and  Fort  du  Quesne,3  were  the  principal  points  of  operations  pecified  in 
it.  This  was  a  renewal  of  Shirley's  scheme,  and  ample 
preparations  were  made  to  carry  it  out.  The  first  blow 
was  directed  against  Louisburg.  Admiral  Boscawen 
arrived  at  Halifax  early  in  May,  with  about  forty  armed 
vessels  bearing  a  land  force  of  over  twelve  thousand  men, 
under  General  Amherst1  as  chief,  and  General  Wolfe5  as 
his  lieutenant.  They  left  Halifax  on  the  28th  of  May, 
and  on  the  8th  of  June,  the  troops  landed,  without  much 
opposition,  on  the  shore  of  Gabarus  Bay,  near  the  city 
of  Louisburg.6  The  French,  alarmed  by  this  demonstra- 
tion of  power,  almost  immediately  deserted  their  outposts, 

and  retired  within  the  town  and  fortress.  After  a  vigorous  resistance  of  almost 
fifty  days,  and  when  all  their  shipping  in  the  harbor  was  destroyed,  the  French 
surrendered  the  town  and  fort,  together  with  the  island  of  Cape  Breton  and 
that  of  St.  John  (now  Prince  Edward),  and  their  dependencies,  by  capitulation, 
on  the  26th  of  July,  1758.  The  spoils  of  victory  were  more  than  five  thousand 
prisoners,  and  a  large  quantity  of  munitions  of  war.  By  this  victory,  the 
English  became  masters  of  the  coast  almost  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
When  Louisburg  fell,  the  power  of  France  in  America  began  to  wane,  and  from 
that  time  its  decline  was  continual  and  rapid. 

Activity  now  prevailed  everywhere.*  While  Amherst 
and  Wolfe  were  conquering  in  the  East,  Abercrombie  and 
young  Howe  were  leading  seven  thousand  regulars,  nine 
thousand  provincials,  and  a  heavy  train  of  artillery, 
against  Ticonderoga,  then  occupied  by  Montcalm  with 
about  four  thousand  men.  Abercrombie's  army  had  ren- 
dezvoused at  the  head  of  Lake  George,  and  at  the  close 
of  a  calm  Sabbath  evening  [July,  1758]  they  went  down 
that  beautiful  sheet  of  water  in  flat-boats,  and  at  dawn 


LORD   AMHERST. 


TICOXDEROGA. 


upon  an  article  of  luxury,  levied  without  their  consent,  excited  the  people  of  that  colony  to  rebellion. 
See  page  1 69. 

1  The  total  number  of  inhabitants  in  Canada,  then  capable  of  bearing  arms,  did  not  exceed 
twenty  thousand.     Of  them,  between  four  and  five  thousand  were  regular  troops. 

2  Page  229.  3  Page  186. 

4  Lord  Jeffrey  Amherst  was  born  in  Kent,  England,  in  17]  7.  He  was  commander-in-chief  of 
the  army  in  England,  during  a  part  of  our  war  for  independence,  and  afterward  He  died  in  1797, 
aged  eighty  years.  6  Note  8,  page  200.  6  Note  5,  page  137. 


1763.] 


THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR. 


197 


LOUD    IIOWK. 


[July  6]  landed  at  its  northern  extremity.     The  whole 

country  from  there  to  Ticonderoga  was  then  covered 

with  a  dense  forest,  and  tangled  morasses  lay  in  the 

pathway  of  the   English  army.     Led  by  incompetent 

guides,  they  were  soon  bewildered,  and  while  in  this 

condition,  they  were  suddenly  attacked  by  a  French 

scouting  party.     The  enemy  was  repulsed,  but  the  vic- 
tory was  at  the  expense  of  the  life  of  Lord  Howe.1     He 

fell  at  the  head  of  the  advanced  guard,  and  a  greater 

part  of  the  troops,  who  considered  him  the  soul  of  the 

expedition,  retreated  in  confusion  to  the  landing-place. 

In  the  midst  of  the  temporary  confusion  incident  to  the  death  of  Howe, 

intelligence   reached  Abercrombie   that   a  reinforcement   for   Montcalm   was 

approaching.  Deceived  concern- 
ing the  strength  of  the  French 
lines  across  the  neck  of  the  pen- 
insula on  which  the  fortress  stood,2 
he  pressed  forward  to  the  attack 
without  his  artillery,  and  ordered 
his  troops  to  scale  the  breast- 
works [July  8],  in  the  face  of 
the  enemy's  fire.  These  proved 
much  stronger  than  he  antici- 
pated,3 and  after  a  bloody  con- 
flict of  four  hours,  Abercrombie 

RUINS  OF  TICONDEROGA.  r»  n    r       i  T     i        r^  i 

fell  back  to  Lake  George,  leav- 
ing almost  two  thousand  of  his  men  dead  or  wounded,  in  the  deep  forest.4  He 
hastened  to  his  former  camp  at  the  head  of  the  lake,  and  then,  on  the  urgent 
solicitation  of  Colonel  Bradstreet,  he  detached  three  thousand  men  under  that 
officer,  to  attack  the  French  post  at  Frontenac.5  They  went  by  way  of  Oswego 


1  Lord  Howe  was  brother  of  Admiral  Lord  Howe,  who  commanded  the  British  fleet  on  the 
American  coast,  in  1776-77,  and  of  Sir  William  Howe,  the  commander  of  the  land  forces.     Ho  was 
greatly  beloved  by  the  troops;  and  Mante,  who  was  in  the  service,  remarks:   "With  him  the  soul 
of  the  expedition  seemed  to  expire."     He  was  only  thirty-four  years  of  age  when  he  fell.     The 
legislature  of  Massachusetts  Bay  appropriated  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  a 
monument  to  his  memory,  in  Westminster  Abbey.     His  remains  were  conveyed  to  Albany  by 
Captain  (afterward  General)  Philip  Schuyler,  and  there  placed  in  a  vault  belonging  to  the  family 
of  that  officer.     They  were  afterward  removed  to  a  place  under  the  chancel  of  St.  Peter's  Church, 
on  State-street,  Albany,  where  they  remain.     At  the  time  of  their  removal,  it  was  (bund  that  Lord 
Howe's  hair,  which  was  very  short  when  he  was  killed,  had  grown  several  inches,  and  exhibited 
beautiful  smooth  and  glossy  locks. 

2  The  diagram  (p.  196)  shows  the  general  form  of  the  principal  works.     The  ground  on  which 
Ticonderoga  stood  is  about  one  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  lake.     Water  is  upon  three  sides, 
and  a  deep  morass  extends  almost  across  the  fourth,  forming  a  narrrow  neck,  where  the  French  had 
erected  a  strong  line  of  breastworks  with  batteries.     This  line  was  about  a  mile  north-west  of  the 
fortress,  which  occupied  the  point  of  the  peninsula.     The  ruins  of  the  fort,  delineated  in  the  above 
sketch,  are  yet  [1856]  quite  picturesque. 

8  The  breastworks  were  nine  feet  in  height,  covered  in  front  by  sharpened  branches  of  felled 
trees,  pointing  outward  like  a  mass  of  bayonets. 

4  Among  the  wounded  was  Captain  Charles  Lee,  afterward  a  general  in  the  army  of  the  Revo- 
lution. See  note  4,  page  248.  *  Pago  180. 


198  THE     COLONIES.  [1756. 

and  Lake  Ontario,  and  two  days  after  landing  [August  27,  1758],  they  cap- 
tured the  fort,  garrison,  and  shipping,  without  much  resistance.1  Bradstreet 
lost  only  three  or  four  men  in  the  conflict,  but  a  fearful  sickness  broke  out  in 
his  camp,  and  destroyed  about  five  hundred  of  them.  With  the  remainder,  he 
slowly  retraced  his  steps,  and  at  the  carrying-place  on  the  Mohawk,  where  the 
village  of  Rome  now  stands,  his  troops  assisted  in  building  Fort  Stanwix.2  Aber- 
crombie,  in  the  mean  while,  after  garrisoning  Fort  George,3  returned  with  the 
remainder  of  his  troops  to  Albany. 

The  expedition  against  Fort  du  Quesne,4  in  the  West,  was  commanded  by 
General  John  Forbes,  who,  in  July,  had  about  nine  thousand  men  at  his  dis- 
posal, at  Fort  Cumberland  and  Raystown,  including  the  Virginia  troops  under 
Colonel  Washington,  the  Carolina  Royal  Americans,  and  an  auxiliary  force  of 
Cherokee  Indians.  Protracted  sickness,  and  perversity  of  will  and  judgment 
on  the  part  of  Forbes,  caused  delays  almost  fatal  to  the  expedition.  Contrary 
to  the  advice  of  Washington,  he  insisted,  under  the  advice  of  some  Pennsylvania 
land  speculators,  in  constructing  a  new  road,  further  north,  over  the  mountains, 
instead  of  following  the  one  made  by  Braddock.  His  progress  was  so  slow/that 
in  September,  when  it  was  known  that  not  more  than  eight  hundred  men  were 
at  Fort  du  Quesne,5  Forbes,  with  six  thousand  troops,  was  yet  east  of  the  Al- 
leghanies.  Major  Grant,  at  the  head  of  a  scouting  party  of  Colonel  Boquet's 
advanced  corps,  was  attacked  [Sept.  21],  defeated,  and  made  prisoner.  Still 
Forbes  moved  slowly  and  methodically,  and  it  was  November  [Nov.  8]  before 
he  joined  Boquet  with  the  main  body,  fifty  miles  from  the  point  of  destination. 
The  approach  of  winter,  and  discontent  of  the  troops,  caused  a  council  of  war 
to  decide  upon  abandoning  the  enterprise,  when  three  prisoners  gave  informa- 
tion of  the  extreme  weakness  of  the  French  garrison.  Washington  was  imme- 
diately sent  forward,  and  the  whole  army  prepared  to  follow.  Indian  scouts 
discovered  the  Virginians  when  they  were  within  a  day's  march  of  the  fort, 
and  their  fear  greatly  magnified  the  number  of  the  provincials.  The  French 
garrison,  reduced  to  five  hundred  men,  set  fire  to  the  fort  [Nov.  24],  and  fled 
down  the  Ohio  in  boats,  in  great  confusion,  leaving  every  thing  behind  them. 
The  Virginians  took  possession  the  following  day.  Forbes  left  a  detachment 
of  four  hundred  and  fifty  men,  to  repair  and  garrison  the  fort,  and  then 
hastened  back  to  go  into  winter  quarters.  The  name  of  Fort  du  Quesne  was 
changed  to  Fort  Pitt,  in  honor  of  the  great  English  statesman.6 

1  They  made  eight  hundred  prisoner*?,  and  seized  nine  armed  vessels,  sixty  cannons,  sixteen 
mortars,  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition  and  stores,  and  goods  designed  for  traffic  with  the  Indians. 
Among  Bradstreet's  subalterns,  was  Nathaniel  Woodhull,  afterward  a  general  at  the  commencement  - 
of  the  war  for  Independence.     [See  note  3,  page  252.]     Stark,  "Ward,  Pomeroy,  Gridley,  Putnam, 
Schuyler,  and  many  others  who  were  distinguished  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  were  active  par- 
ticipants in  the  scenes  of  the  French  and  Indian  "War. 

2  Page  278. 

3  Fort  George  was  erected  about  a  mile  south-east  of  the  ruins  of  Fort  William  Henry,  at  tho 
head  of  Lake  George.     The  ruins  of  the  main  work,  or  citadel,  are  still  [1856]  quite  prominent. 

4  Page  186. 

6  The  capture  of  Fort  Frontenac  spread  alarm  among  the  French  west  of  that  important  post, 
because  their  supplies  from  Canada  were  cut  off.  It  so  affected  the  Indians  with  fear,  that  a  greater 
part  of  those  who  were  allied  to  the  French,  deserted  them,  and  Fort  du  Quesne  was  feebly  gar- 
risoned. 6  Page  195. 


1763.]  THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR.  199 

With  this  event,  closed  the  campaign  of  1758,  which  resulted  in  great  gain 
to  the  English.  They  had  effectually  humbled  the  French,  by  capturing  three 
of  their  most  important  posts,1  and  by  weakening  the  attachment  of  their 
Indian  allies.  Many  of  the  Indians  had  not  only  deserted  the  French,  but  at 
a  great  council  held  at  Easton,  on  the  Delaware,  during  the  summer  of  that  year 
they  had,  with  the  Six  NATIONS,2  made  treaties  of  friendship  or  neutrality 
with  the  English.3  The  right  arm  of  French  success  was  thus  paralyzed,  and 
peace  was  restored  to  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia. 

CAMPAIGN     OF     1759. 

Four  years  had  elapsed  since  the  commencement  of  this  inter-colonial  war. 
The  final  struggle  was  now  at  hand.  Encouraged  by  the  success  of  the  cam- 
paigns just  closed,  Pitt  conceived  the  magnificent  scheme  of  conquering  all 
Canada,  and  destroying,  at  one  blow,  the  French  dominion  in  America.  That 
dominion  was  now  confined  to  the  region  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  for  more  distant 
settlements  in  the  west  and  south,  were  like  weak  colonies  cut  off  from  the 
parent  country.  Pitt  had  the  rare  fortune  to  possess  the  entire  confidence  and 
esteem  of  the  Parliament  and  the  colonists.  The  former  was  dazzled  by  his 
greatness  ;  the  latter  were  deeply  impressed  with  his  justice.  He  had  promptly 
reimbursed  all  the  expenses  incurred  by  the  provincial  Assemblies  during  the 
campaign,4  amounting  to  almost  a  million  of  dollars,  and  they  as  promptly  sec- 
onded his  scheme  of  conquest,  which  had  been  communicated  to  them  under  an 
oath  of  secresy.  The  unsuccessful  Abercrombie5  was  succeeded  by  the  success- 
ful Amherst,6  and  early  in  the  spring  of  1759,  the  new  commander-in-chief 
found  twenty  thousand  provincial  troops  at  his  disposal.  A  competent  land  and 
naval  force  was  also  sent  from  England  to  co-operate  with  the  Americans,  and 
the  campaign  opened  with  brilliant  prospects  for  the  colonies.  The  general 
plan  of  operations  against  Canada  was  similar  to  that  of  Phipps  and  Winthrop 
in  1690. 7  A  strong  land  and  naval  force,  under  General  Wolfe,  was  to  ascend 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  attack  Quebec.  Another  force,  under  Amherst,  was  to 
drive  the  Frencli  from  Lake  Champlain,  seize  Montreal,  and  join  Wolfe  at 
Quebec  ;  and  a  third  expedition,  commanded  by  General  Prideaux,  was  to  cap- 
ture Fort  Niagara,  and  then  hasten  down  Lake  Ontario  to  Montreal. 

On  the  22d  of  July,  1759,  General  Amherst  appeared  before  Ticonderoga 
with  eleven  thousand  men.  The  French  commander  had  just  heard  of  the 
arrival  of  Wolfe  at  Quebec  [June  27],  and  offered  no  resistance.  The  garrison 
left  the  lines  on  the  23d  of  July,  and  retired  within  the  fort,  and  three  days 
afterward  [July  26]  they  abandoned  that  also,  partially  demolished  it,  and  fled 
to  Crown  Point.  Amherst  pursued  them,  and  on  his  approach,  they  took  to 
their  boats  [Aug.  1],  and  went  down  the  lake  to  Isle  Aux  Noix,8  in  the  Sorel 


1  .Louisburg,  Frontenac,  and  Du  Quesne.  Others,  except  Quebec,  were  stockades.  Note  2, 
page  183.  2  Page  25. 

3  The  chief  tribes  represented,  were  the  Delawares,  Shawnees,  Nanticokes,  Mohegans,  Conoys, 
and  Monseys.  The  T  wight  wees,  on  the  Ohio  [page  19],  had  always  remained  the  friends  of  the 
English.  4  Page  195.  6  Page  191. 

6  Page  196.  7  Page  131.  8  Pronounced  0  Noo-ati. 


200 


THE     COLONIES. 


[1756 


CROWN  POINT/ 


River.  Amherst  remained  at  Crown  Point  long  enough  to  construct  a  sufficient 
number  of  rude  boats  to  convey  his  troops,  artillery,  and  bag- 
gage, and  then  started  to  drive  his  enemy  before  him,  across  the 
St.  Lawrence.  It  was  now  mid-autumn  [Oct.  11],  and  heavy 
storms  compelled  him  to  return  to  Crown  Point,  and  place  his 
troops  in  winter  quarters.1  While  there,  they  constructed  that 
strong  fortress,  whose  picturesque  ruins,  after  the  lapse  of  almost 
a  hundred  years,  yet  [1856]  attest  its  strength. 
Accompanied  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  as  his  lieuten- 
ant, Prideaux  collected  his  forces  (chiefly  provincials)3 
at  Oswego,  and  sailed  from  thence  to  Niagara.  He 
landed  without  opposition,  on  the  17th  of  July,  and  im- 
mediately commenced  the  siege.  On  the  same  day  he 
was  killed,  by  the  bursting  of  a  gun,  and  was  succeeded 
in  command  by  General  Johnson.  The  beleaguered  gar- 
rison, in  daily  expectation  of  reinforcements  which  had 
been  ordered  from  the  southern  and  western  forts,  held 
out  bravely  for  three  weeks,  when,  on  the  24th  of  July, 
the  expected  troops  appeared.  They  were  almost  three  thousand  strong,  one 
half  being  French  regulars,  and  the  remainder  Indians,  many  of  them  from  the 
Creek4  and  Cherokee5  nations.  A  severe  conflict  ensued.  The  relief  forces 
were  completely  routed,  and  on  the  following  day  [July  25],  Fort  Niagara  and 
its  dependencies,  and  the  garrison  of  seven  hundred  men,  were  surrendered  to 
Johnson.  The  connecting  link  of  French  military  posts  between  Canada  and 
Louisiana0  was  effectually  broken,  never  again  to  be  united.  Encumbered  with 
his  prisoners,  and  unable  to  procure  a  sufficient  number  of  vessels  for  the  pur- 
pose, Johnson  could  not  proceed  to  Montreal,  to  co-operate. with  Amherst  and 
Wolfe  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  according  to  the  original  plan.7  He  garrisoned 
Fort  Niagara,  and  returned  home. 

O  ' 

Animated  with  high  hopes,  Wolfe9  left  Louisburg,   wTith  eight  thousand 
troops,  under  a  convoy  of  twenty-two  line-of-battle  ships,  and  as  many  frigates 


FORT   NIAGARA. 


1  While  at  Crown  Point,  Major  Rogers,  at  the  head  of  his  celebrated  Rangers,  went  on  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  St.  Francis  Indians,  who  had  long  been  a  terror  to  the  frontier  settlements  of 
New  England.     The  village  was  destroyed,  a  large  number  of  Indians  were  slain,  and  the  Rangers 
were  completely  victorious.     They  suffered  from  cold  and  hunger  while  on  their  return,  and  many 
were  left  dead  in  the  forest  before  the  party  reached  the  nearest  settlement  at  Bellows  Falls. 
Rogers  went  to  England  after  the  war,  returned  in  1775,  joined  the  British  army  at  New  York, 
and  soon  went  to  England  again,  where  he  died. 

2  The  above  diagram  shows  the  general  form  of  the  military  w^orks  at  Crown  Point.     These, 
like  the  ruins  at  Ticonderoga,  are  quite  picturesque  remains  of  the  past.   A  A  A  shows  the  position 
of  the  strong  stone  barracks,  portions  of  which  are  yet  standing.    W  shows  the  place  of  a  very  deep 
well,  dug  through  the  solid  rock.     It  was  filled  up,  and  so  remained  until  a  few  years  ago,  when 
some  money-diggers,  foolishly  believing  there  was  treasure  at  the  bottom,  cleaned  it  out.     They 
found  nothing  but  a  few  scraps  of  iron  and  other  rubbish. 

3  Johnson's  influence  over  the  Six  Nations,  made  many  of  them  disregard  the  treaty  of  neutral- 
ity made  with  Montcalm   [note  4,  page   192],  and  a  considerable  number  accompanied  him  to 
Niagara  4  Pago  30.  6  Page  27.  6  Page  180.  7  Page  199. 

8  James  "Wolfe  was  the  son  of  a  British  general,  and  was  born  in  Kent,  England,  in  17 2G.  Be- 
fore lie  was  twenty  years  of  age,  he  was  distinguished  in  battle.  Ho  was  now  only  thirty-three 
years  old. 


1763.] 


THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN"    WAR. 


201 


GENERAL    WOLFE. 


and  smaller  armed  vessels,  commanded  by  Admirals  Holmes  and  Saunders,  and, 

on  the  27th  of  June,  landed  upon  Orleans  Island,  a  few  miles  below  Quebec. 

That  city  then,  as  now,  consisted  of  an  Upper  and  Lower  Town,  the  former 

within  fortified  walls,  upon  the  top  and  declivities  of  a  high  peninsula ;  the 

latter  lying  upon  a  narrow  beach  at  the  edge  of  the 

water.     Upon  the  heights,  three  hundred  feet  above  the 

water,  was  a  level  plateau  called  the  Plains  of  Abra- 
ham.    At  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Charles,  which  here 

enters  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  French  had  moored  several 

floating  batteries.1     The  town  was  strongly  garrisoned 

by  French  regulars,  and  along  the  north  bank  of  the 

St.  Lawrence,  from  the  St.  Charles  to  the  Montmorenci 

River,  was  the  main  French  army,  under  Montcalm,2  in 

a  fortified  camp.     It  was  composed  chiefly  of  Canadian 

militia  and  Indians. 

On  the  30th  of  July,  the  English,  after  a  slight  skirmish,  took  possession 

of  Point  Levi,  opposite  Quebec,  and  throwing  hot  shot  from  a  battery,  they 

almost  destroyed  the  Lower  Town.  They  could  not  damage  the  strong  fortifi- 
cations of  the  city  from  that  distance, 
and  Wolfe  resolved  to  attack  the 
French  camp.  He  had  already  land- 
ed a  large  force,  under  Generals 
Townshend  and  Murray,  and  formed 
a  camp  [July  10,  1759],  below  the 
River  Montmorenci.  General  Monc!:- 
ton,  with  grenadiers3  and  other  troops, 
crossed  from  Point  Levi,  and  landed 

MILITARY   OPERATIONS   AT    QUEBEC.  upon  the  fondl    [July  31],  at  tllC  baS6 

of  the  high  river  bank,  just  above  that  stream.  Murray  and  Townshend  were 
ordered  to  force  a  passage  across  the  Montmorenci,  and  co-operate  with  him, 
but  Monckton  was  too  eager  for  attack  to  await  their  coming.  lie  unwisely 
rushed  forward,  but  was  soon  repulsed,  and  compelled  to  take  shelter  behind  a 
block-house1  near  the  beach,  just  as  a  heavy  thunder-storm,  which  had  been 
gathering  for  several  hours,  burst  upon  the  combatants.  Night  came  on  before 
it  ceased,  and  the  roar  of  the  rising  tide  warned  the  English  to  take  to  their 
boats.  Five  hundred  of  their  number  had  perished. 

Two  months  elapsed,  and  yet  the  English  had  gained  no  important  advan- 
tages.    Wolfe  had  received  no  intelligence  from  Amherst,  and  the  future  ap- 


1  These  were  a  kind  of  flat-boats,  with  proper  breastworks  or  other  defenses,  and  armed  with 
cannons. 

2  He  was  descended  from  a  noble  family.    He  was  appointed  governor  of  Canada  in  175G.     His 
remains  are  beneath  the  Ursuline  convent  at  Quebec. 

3  Grenadiers  are  companies  of  the  regular  army,  distinguished  from  the  rest  by  some  peculiarity 
of  dress  and  accoutrements,  and  always  composed  of  the  tallest  and  most  muscular  men  in  the  serv- 
ice.    They  are  generally  employed  in  bayonet  charges,  and  sometimes  carry  grenades,  a  kind  of 
small  bomb-shell.  4  Note  3,  page  192. 


202  THE     COLONIES.    .  [1756. 

peared  gloomy.  The  exposure,  fatigue,  and  anxiety  which  he  had  endured 
produced  a  violent  fever,  and  at  the  beginning  of  September  [1T59J,  he  lay 
prostrate  in  his  tent,  He  called  a  council  of  war  at  his  bedside,  and,  on  the 
suggestion  of  Townshend,  it  was  resolved  to  scale  the  heights  of  Abraham,1  and 
assail  the  town  on  its  weakest  side.  Wolfe  heartily  approved  of  the  design. 
A  plan  was  speedily  matured,  and  feeble  as  he  was,  the  commander-in-chief 
determined  to  lead  the  assault  in  person.  The  camp  at  the  Monimorenci  was 
broken  up  [Sept.  8],  and  the  attention  of  Montcalm  was  diverted  from  the  real 
designs  of  the  English,  by  seeming  preparations  to  again  attack  his  lines.  The 
aifair  was  managed  so  secretly  and  skillfully,  that  even  De  Bourgainville,  who 
had  been  sent  up  the  St.  Lawrence  by  Montcalm,  with  fifteen  hundred  men, 
to  watch  the  movements  of  the  English,  had  no  suspicion  of  their  designs. 

All  preparations  having  been  completed,  the  English  ascended  the  river,  in 
several  vessels  of  the  fleet,  on  the  evening  of  the  12th  of  September.  They 
went  several  miles  above  the  intended  landing-place.  Leaving  the  ships  at 
midnight,  they  embarked  in  flat  boats,  with  muffled  oars,  and  moved  silently 
down  to  the  mouth  of  a  ravine,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  city,  and  landed.2 
At  dawn  [Sept.  13],  Lieutenant- Colonel  Howe3  led  the  van  up  the  tangled 
ravine,  in  the  face  of  a  sharp  fire  from  a  guard  above.  He  was  followed  by  the 
generals  and  the  remainder  of  the  troops,  with  artillery ;  and  at  sunrise  the 
whole  army  stood  in  battle  array  upon  the  Plains  of  Abraham.  It  was  an 
apparition  little  anticipated  by  the  vigilant  Montcalm.  He 
perceived  the  peril  of  the  city ;  and  marching  his  whole  army 
immediately  from  his  encampment,  crossed  the  St.  Charles,  and 
between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  confronted  the 
English.  A  general,  fierce,  and  bloody  battle  now  ensued.  Al- 
though twice  severely  wounded,  Wolfe  kept  his  feet;  and  as 
the  two  armies  closed  upon  each  other,  he  placed  himself  at  the 
head  of  his  grenadiers,  and  led  them  to  a  charge.  At  that  mo- 
ment a  bullet  entered  his  breast.  He  was  carried  to  the  rear, 
and  a  few  moments  afterward,  Monckton,  wrho  took  the  com- 
mand, also  fell,  severely  wounded.  Townshend  continued  the 
battle.  Montcalm  soon  received  a  fatal  wound  ;4  and  the  French, 
terribly  pierced  by  English  bayonets,  and  smitten  by  Highland  broadswords, 
broke  and  fled.  Wolfe  died  just  as  the  battle  ended,  with  a  smile  upon  his  lips, 
because  his  ears  heard  the  victory-shouts  of  his  army.  Five  hundred  French- 


MOXTJMEXT  TO  WOLFE 
AND  MOXTCALM. 


1  The  declivity  from  Cape  Diamond,  on  which  the  chief  fortress  stands,  along  the  St.  Lawrence 
to  the  cove  below  Sillery.  was  called  by  the  general  name  of  the  Heights  of  Abraham,  the  plains  of 
that  name  being  on  the  top.  See  map  on  page  201. 

3  This  place  is  known  as  Wolfe's  Cove ;  and  the  ravine,  which  here  breaks  the  steepness  of  tlio 
rocky  shore,  and  up  which  the  English  clambered,  is  called  Wolfe's  Ravine. 

3  Afterward  General  Sir  William  Howe,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  English  forces  in  Amer- 
ica, when  the  Revolution  had  fairly  commenced.     Page  247. 

4  He  was  carried  into  the  city,  and  when  told  that  he  must  die,  he  said,  "So  much  the  better; 
I  shall  then  be  spared  the  mortification  of  seeing  the  surrender  of  Quebec."     His  remains  are  yet 
in  Quebec ;  those  of  Wolfe  were  conveyed  to  England.     People  of  the  two  nations  have  long  dwelt 
peaceably  together  in  that  ancient  city,  and  they  have  united  in  erecting  a  tall  granite  obelisk, 
dedicated  to  the  linked  memory  of  Wolfe  and  Montcalm. 


H63.]  THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR.  9Q3 

men  were  killed,  and  (including  the  wounded)  a  thousand  were  taken  prisoners. 
The  English  lost  six  hundred,  in  killed  and  wounded. 

General  Townshend  now  prepared  to  besiege  the  city.  Threatened  famine 
within  aided  him;  and  five  days  after  the  death  of  Wolfe  [Sept.  18,  1759], 
Quebec,  with  its  fortifications,  shipping,  stores,  and  people,  was  surrendered  to 
the  English,  and  five  thousand  troops,  under  General  Murray,  immediately  took 
possession.  The  fleet,  with  the  sick  and  the  French  prisoners,  sailed  for 
Halifax.  The  campaign  now  ended,  yet  Canada  was  not  conquered.  The 
French  yet  held  Montreal,  and  had  a  considerable  land  and  naval  force  above 
Quebec. 

CAMPAIGN     OF     1760. 

Notwithstanding  these  terrible  disasters,  the  French  were  not  dismayed, 
and  early  in  the  spring  of  1760,  Yaudreuil,  then  governor-general  of  Canada, 
sent  M.  Levi,  the  successor  of  Montcalm,  to  recover  Quebec.  He  went  down 
the  St.  Lawrence,  with  six  frigates  and  a  strong  land  force.  General  Murray 
marched  out,  and  met  him  at  Sillery,  about  three  miles  above  Quebec,  and 
there,  on  the  4th  of  April,  was  fought  one  of  the  most  sanguinary  battles  of  the 
war.  Murray  was  defeated.  He  lost  all  his  artillery,  and  about  a  thousand 
men,  but  succeeded  in  retreating  to  the  city  with  the  remainder.  Levi  now 
laid  siege  to  Quebec,  and  Murray's  condition  was  becoming  perilous,  from  the 
want  of  supplies,  when  an  English  squadron,  with  reinforcements  and  provisions, 
appeared  [May  9]  in  the  St.  Lawrence.  Levi  supposed  it  to  bo  the  wrhole 
British  fleet,  and  at  once  raised  the  siege  [May  10],  and  fled  to  Montreal,  after 
losing  most  of  his  shipping. 

Now  came  the  final  struggle.  The  last  stronghold  of  the  French  was  now 
to  be  assailed  ;  and  Vandreuil  gathered  all  his  forces  at  Montreal  for  the 
conflict.  Amherst  had  made  extensive  preparations  during  the  summer  ;  and 
early  in  September  [Sept.  6-7],  three  English  armies  met  before  the  doomed 
city.  Amherst,  at  the  head  of  ten  thousand  troops,  and  a  thousand  warriors 
of  the  Six  NATIONS,  under  General  Johnson,1  arrived  on  the  6th,  and  was 
joined,  the  same  day,  by  General  Murray,  and  four  thousand  troops,  from 
Quebec.  The  next  day,  Colonel  Haviland  arrived,  with  three  thousand  troops, 
from  Crown  Point,2  having  taken  possession  of  Isle  Aux-Noix3  on  the  way. 
Against  such  a  crushing  force,  resistance  would  be  vain ;  and  Yandreuil  im- 
mediately signed  a  capitulation  [Sept.  8,  1760],  surrendering  Montreal,  and 
all  other  French  posts  in  Canada,  into  the  hands  of  the  English.4  The  regular 
troops,  made  prisoners  at  Montreal,  were  to  be  sent  to  France ;  and  the  Cana- 
dians were  guarantied  perfect  security  in  person,  property,  and  religion.5 
General  Gage6  was  appointed  governor  at  Montreal ;  and  Murray,  with  four 
thousand  men,  garrisoned  Quebec. 

1  Page  190.  2  Page  198.  s  Note  8,  page  197. 

4  The  chief  posts  surrendered  were  Presque  Isle  (now  Erie,  Pennsylvania),  Detroit,  and  Mac- 
kinaw. 

5  They  were  chiefly  Roman  Catholics,  and  that  is  yet  the  prevailing  religion  in  Lower  Canada. 

6  Pages  186  and  226. 


204  THE     COLONIES.  [1756. 

The  conquest  of  Canada  produced  great  joy  in  the  Anglo-American 
colonies,1  and  in  none  was  it  more  intense  than  in  that  of  New  York, 
because  its  whole  northern  frontier  lay  exposed  to  the  enemy.  The  exultation 
was  very  great  in  New  England,  too,  for  its  eastern  frontiers  were  now  relieved 
from  the  terrible  scourge  of  Indian  warfare,  by  which  they  had  been  desolated 
six  times  within  a  little  more  than  eighty  years.  In  these  wars,  too,  the 
Indians  had  become  almost  annihilated.  The  subjugation  of  the  French  seemed 
to  be  a  guaranty  of  peace  in  the  future,  and  the  people  everywhere  assembled 
to  utter  public  thanksgiving  to  HIM  who  rules  the  nations. 

Although  the  war  had  ceased  in  America,  the  French  and  English  contin- 
ued it  upon  the  ocean,  and  among  the  West  India  Islands,  with  almost  con- 
tinual success  for  the  latter,  until  1763,  when  a  definitive  treaty  of  peace,2 
agreed  upon  the  year  before,  was  signed  at  Paris  [February  10,  1763],  by 
which  France  ceded  to  Great  Britain  all  her  claimed  possessions  in  America, 
eastward  of  the  Mississippi,  north  of  the  latitude  of  Iberville  River.3  At  the 
same  time,  Spain,  with  whom  the  English  had  been  at  war  for  a  year  previously, 
ceded  [February  10.  1763]  East  and  West  Florida  to  the  British  crown.  And 
now,  England  held  undisputed  possession  (except  by  the  Indians)  of  the  whole 
Continent,  from  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  frozen  North,  and  from 
ocean  to  ocean.4 

The  storm  of  war  still  lowered  in  the  southern  horizon,  when  the  French 
dominion  ceased  in  Canada,  While  the  English  were  crushing  the  Gallic  power 
in  the  north,  the  frontier  settlements  of  the  Carolinas  were  suffering  dreadfully 
from  frequent  incursions  of  Indian  war  parties.  French  emissaries  were  busy 
among  the  Cherokees,  hitherto  the  treaty  friends  of  the  English  ;  and  their 
influence,  and  some  wrongs  inflicted  upon  the  Indians  by  some  frontier  Virginia 
Rangers,  produced  hostilities,  and  a  fierce  war  was  kindled  in  March,  1760. 6 
The  whole  western  frontier  of  the  Carolinas  was  desolated  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks.  The  people  called  aloud  for  help,  and  Amherst  heeded  their  supplica- 
tions. Early  in  April,  Colonel  Montgomery,  with  some  British  regulars  and 
provincial  troops,  marched  from  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  laid  waste  a 
portion  of  the  Cherokee  country.0  Those  bold  aboriginal  highlanders  were  not 
subdued ;  but  when,  the  following  }rear,  Colonel  Grant  led  a  stronger  force 
against  them,7  burned  their  towns,  desolated  their  fields,  and  killed  many  of 
their  warriors,  they  humbly  sued  for  peace  [June,  1761],  and  ever  afterward 
remained  comparatively  quiet. 

The  storm  in  the  South  had  scarcely  ceased,  when  another,  more  porten- 
tous and  alarming,  gathered  in  the  North-west.  Pontiac,  a  sagacious  chief  of 


1  Note  1.  page  193.         2  Franco  and  England,  Spain  and  Portugal,  were  parties  to  this  treaty. 

3  New  Orleans,  and  the  whole  of  Louisiana,  was  ceded  by  France  to  Spain  at  the  same  time, 
and  she  relinquished  her  entire  possessions  in  North  America.     In  1800,  Spain,  by  a  secret  treaty, 
retroceded  Louisiana  to  France;  and  in  1803,  Napoleon  sold  it  to  the  United  States  for  fifteen  mil- 
lions of  dollars.     See  page  390. 

4  The  cost,  to  England,  of  this  Seven  Years'  War,  as  the  conflict  was  called  in  Europe,  was  five 
hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  dollars.  5  Page  27.  6  Page  27. 

7  Marion,  Moultrie,  and  several  other  men,  afterward  distinguished  in  the  war  for  Independ- 
ence, accompanied  Grant  on  this  occasion. 


1763.]  THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR.  205 

the  Ottawas,1  who  had  been  an  early  ally  of  the  French,  secretly  confederated 
several  of  the  ALGONQUIN  tribes,  in  1763,  for  the  purpose  of  expelling  the 
English  from  the  country  west  of  the  Alleghanies.2  After  the  fall  of  Montreal,3 
Pontiac  had  professed  an  attachment  to  the  English ;  and  as  there  seemed  safety 
for  settlers  west  of  the  mountains,  immigration  began  to  pour  its  living  stream 
over  those  barriers.  Like  Philip  of  Mount  Hope,4  Pontiac  saw,  in  the  future, 
visions  of  the  displacement,  perhaps  destruction,  of  his  race,  by  the  pale-faces ; 
and  he  determined  to  strike  a  blow  for  life  arid  country.  So  adroitly  were  his 
plans  matured,  that  the  commanders  of  the  western  forts  had  no  suspicions  of 
his  conspiracy  until  it  was  ripe,  and  the  first  blow  had  been  struck,  in  the 
month  of  June.  Within  a  fortnight,  all  the  posts  in  possession  of  the  English, 
west  of  Oswego,  fell  into  his  hands,  except  Niagara,5  Fort  Pitt,0  and  Detroit. 
Colonel  Bouquet  saved  Pittsburg;7  Niagara  was  not  attacked;  and  Detroit, 
after  sustaining  a  siege  of  almost  twelve  months,  wyas  relieved  by  Colonel  Brad- 
street,3  who  arrived  there  with  reinforcements,  in  May,  1764.  The  Indians 
were  now  speedily  subdued,  their  power  was  broken,  and  the  hostile  tribes  sent 
their  chiefs  to  ask  for  pardon  and  peace.  The  haughty  Pontiac  refused 
to  bow  to  the  w^hite  people,  and  took  refuge  in  the  country  of  the  Illinois, 
where  he  was  treacherously  murdered9  in  1769.  This  was  the  last  act  in  the 
dramaof  the  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR,10 

In  our  consideration  of  the  history  of  the  United  States,  we  have  now 
arrived  at  a  point  of  great  interest  and  importance.  We  have  traced  the  growth 
of  the  colonies  through  infancy  and  youth,  as  their  interests  and  destinies  gradu- 
ally commingled,  until  they  really  formed  one  people,11  strong  and  lusty,  like 


1  Page  18. 

2  The  confederation  consisted  of  the  Ottawas,  Miamies,  AYyandots,  Chippewas,  Pottawatomies. 
Mississaguies,  Shawnees,  Outagamies  or  Foxes,  and  Winnebagoes.     The  Senecas,  the  most  westerly 
elan  of  the  Six  NATIONS,  also  joined  in  the  conspiracy.  3  Page  203. 

4  Page  124.  6  Page  200.  c  Page  198. 

7  Henry  Bouquet  was  a  brave  English  officer.  He  was  appointed  lieutenant-colonel  in  1756, 
and  was  in  the  expedition  against  Fort  du  Quesno  (page  198).  In  17G.'5,  Amherst  sent  him  from 
Montreal,  with  provisions  and  military  stores  for  Fort  Pitt.  His  arrival  was  timely,  and  he  saved 
the  garrison  from  destruction.  The  following  year  he  commanded  an  expedition  against  the  Indians 
in  Ohio,  and  was  successful.  His  journal  was  published  after  the  war.  8  Page  198. 

0  An  English  trader  bribed  a  Peoria  Indian  to  murder  him,  for  which  he  gave  him  a  barrel  of 
rum.  The  plac-3  of  his  death  was  Cahokia,  a  small  village  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  a  little 
below  St.  Louis.  Pontiac  was  one  of  the  greatest  of  all  the  Indian  chiefs  known  to  the  white  peo- 
ple, and  deserved  a  better  fate.  It  is  said,  that  during  the  war  of  17G3,  he  appointed  a  commissary, 
and  issued  bills  of  credit.  So  highly  was  he  esteemed  by  the  French  inhabitants,  that  these  were 
received  by  them.  Montcalm  thought  much  of  him ;  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  Pontiac  was 
dressed  in  a  French  uniform,  presented  to  him  by  that  commander.  See  page  202.  Pontiac  was 
buried  where  the  city  of  St.  Louis  now  stands,  and  that  busy  mart  is  his  monument,  though  not  his 
memorial. 

10  The  work  most  accessible  to  the  general  reader,  in  which  the  details  of  colonial  events  may 
be  found,  is  Graham's  Colonial  History  of  the  United  States,  in  two  volumes  octavo,  published  by 
Blanchard  and  Lea,  Philadelphia. 

11  It  must  not  be  understood,  that  there  was  yet  a  perfect  unity  of  feeling  among  the  various 
colonists.     Sectional  interests  produced  sectional  jealousies,  and  these  worked  much  mischief,  even 
while  soldiers  from  almost  every  colony  were  fighting  shoulder  to  shoulder  [page  190]  in  the  conti- 
nental army.      Burnaby,  who  traveled  in  America  at  this  period,  expressed  the  opinion,  that 
sectional  jealousy  and  dissimilarity  would  prevent  a  permanent  union  ;  yet  he  avers  that  the  people 
were  imbued  with  ideas  of  independence,  and  that  it  was  frequently  remarked  among  them,  that 
*'  the  tide  of  dominion  was  running  westward,  and  that  America  was  destined  to  be  the  mistress  of 
the  world."     The  colonists  themselves  were  not  unmindful  of  the  importance  of  their  position,  and 


206  THE     COLONIES.  [1756. 

the  mature  man,  prepared  to  vindicate  natural  rights,  and  to  fashion  political  and 
social  systems  adapted  to  their  position  and  wants.  We  view  them  now,  con- 
scious of  their  physical  and  moral  strength,  possessing  clear  views  of  right  and 
justice,  and  prepared  to  demand  and  defend  both.  This  is  the  point  in  the 
progress  of  the  new  and  growing  nation  to  which  our  observation  is  now 
directed,  when  the  great  question  was  to  be  decided,  whether  independent  self- 
control  should  be  enjoyed,  or  continued  vassalage  to  an  ungenerous  parent 
should  be  endured.  Our  next  topic  will  be  the  events  connected  with  the 
settlement  of  that  question.  It  is  a  topic  of  highest  significance.  It  looms  up 
in  the  panorama  of  national  histories  like  some  giant  Alp,  far  above  its  fellows, 
isolated  in  grandeur,  yet  assimilated  in  sympathy  with  all  others. 


they  gave  freely  of  their  substance  to  carry  on  the  contest  for  the  mastery.  Probably,  the  "  Seven 
Years'  War''  cost  the  colonies,  in  the  aggregate,  full  twenty  millions  of  dollars,  besides  the  flower 
of  their  youth ;  and,  in  return,  Parliament  granted  them,  during  the  contest,  at  different  periods, 
about  five  millions  and  a  half  of  dollars.  Parliament  subsequently  voted  one  million  of  dollars  to 
the  colonies,  but,  on  account  of  the  troubles  arising  from  the  Stamp  Act  and  kindred  measures,  min- 
isters withheld  the  sum. 

The  following  is  a  list,  taken  from  official  records,  of  "The  grants  in  Parliament  for  Rewards, 
Encouragement,  and  Indemnification  to  the  Provinces  in  North  America,  for  their  Services  and  Ex- 
penses during  the  last  [seven  years']  War : 

"  On  the  3d  of  February,  175G,  as  a  free  gift  and  reward  to  the  colonies  of  New  England,  New 
York,  and  Jersey,  for  their  past  services,  and  as  an  encouragement  to  continue  to  exert  themselves 
with  vigor,  $575,000. 

"May  19th,  1757.  For  the  use  and  relief  of  the  provinces  of  North  and  South  Carolina,  and 
Virginia,  in  recompense  for  services  performed  and  to  be  performed,  $250,000. 

"June  1st,  1758.  To  reimburse  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  their  expenses  in  furnishing 
provisions  and  stores  to  the  troops  raised  by  them  in  1756,  $136,900.  To  reimburse  the  province 
of  Connecticut  their  expenses  for  ditto,  $68,680. 

"April  30th,  1759.  As  a  compensation  to  the  respective  colonies  for  the  expenses  of  clothing, 
pay  of  troops,  etc.,  $1,000,000. 

"March  31st,  1760.  For  the  same,  $1,000,000.  For  the  colony  of  New  York,  to  reimburse 
their  expenses  in  famishing  provisions  and  stores  to  the  troops  in  1756,  $14,885. 

"Jan.  20th,  1761.  As  a  compensation  to  the  respective  colonies  for  clothing,  pay  of  the  troops, 
etc.,  $1,000,000. 

"Jan.  26th,  1762.     Ditto,  $666,666. 

"March  15th,  1763.     Ditto,  $666,666. 

"April  22d,  1770.  To  reimburse  the  province  of  New  Hampshire  their  expenses  in  furnishing 
provisions  and  stores  to  the  troops  in  the  campaign  of  1756,  $30,045.  Total,  $5,408,842." 

In  a  pamphlet,  entitled  Rights  of  BRITAIN  and  Claims  of  AMERICA,  an  answer  to  the  Declara- 
tion of  the  Continental  Congress,  setting  forth  the  causes  and  the  necessity  of  their  taking  up  arms, 
printed  in  1776,  is  a  table  showing  the  annual  expenditures  of  the  British  government  in  support  of 
the  civil  and  military  powers  of  the  American  colonies',  from  the  accession  of  the  family  of  Hanover, 
in  1714,  until  1775.  The  expression  of  the  writer  is,  "Employed  in  the  defense  of  America."  This 
is  incorrect ;  for  the  wars  with  the  French  on  this  continent,  which  cost  the  greatest  amount  of 
money,  were  wars  for  conquest  and  territory,  though  ostensibly  for  the  defense  of  the  Anglo-Amer- 
ican colonies  against  the  encroachments  of  their  Gallic  neighbors.  During  the  period  alluded  to 
(sixty  years),  the  sums  granted  for  the  army  amounted  to  $43,899,625 ;  for  the  navy,  $50,000,000; 
money  laid  out  in  Indian  presents,  in  h6lding  Congresses,  and  purchasing  cessions  of  land. 
$30,500,000;  making  a  total  of  $123,899,625.  Within  that  period  the  following  bounties  on 
American  commodities  were  paid:  On  indigo,  $725,110;  on  hemp  and  flax,  $27,800;  on  naval 
stores  imported  into  Great  Britain  from  America,  $7,293,810;  making  the  total  sum  paid  on  ac- 
count of  bounties,  $8,047,320.  The  total  amount  of  money  expended  in  sixty  years  on  account  of 
America,  $131,946,945. 


PATRICK    HENRY    BEFORE    THE    VIRGINIA    ASSEMBLY. 


FIFTH    PERIOD. 


THE  REVOLUTION.     PRELIMINARY  EVENTS. 
1701 — 1775. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PRINCIPLES,  like  the  ultimate  particles  of 

JAMES  OTIS  matter,  and  the  laws  of  God,  arc  eternal,  inde- 

structible,    and    unchangeable.        They    have 

existed  in  the  moral  realm  of  our  world  since  the  advent  of  man ;  and  devious 
as  may  be  their  manifestations,  according  to  circumstances,  they  remain  the 
same,  inherently,  and  always  exhibit  the  same  tendencies.  When  God  gave  to 
man  an  intelligent  soul,  and  invested  him  with  the  prerogatives  of  moral  free 
agency,  then  was  born  that  instinctive  love  of  liberty  which,  through  all  past 
time,  has  manifested  itself  in  individuals  and  in  societies ;  and  in  every  age,  the 
consciences  of  men  have  boldly  and  indignantly  asked,  in  the  presence  of 
oppression, 

"  If  I'm  design'd  yon  lordling's  slave, 

By  Nature's  laws  designed ; 
Why  was  an  independent  wish 

E'er  planted  in  my  mind  ? 
If  not,  why  am  I  subject  to 

His  cruelty  or  scorn? 
Or  why  has  man  the  will  and  pow'r 

To  make  his  fellow  rnourn  ?" 1 

1  Burns. 


208  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1761. 

Nations,  like  men,  have  thus  spoken.  The  principles  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  and  the  inalienable  rights  of  man  which  they  involve,  were  recognized 
and  asserted  long  before  Columbus  left  Palos  for  the  New  World.1  Their 
maintenance  had  shaken  thrones  and  overturned  dynasties  before  Charles  the 
First  was  brought  to  the  block  ;-  and  they  had  lighted  the  torch  of  revolution  long 
before  the  trumpet- tones  of  James  Otis3  and  Patrick  Henry4  aroused  the  Anglo- 
Americans'  to  resist  British  aggression.  From  the  earliest  steps  in  the  progress 
of  the  American  colonies,  we  have  seen  the  democratic  theories  of  all  past  reform- 
ers developed  into  sturdy  democratic  practice ;  and  a  love  of  liberty  which  had 
germinated  beneath  the  heat  of  persecution  in  the  Old  World,  budded  and 
blossomed  all  over  the  New,  wherever  English  hearts  beat,  or  English  tongues 
gave  utterance.  Nor  did  English  hearts  alone  cherish  the  precious  seedling, 
nor  English  tongues  alone  utter  the  noble  doctrines  of  popular  sovereignty  ;  but 
in  the  homes  of  all  in  this  beautiful  land,  whatever  country  gave  the  inmates 
birth,  there  was  a  shrine  of  freedom,  and  a  refuge  for  the  oppressed.  Here 
king-craft  and  priest-craft  never  had  an  abiding-place,  and  their  ministers  were 
always  weak  in  the  majestic  presence  of  the  popular  will. 

Upon  the  bleak  shores  of  Massachusetts  Bay ;  upon  the  banks  of  the  Hud- 
son, the  Delaware,  the  Potomac,  and  the  James;  and  amid  the  pine-forests  or 
beneath  the  palmettos  of  the  Carolinas,  and  the  further  South,  the  colonists, 
from  the  very  beginning,  had  evinced  an  impatience  of  arbitrary  rule ;  and 
every  manifestation  of  undue  control  by  local  magistrates  or  distant  monarchs — 
every  eifort  to  abridge  their  liberties  or  absorb  their  gains,  stimulated  the 
growth  of  democratic  principles.  These  permeated  the  whole  social  and  politi- 
cal life  in  America,  and  finally  evolved  from  the  crude  materials  of  royal 
charters,  religious  covenants,  and  popular  axioms,  that  galaxy  of  representative 
governments  which,  having  the  justice  of  the  English  Constitution,  the  truth 
of  Christian  ethics,  and  the  wisdom  of  past  experience  for  their  foundation, 
were  united  in  "the  fullness  of  time,"  in  that  symmetrical  combination  of  free 
institutions  known  as  the  REPUBLIC  or  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

It  is  a  common  error  to  regard  the  Revolution  which  attended  the  birth  of 
this  Republic,  as  an  isolated  episode  in  the  history  of  nations,  having  its  causes 
in  events  immediately  preceding  the  convulsion.  It  was  not  the  violent  result 
of  recent  discontents,  but  the  culmination  of  a  long  series  of  causes  tending  to 
such  a  climax.  The  parliamentary  enactments  which  kindled  the  rebellion  in 
1775,  were  not  oppressive  measures  entirely  novel.  They  had  their  counter- 
parts in  the  British  statute  books,  even  as  early  as  the  restoration  of  monarchy 
[1660J6  a  hundred  years  before,  when  navigation  laws,7  intended  to  crush  the 
growing  commerce  of  the  colonies  were  enacted.  They  were  only  re-assertions 
of  tyrannical  legislative  power  and  royal  prerogatives,  to  which  the  colonies,  in 
the  weakness  of  their  infancy  and  early  youth,  were  compelled  to  submit.  Now 
they  had  grown  to  maturity,  and  dared  to  insist  upon  receiving  exact  justice. 


Page  39.  2  Note  3,  pa-o  108.  3  Page  212.  4  Note  1,  page  214. 

Note  1,  page  193.  6  Page  109.  T  Note  4,  page  109. 


1775.]  PRELIMINARY    EVENTS.  209 

They  had  recently  emerged  from  an  exhausting  war,  which,  instead  of  weaken- 
ing them,  had  taught  them  their  real  moral,  political,  and  physical  strength. 
They  had  also  learned  the  important  lesson  of  power  in  union,  and  profited  by 
its  teachings.  Having  acquired  a  mastery  over  the  savages  of  the  wilderness. 
and  assisted  in  breaking  the  French  power  on  their  frontiers,  into  atoms. *  they 
felt  their  manhood  stirring  within  them,  and  they  tacitly  agreed  no  longer  to 
submit  to  the  narrow  and  oppressive  policy  of  Great  Britain.  Their  industry 
and  commerce  were  too  expansive  to  be  confined  within  the  narrow  limits  of 
those  restrictions  which  the  Board  of  Trade,2  from  time  to  time,  had  imposed, 
and  they  determined  to  regard  them  as  mere  ropes  of  sand.  For  long  and 
gloomy  years  they  had  struggled  up,  unaided  and  alone,  from  feebleness  to 
strength.  They  had  built  fortifications,  raised  armies,  and  fought  battles,  for 
England's  glory  and  their  own  preservation,  without  England's  aid,  and  often 
without  her  sympathy. 3  And  it  was  not  until  the  growing  importance  of  the 
French  settlements  excited  the  jealousy  of  Great  Britain,  that  her  ministers 
perceived  the  expediency  of  justice  and  liberality  toward  her  colonies,  in  order 
to  secure  their  loyalty  and  efficient  co-oporation.4  Compelled  to  be  self-reliant 
from  the  beginning,  the  colonists  were  made  strong  by  the  mother's  neglect ; 
and  when  to  that  neglect  she  added  oppression  and  scorn,  they  felt  justified  in 
using  their  developed  strength  in  defense  of  their  rights. 

The  colonists  had  grown  strong,  not  only  in  material  prosperity,  percep- 
tions of  inalienable  rights,  and  a  will  to  be  free,  but  in  many  things  in  which 
the  strength  and  beauty  of  a  State  consist,  they  exhibited  all  the  most  prom- 
inent developments  of  a  great  nation.  A  love  for  the  fine  arts  had  been  grow- 
ing apace  for  many  years;  and  when  the  Revolution  broke  out.  West3  and 
Copley,8  natives  of  America,  were  wearing,  in  Europe,  the  laurel-crowns  of 
Hupreme  excellence  as  painters.  Literature  and  science  were  beginning  to  be 
highly  appreciated,  and  the  six  colonial  colleges7  were  full  of  students.  God- 
frey, the  glazier,  who  invented  the  quadrant,  had  nourished  and  passed  away;8 


1  Page  203.  "  Note  5,  page  134. 

3  Georgia,  alono,  received  parliamentary  aid  [page  100],  in  the  establishment  of  settlements.  In 
all  the  other  colonies,  where  vast  sums  were  expended  in  fitting  out  expeditions,  purchasing  the 
soil  of  tho  Indians,  and  sustaining  the  settlers,  neither  the  crown  nor  parliament  ever  contributed 
a  farthing  of  pecuniary  aid.  The  settling  of  Massachusetts  alone,  cost  a  million  of  dollars.  Lord 
Baltimore  spent  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  colonizing  Maryland ;  and  William  Penn  became 
deeply  involved  in  debt,  in  his  efforts  to  settle  and  improve  Pennsylvania.  4  Page  197. 

6  Benjamin  "West  was  born   in  Chester  county,   Pennsylvania,  in    1738.     His  parents  were 
Quakers.     Ho  commenced  art-life   as  a  portrait-painter,  when  wealthy  men  furnished  him  with 
means  to  go  to  Italy.     He  soon  triumphed,  went  to  England,  was  patronized  by  the  king,  and 
became  the  most  eminent  historical  painter  of  his  age.     He  died  in  London  in  1820,  in  the  eighty- 
second  year  of  his  age. 

_6  John  Singleton  Copley  was  also  born  in  1738,  in  tho  city  of  Boston.  Ho  became  a  pupil  of 
Smibert  [note  8,  page  158],  and  became  an  eminent  portrait-painter.  His  family  relations  identified 
him  with  the  Royalists  at  the  commencement  of  tho  Revolution,  and  he  went  to  England  to  seek 
employment,  where  he  was  patronized  by  "West.  There  he  painted  two  memorable  pictures ;.  one 
for  the  House  of  Lords,  the  other  for  the  House  of  Commons.  These  established  his  fame,  and  led  to 
fortune  His  son  became  lord  chancellor  of  England,  and  was  made  a  peer,  with  the  title  of  Lord 
Lyndhurst.  Copley  died  in  England,  in  1815,  at  the  age  of  seven tv-seven  years. 

7  Page  178. 

8  Thomas  Godfrey  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  born  in   1704.      He  was  the  real 
inventor  of  the  quadrant  known  as  Hadley's.     See  Lossing's  Eminent  Americans. 

13 


210 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


[1761. 


Bartram,  the  farmer,  had  become  "American  Botanist  to  his  Majesty;"1 
Franklin,  the  printer,  was  known,  wherever  civilization  had  planted  her  ban- 
ners, as  the  lightning-tamer  and  profound  moral  philosopher ;  and  Rittenhouse, 
the  clock-maker,  had  calculated  and  observed  the  transit  of  Venus,  and  con- 


structed  that  Planetarium  which  is  yet  a  wonder  in  the  world  of  mechanism.3 
Theology  and  the  legal  profession,  had  taken  high  ground.  Edwards3  had 
written  his  great  work  on  The  Freedom  of  the  Will,  and  was  among  the 
dead ;  and  already  Otis,4  Henry,6  Dickenson,6  Rutledge,7  and  other  lawyers, 
had  made  their  brilliant  marks,  and  were  prepared  to  engage  in  the  great  strug- 
gle at  hand.  All  classes  of  men  had  noble  representatives  in  the  colonies,  when 
the  conflict  commenced. 

There  was  no  cause  for  complaint  on  the  part  of  the  colonists,  of  the  willful 
exercise  of  tyrannical  power,  for  purposes  of  oppression,  by  Great  Britain. 

1  Sec  Lossinc,'s  Eminent  Americans. 

2  David  Rittenhouse  was  born  in  Roxborough,  Pennsylvania,  in  1732.     As  he  exhibited  great 
mechanical  genius,  his  father  apprenticed  him  to  a  clock-maker,  and  he  became  one  of  the  most 
eminent  mechanicians  and  mathematicians  of  his  time.     He  discovered  that  remarkable  feature  in 
algebraic  analysis,  called  fluxions,  and  applied  it  to  the  mechanic  arts.     Ho  constructed  a  machine 
which  represented  the  motions  of  the  solar  system.     That  Planetarium  is  now  in  the  possession  of 
the  College  of  New  Jersey,  at  Princeton.     Rittenhouse  succeeded  Franklin  as  president  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society.     He  died  in  1798,  at  the  ago  of  sixty-four  years. 

3  Jonathan  Edwards  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  American  divines.     He  was  born  in  East 
Windsor,  Connecticut,  in  1703,  and  died  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  while  president  of  the  college, 
.in  1758.  4  Page  212.  6  Page  214.  u  Page  219.  7  Page  310. 


1775.] 


PRELIMINARY    EVENTS. 


211 


There  was  no  motive  for  such  a  course.  But  they  reasonably  complained  of 
an  unjust  and  illiberal  policy,  which  accomplished  all  the  purposes  of  absolute 
tyranny.  The  rod  of  iron  was  often  covered  with  velvet,  and  was  wielded  as 
often  by  ignorant,  rather  than  by  wicked,  hands.  Yet  the  ignorant  hand,  with 


the  concealed  rod.  smote  as  lustily  and  offensively,  as  if  it  had  been  a  wicked 
one,  and  the  rod  bare.  The  first  form  of  governmental  and  proprietary  oppres- 
sion1 was  in  the  appointment  of  local  rulers.  The  people  were  not  represented 
in  the  appointing  power.  Then  came  commercial  restrictions,2  prohibitions  to 
manufacture,3  imposts  upon  exchanges/  and  direct  taxation,  by  enactments  of 
parliament,  in  which  the  colonists  were  not  represented.  At  the  beginning, 
they  had  asserted,  and  during  their  whole  progress  they  had  maintained,  that 
important  political  maxim,  that  TAXATION  without  REPRESENTATION,  is  tyranny. 
This  was  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  their  political  creed — this  was  the  test  of 
all  parliamentary  measures — this  was  the  strong  rock  upon  which  the  patriots 
of  the  Revolution  anchored  their  faith  and  hope. 

When  the  French  and  Indian  War  was   closed    by  the  treaty  of  Paris, 


1  Three  forms  of  government  had  existed,  namely,  charter,  proprietary,  and  royal.     The  New 
England  governments  were  based  upon  royal  charters ;  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and 
the  Carolinas,  were  owned  and  governed  by  individuals  or  companies,  and  the  remainder  were 
immediately  subject  to  the  crown.     Notwithstanding  this  diversity  in  the  source  of  government,  the 
anti-monarchical  spirit  pervaded  the  people  of  all,  from  the  beginning,  and  gave  birth  to  popular 
legislative  assemblies. 

2  Note  3,  page  177.  3  Pages  177  and  178.  4  Pago  178. 


212  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1761. 

in  1763,  the  colonists  looked  forward  to  long  years  of  prosperity  and 
repose.  A  young  monarch,1  virtuous  and  of  upright  intentions,  had  been 
recently  [1761]  seated  upon  the  British  throne.  Having  confidence  in  his 
integrity,  and  having  lately  felt  the  justice  of  the  government,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Pitt,-  they  were  disposed  to  forget  past  grievances;  and  being  identified 
with  the  glory  of  England,  now  become  one  of  the  first  powers  on  the  earth, 
they  were  fond  of  their  connection.  But  tho  serenity  of  the  political  sky  soon 
disappeared,  and  it  was  not  long  before  violent  tempests  were  raging  there. 
Even  before  the  treaty  at  Paris,  a  cloud  had  arisen  which  portended  future 
trouble.  The  war  had  exhausted  the  British  treasury,3  and  ministers  devised 
various  schemes  for  replenishing  it.  They  had  observed  the  resources  of  the 
colonists,  as  manifested  by  their  efforts  during  the  recent  struggle,4  and  as  they 
were  relieved  from  further  hostilities  by  the  subjugation  of  Canada5  [1759], 
the  government  looked  to  them  for  aid.  Instead  of  asking  it  as  a  favor,  it  was 
demanded  as  a  right ;  instead  of  inviting  the  colonial  Assemblies  to  levy  taxes 
and  make  appropriations,  government  assumed  the  right  to  tax  their  expanding 
commerce ;  and  then  commencod  a  vigorous  enforcement  of  existing  revenue 
laws,  which  had  hitherto  been  only  nominally  oppressive.6 

One  of  the  first  acts  which  revealed  the  intentions  of  Parliament  to  tax  the 
colonies  by  enforcing  the  revenue  laws,  was  the  authorization,  in  1761,  of 
Writs  of  Assistance.  These  were  general  search-warrants,  which  not  only 
allowed  the  king's  officers  who  held  them,  to  break  open  any  citizen's  store  or 
dwelling,  to  search  for  and  seize  foreign  merchandise,  on  which  a  duty  had  not 
been  paid,  but  compelled  sheriffs  and  others  to  assist  in  the  work.  The  people 
could  not  brook  such  a  system  of  potty  oppression.  The  sanctities  of  private 
life  might  be  invaded,  at  any  time,  by  hirelings,  and  the  assertion,  based  upon 
the  guaranties  of  the  British  Constitution,  that  "  every  Englishman's  house  is 
his  castle,"  would  not  be  true.  These  writs  were  first  issued  in  Massachusetts, 
and  immediately  great  excitement  prevailed.  Their  legality  was  questioned,  and 
the  matter  was  brought  before  a  court  held  in  the  old  town  hall  in  Boston. 
The  advocate  for  tho  Crown  (Mr.  Gridlcy)  argued,  that  as  Parliament  was  the 
supreme  legislature  for  the  whole  British  nation,  and  had  authorized  these 
writs,  no  subject  had  a  right  to  complain.  He  was  answered  by  James  Otis,7  . 

1  George  the  Third.     He  was  crowned  in  17G1,  at  the  age  of  twent}r  years.     He  reigned  almost 
sixty  years,  and  died  in  1820.  2  Page  195.  3  Note  4.  page  204. 

4  French  and  Indian  War.  '  5  Page  204. 

6  Commercial  restrictions  were  imposed  upon  the  colonies  as  early  as  1G51  [note  4,  page  109]. 
In  1660,  1672,  1676,  1691,  and  1692,  attempts  were  made  by  parliament  to  derive  a  revenue  by  a 
tariff-tax  at  ion  upon  the  colonies.     In  1696  a  proposition  was  made  to  levy  a  direct  tax  upon  the 
colonies.     Then,  not  only  in  Britain,  but  in  America,  the  power  of  parliament  (wherein  the  colonists 
were  not  represented),  to  tax  those  colonies,  was  strenuously  denied. 

7  James  Otis  was  born  in  Barnstable,  Massachusetts,  in  1725,  and  became  the  leader  of  the 
Kevolutioriary  party  in  that  province,  at  the  beginning.     He  was  wounded  by  a  blow  from  a  cudgel, 
in  the  hands  of  a  British  official  in  1769,  and  never  fairly  recovered.     For  years  he  was  afflicted 
with  occasional  lunacy,  and  presented  but  a  wreck  of  the  orator  and  scholar.     The  following  anec- 
dote is  related  of  Mr.  Otis,  as  illustrative  of  his  ready  use  of  Latin,  even  during  moments  of  mental 
aberration.     Men  arid  boys,  heartless  or  thoughtless,  would  sometimes  make  themselves  merry  at 


his  expense,  when  he  was  seen  in  the  streets  afflicted  with  lunacy.     On  one  occasion  he  was  ^ 
ing  a  crockery  store,  when  a  young  man,  who  had  a  knowledge  of  Latin,  sprinkled  some  water 


1775.]  PRELIMINARY    EVENTS.  213 

the  younger,  then  advocate-general  of  the  province.  On  that  occasion,  the 
intense  fire  of  his  patriotism  beamed  forth  with  inexpressible  brilliancy,  and  his 
eloquence  was  like  lightning,  far-felt  and  consuming.  On  that  day  the  trumpet 
of  the  Revolution  was  sounded.  John  Adams  afterward  said.  '  •  The  seeds  of 
patriots  and  heroes  were  then  and  there  sown  ;';and  when  the  orator  exclaimed, 
u  To  my  dying  day  I  will  oppose,  with  all  the  power  and  faculties  God  has  given 
me,  all  such  instruments  of  sHvery  on  one  hand,  and  villany  on  the  other,"  the 
independence  of  the  colonies  was  proclaimed.1  From  that  day  began  the  triumphs 
of  the  popular  will.  Very  few  writs  were  issued,  and  these  were  ineffectual. 

Young  King  Georgo  unwisely  turned  his  back  upon  Pitt,2  and  listened  to 
the  councils  of  Bute,3  an  unprincipled  Scotch  adventurer,  who  had  been  his 
tutor.  Disastrous  consequences  ensued.  Weak  and  corrupt  men  controlled 
his  cabinet,  and  the  pliant  Parliament  approved  of  illiberal  and  unjust  measures 
toward  the  colonists.  The  Sugar  bill,4  which  had  produced  a  great  deal  of  ill- 
feeling  in  the  colonies,  was  re-enacted ;  and  at  the  same  time,  George  Grenville, 
then  prime  minister,  proposed  ''certain  stamp  duties  on  the  colonies."  The 
subject  was  left  open  for  consideration  almost  a  year,  when,  in  the  spring  of 
1765,  in  defiance  of  the  universal  opposition  of  the  Americans,  the  famous 
Stamp  Act,  which  declared  that  no  legal  instrument  of  wrriting  should  be  valid, 
unless  it  bore  a  government  stamp,  became  a  law.5  ISTow  was  executed,  without 
hesitation,  a  measure  which  no  former  ministry  had  possessed  courage  or  reck- 
lessness enough  to  attempt.8 


upon  him  from  a  sprinkling-pot  with  which  he  was  wetting  the  floor  of  the  second  story,  at  the  same 
time  saying,  Pluit  tanium,  nescio  quantum.  Scis  ne  hi?  "It  rains  so  much,  I  know  not  how  much. 
Do  you  know?"  Otis  immediately  picked  up  a  missile,  and,  hurling  it  through  the  window  of  the 
crockery  store,  it  smashing  everything  in  its  way,  exclaimed,  Fregi  tot,  nescio  quot.  Scis  ne  tit? 
"I  havo  broken  so  many,  I  know  not  how  many.  Do  you  know?"  Mr.  Otis,  according  to  his 
expressed  desire,  was  killed  by  lightning  in  1782.  See  portrait  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 

1  Later  than  this  [1768],  Otis  wrote  to  a  friend  in  London,  and  said:   "Our  fathers  were  a  good 
people ;  wo  have  been  a,  fret  people,  and  if  you  will  not  let  us  remain  so  any  longer,  we  shall  be  a 
great  people,  and  the  present  measures  can  have  no  tendency  but  to  hasten  with  great  rapidity, 
events  which  every  good  and  honest  man  would  wish  delayed  for  ages."     He  evidently  alluded  to 
the  future  independence  of  the  colonies. 

2  Pitt,  disgusted  by  the  ignorance  and  assurance  of  Bute  and  the  misplaced  confidence  of  the 
king,  resigned  his  office,  and  retired  to  his  country  seat  at  Hayes.     The  king  esteemed  him  highly, 
but  was  to'j  much  controlled  by  Bute  to  follow  his  own  inclinations.     It  was  not  long,  however, 
beibi-e  public  affairs  became  so  complicated,  that  the  king  was  compelled  to  call  upon  the  great 
commoner  to  untangle  them. 

3  Bute  was  a  gay  Scotch  earl,  poor  and  proud.     lie  became  a  favorite  with  the  mother  of  George 
.the  Third,  was  appointed  his  tutor,  and  acquired  such  influence  over  the  mind  of  the  prince,  that  on 
his  accession  to  the  throne,  ho  made  him  his  chief  minister  and  adviser.     The  English  people  were 
much  inc3used ;  and  the  unwise  measures  of  the  early  years  of  George's  reign,  were  properly  laid 
to  the  charge  of  Bute.     A  placard  was  put  up  in  London,  with  the  words,  "No  Scotch  minister — 
110  petticoat  government."     The  last  clause  referred  to  the  influence  of  the  queen  mother. 

4  A  bill  which  imposed  a  duty  upon  sugar,  coffee,  indigo,  &c.,  imported  into  the  colonies  from 
the  West  Indies. 

The  stamps  -were  upon  blue  paper,  in  the  form  seen  in  the  engraving  on  page  213,  and  were 
to  ba  attached  to  every  piece  of  paper  or  parchment,  on  which  a  legal  instrument  was  written. 
For  these  stamps  government  charged  specific  prices:  for  example,  for  a  common  property  deed, 
one  shilling  and  sixpence;  for  a  diploma  or  certificate  of  a  college  degree,  two  pounds,  &c.,  &c. 
6  During  Robert  "Walpole's  administration  [1732],  a  stamp  duty  was  proposed.     He  said,  "I 


214 


THE     REVOLUTION. 


[1761. 


The  colonists  had  watched  with  anxiety  the  growth  of  this  new  germ  of 
oppression ;  and  the  intelligence  of  the  passage  of  the  Act  produced  general 
and  intense  indignation  in  America.  The  hearts  of  the  people  were  yet  thrilled 
by  the  eloquent  denunciations  of  Otis ;  and  soon  Patrick  Henry  sent  forth  a 


response  equally  eloquent  from  the  heaving  bosom  of  the  Virginia  Assembly.1 
The  people,  in  cities  and  villages,  gathered  in  excited  groups,  and  boldly 
expressed  their  indignation.  The  pulpit  denounced  the  wicked  scheme,  and 

1  Patrick  Henry  was  a  very  Boanerges  at  the  opening  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  born  in 
Hanover  County,  Virginia,  in  1786.  In  youth  and  manhood  he  was  exceedingly  indolent  and  dull. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  his  eloquence  suddenly  beamed  forth  in  a  speech  in  court,  in  his  native 
county,  and  he  soon  became  a  leading  man  in  Virginia.  He  was  elected  the  first  Republican  gov- 
ernor of  his  State,  in  177G,  and  held  that  office  again  in  1784.  He  died  in  1799,  at  the  age  of 
almost  sixty-three  years.  At  the  time  alluded  to  in  the  text,  Henry  introduced  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions, highly  tinctured  with  rebellious  doctrines.  He  asserted  the  general  rights  of  all  the  colonies; 
then  the  exclusive  right  of  the  Virginia  Assembly  to  tax  the  people  of  that  province,  and  boldly 
declared  that  the  people  were  not  bound  to  obey  any  law  relative  to  taxation,  which  did  not  pro- 
ceed from  their  representatives.  The  last  resolution  declared  that  whoever  should  dissent  from  the 
doctrines  inculcated  in  the  others,  should  be  considered  an  "enemy  of  the  colonies."  The  introduc- 
tion of  these  resolutions  produced  great  excitement  and  alarm.  Henry  supported  them  with  all  the 
power  of  his  wonderful  eloquence.  Some  rose  from  their  seats,  and  others  sat  in  breathless  silence. 
At  length,  when  alluding  to  tyrants,  he  exclaimed,  "  Caesar  had  his  Brutus,  Charles  the  First  his 
Cromwell,  and  George  the  Third" — there  was  a  cry  of  "  Treason !  Treason !"  He  paused  a  moment, 
and  said — "may  profit  by  their  example.  If  that  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it."  [See  picture 
at  the  head  of  this  chapter.]  A  part  of  his  resolutions  were  adopted,  and  these  formed  the  first 
gauntlet  of  defiance  cast  at  the  feet  of  the  British  monarch.  Their  power  was  felt  throughout  the 
land. 


1775.] 


PRELIMINARY    EVENTS. 


215 


A   STAMP. 


associations  of  Sons  of  Liberty1  in  every  colony  put  forth  their  energies  in 
defense  of  popular  freedom.  The  press,  then  assuming  great  power,  spoke  out 
like  an  oracle  of  Truth.  In  several  cities  popular  excite- 
ment created  mobs,  and  violence  ensued.  The  Stamps 
were  seized  on  their  arrival,  and  secreted  or  burned. 
Stamp  distributors"  were  insulted  and  despised ;  and  on 
the  first  of  November,  1765,  when  the  law  was  to  take 
effect,  there  were  no  officials  courageous  enough  to 
enforce  it. 

The  people  did  not  confine  their  opposition  to  expres- 
sions at  indignation  meetings,  and  acts  of  violence-  The 
public  sentiment  took  a  more  dignified  form,  and  assumed 
an  aspect  of  nationality.  There  was  a  prevailing  desire 
for  a  general  Congress,  and  several  colonies,  in  the  midst  of  the  great  excite- 
ment, appointed  delegates  for  that  purpose.  They  met  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  on  the  7th  of  October,  17G5,3  continued  in  session  fourteen  days,  and  in 
three  well-written  documents,4  they  ably  set  forth  the  grievances  and  the  rights 
of  the  colonists,  and  petitioned  the  king  and  parliament  for  a  redress  of  the 
former,  and  acknowledgment  of  the  latter.  The  proceedings  of  this  Second 
Colonial  Congress*  were  applauded  by  all  the  provincial  Assemblies,  and  the 
people  of  America  were  as  firmly  united  in  heart  and  purpose  then,  as  they 
were  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  more  than  ten  years  later. 

At  length  the  momentous  day — the  first  of  November — arrived.  It  was 
observed  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  mourning.  Funeral  processions  paraded  the 
streets  of  cities,  and  bells  tolled  funeral  knells.  The  colors  of  sailing  vessels 
were  placed  at  half-mast,  and  the  newspapers  exhibited  the  black-line  tokens 
of  public  grief.  The  courts  were  now  closed,  legal  marriages  ceased,  ships 
remained  in  port,  and  for  some  time  all  business  was  suspended.  But  the  lull 
in  the  storm  was  of  brief  duration.  The  people  were  only  gathering  strength 
for  more  vigorous  achievements  in  defense  of  their  rights.  The  Sons  of  Lib- 
erty put  forth  new  efforts ;  mobs  began  to  assail  the  residences  of  officials,  and 
burn  distinguished  royalists,  in  effigy.0  Merchants  entered  into  agreements 


1  These  associations  were  composed  of  popular  leaders  and  others,  who  leagued  with  the 
avowed  determination  to  resist  oppression  to  the  uttermost.  After  their  organization  in  the  differ- 
ent colonies,  they  formed  a  sort  of  national  league,  and  by  continual  correspondence,  aided  effectu- 
ally in  preparing  the  way  for  the  Revolution. 

Men  appointed  by  the  crown  to  sell  the  government  stamps,  or  stamped  paper. 

3  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  South 
Carolina,  were  represented.     The  Assemblies  of  those  not  represented,  declared  their  readiness  to 
agree  to  whatever  measures  the  Congress  might  adopt.     Timothy  Ruggles,  of  Massachusetts  (who 
afterward  commanded  a  corps  of  Tories)  [note  4,  page  224],  presided. 

4  A  Declaration  of  Rights,  written  by  John  Cruger,  of  New  York ;  a  Memorial  to  loth  Houses  of 
Parliament,  by  Robert  R.  Livingston,  of  New  York ;  and  a  Petition  to  the  king,  by  James  Otis,  of 
Massachusetts.  B  Page  183. 

Public  indignation  is  thus  sometimes  manifested.  A  figure  of  a  man  intended  to  represent 
the  obnoxious  individual,  is  paraded,  and  then  hung  upon  a  scaffold,  or  burned  at  a  stake,  as  an 
intimation  of  the  deserved  fate  of  the  person  thus  represented.  It  was  a  common  practice  in  En- 
gland at  the  time  in  question,  and  has  been  often  done  in  our  own  country  since.  Nowhere  was 
popular  indignation  so  warmly  manifested  as  in  New  York.  Cadwallader  Colden,  a  venerable 
Scotchman  of  eighty  years,  was  acting-governor  of  New  York.  He  refused  to  deliver  up  the 


216 


THE     REVOLUTION. 


[1761. 


not  to  import  goods  from  Great  Britain  while  the  obnoxious  Act  remained  a  law  ; 
and  domestic  manufactures  were  commenced  in  almost  every  family.1  The 
wealthiest  vied  with  the  middling  classes  in  economy,  and  wore  clothing  of 
their  own  manufacture.  That  wool  might  not  become  scarce,  the  use  of  sheep 


flesh  for  food,  was  discouraged.  Soon,  from  all  classes  in  America,  there  went 
to  the  ears  of  the  British  ministry,  a  respectful  but  firm  protest.  It  was 
seconded  by  the  merchants  and  manufacturers  of  London,  whose  American 
trade  was  prostrated,2  and  the  voice,  thus  made  potential,  was  heard  and  heeded 
in  high  places. 

stamped  paper  on  the  demand  of  the  people,  when  they  proceeded  to  hang  him  in  effigy,  near  the 
spot  where  Leisler  was  executed  [page  148]  seventy-five  years  before.  They  also  burned  his  fine 
coach  in  front  of  the  fort,  near  the  present  Bowling  Green,  and  upon  the  smoking  pile  they  cast  his 
effigy  Colden  was  a  man  of  great  scientific  attainments.  He  wrote  a  History  of  the  Five  Nations 
[page  23],  and  was  in  constant  correspondence  with  some  of  the  most  eminent  philosophers  and 
scholars  of  Europe.  A  life  of  Colden,  from  the  pen  of  John  W.  Francis,  M.D.,  L.LD.,  may  be  found 
in  the  Amtrican  Medical  and  Philosophical  Register,  1811.  He  died  in  September.  1776. 

1  The  newspapers  of  the  day  contain  many  laudatory  notices  of  the  conformity  of  wealthy 
people  to  these  agreements.     On  one  occasion,  forty  or  fifty  young  ladies,   who  called  themselves 
"Daughters  of  Liberty,"  met  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Morehead,  in  Boston,  with  their  spinning- 
wheels,  and  spun  two  hundred  and  thirty-two  skeins  of  yarn,  during  the  day,  and  presented  them 
to  the  pastor.      It  is  said  "there  were  upward  of  one  hundred  spinners  in  Mr.  Morehead's  Society." 
"Within  eighteen  months."  wrote  a  gentleman  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  "four  hundred  and  eighty-seven 
yards  of  cloth,  and  thirty-six  pairs  of  stockings,  have  been  spun  and  knit  in  the  family  of  James 
Nixon,  of  this  town." 

2  Half  a  million  of  dollars  were  due  them  by  the  colonists,  at  that  time,  not  a  dime  of  which 
could  be  collected  under  the  existing  state  of  things. 


PRELIMINARY     EVENTS.  217 

While  these  events  were  in  progress,  Grenvillc  had  been  succeeded  in  office 
by  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham,  a  friend  of  the  colonies,  and  an  enlightened 
statesman.  William  Pitt,1  who  had  been  called  from  his  retirement  by  the 
voice  of  the  people,  hoping  much  from  the  new  ministry,  appeared  in  Parlia- 
ment, and  was  there  the  earnest  champion  of  the  Amer- 
icans. Justice  and  expediency  demanded  a  repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act,  and  early  in  January,  1766,  a  bill  for  that 
purpose  was  introduced  into  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
was  warmly  supported  by  Pitt,  Colonel  Banv,  and  others. 
Then  Edmund  Burke  first  appeared  as  the  champion  of 
right;  and  during  the  stormy  debates  on  the  subject, 
which .  ensued,  he  achieved  some  of  those  earliest  and 
most  wonderful  triumphs  of  oratory,  which  established  his 

,  ,    -1.  ,          . .  i     •>        mi  WILLIAM  PITT. 

rame,  and  endeared  mm  to  trie  American  people."     Ine 

obnoxious  act  was  repealed  on  the  18th  of  March,  1766,  when  London  ware- 
houses were  illuminated,  and  flags  decorated  the  shipping  in  the  Thames.  In 
America,  public  thanksgivings,  bonfires,  and  illuminations,  attested  the  general 
joy ;  and  Pitt,3  who  had  boldly  declared  his  conviction  that  Parliament  had  no 
right  to  tax  the  colonies  without  their  consent,4  was  lauded  as  a  political  Mes- 
siah. Non-importation  associations  were  dissolved,  business  was  resumed,  and  the 
Americans  confidently  expected  justice  from  the  mother  country,  and  a  speedy 
reconciliation.  Alas  !  the  scene  soon  changed. 

Another  storm  soon  began  to  lower.  Pitt,  himself  tenacious  of  British 
honor,  and  doubtful  of  the  passage  of  the  Repeal  Bill  without  some  concessions, 
had  appended  to  it  an  act,  which  declared  that  Parliament  possessed  the  power 
"  to  bind  the  colonies,  in  all  cases  whatsoever/'  The  egg  of  tyranny  which 
lay  concealed  in  this  "  declaratory  act,"  as  it  was  called,  was  not  perceived  by 
the  colonists,  while  their  eyes  were  filled  with  tears  of  joy  ;  but  when  calm  re- 
flection came,  they  saw  clearly  that  germ  of  future  oppressions,  and  were 
uneasy.  They  perceived  the  Repeal  Bill  to  be  only  a  truce  in  the  war  upon 
freedom  in  America,  and  they  watched  every  movement  of  the  government 
party  with  suspicion.  Within  a  few  months  afterward,  a  brood  of  obnoxious 
measures  were  hatched  from  that  Q'r<*,  and  aroused  the  fiercest  indignation  of 

oo?  o 

the  colonists. 

The  American  people,  conscious  of  rectitude,  wore  neither  slow  nor  cautious 


1  Not3  2,  page  213. 

2  Edmund  Burke  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  1730.     He  became  a  lawyer,  and  was  a  very  popular 
writer,  as  well  as  a  speaker.     He  was  in  public  office  about  thirty  years,  and  died  in  1797. 

3  William  Pitt  was  born  in  England  in  1708,  and  held  many  high  offices  of  trust  and  emolu- 
ment.    Daring  an  exciting  debate  in  Parliament,  on  American  affairs,  in  the  spring  of  1778,  ho 
swooned,  and  died  within  a  month  afterward. 

4  "Taxation,"  said  Pitt,  "is  no  part  of  the  governing  or  legislative  power.     Taxes  are  the  vol- 
untary gift  or  grant  of  the  commons  nlone."     "I  rejoice."  lie  said,  "that  America  has  resisted. 
Three  millions  of  people,  so  dead  to  all  the  feelings  of  liberty,  as  voluntarily  to  become  slaves,  would 
have  bean  fit  instruments  to  make  slaves  of  the  rest."     And  Colonel  Barry  declared  that  the  colon- 
ists were  planted  by  English  oppression,  grew  by  neglect,  and  in  all  the  essential  elements  of  a  free 
people,  were  perfectly  independent  of  Great  Britain.    lie  then  warned  the  government  to  act  justly, 
or  the  colonies  would  be  lost  to  Great  Britain  forever. 


218  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1761. 

in  exhibiting  their  indignation,  and  this  boldness  irritated  their  oppressors.  A 
large  portion  of  the  House  of  Lords/  the  whole  bench  of  bishops,2  and  many  of 
the  Commons,  were  favorable  to  coercive  measures  toward  the  Americans.  Not 
doubting  the  power  of  Parliament  to  tax  them,  they  prevailed  on  the  ministry 
to  adopt  new  schemes  for  replenishing  the  exhausted  treasury3  from  the  coffers 
of  the  colonists,  and  urged  the  justice  of  employing  arms,  if  necessary,  to  en- 
force obedience.  Troops  were  accordingly  sent  to  America,  in  June,  1766  ; 
and  a  Mutiny  Act  was  passed,  which  provided  for  their  partial  subsistence  by 
the  colonies.4  The  appearance  of  these  troops  in  New  York,  and  the  order  for 
the  people  to  feed  and  shelter  the  avowed  instruments  of  their  own  enslavement, 
produced  violent  outbreaks  in  that  city,  and  burning  indignation  all  over  the 
land.  The  Assembly  of  New  York  at  once  arrayed  itself  against  the  govern- 
ment, and  refused  compliance  with  the  demands  of  the  obnoxious  act. 

In  the  midst  of  the  darkness,  light  seemed  to  dawn  upon  the  Americans. 
Early  in  the  month  of  July,  Pitt  was  called  to  the  head  of  the  British  ministry, 
and  on  the  30th  of  that  month,  he  was  created  Earl  of  Chatham.  He  opposed 
the  new  measures  as  unwise  and  unjust,  and  the  colonists  hoped  for  reconcilia- 
tion and  repose.  But  Pitt  could  not  always  prevent  mischief.  During  his 
absence  from  Parliament,  on  account  of  sickness,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer (Charles  Townshend)  coalesced  with  Greriville  in  bringing  new  tax- 
ation schemes  before  that  body.5  A  bill  was  passed  in  June,  1767,  for  levying 
duties  upon  tea,  glass,  paper,  painters'  colors,  etc.,  which  should  be  imported 
into  the  colonies.  Another  was  passed,  in  July,  for  establishing  a  Board  of 
Trade  in  the  colonies,  independent  of  colonial  legislation,  and  for  creating  resi- 
dent commissioners  of  customs  to  enforce  the  revenue  laws.0  Then  another,  a 
few  days  later,  which  forbade  the  New  York  Assembly  to  perform  any  legisla- 
tive act  whatever,  until  it  should  comply  with  the  requisitions  of  the  Mutiny 
Act.  These  taxation  schemes,  and  blows  at  popular  liberty,  produced  excite- 
ment throughout  the  colonies,  almost  as  violent  as  those  on  account  of  the 
Stamp  Act.7  The  colonial  Assemblies  boldly  protested ;  new  non-importation 
associations  were  formed ;  pamphlets  and  newspapers  were  filled  with  inflam- 
matory appeals  to  the  people,  defining  their  rights,  and  urging  them  to  a  united 
resistance  ;8  and  early  in  1768,  almost  every  colonial  Assembly  had  boldly  ex- 

1  Every  peer  in  the  British  realm  is  a  legislator  by  virtue  of  his  title ;  and  when  they  are  assem- 
bled for  legislative  duties,  they  constitute  the  House  of  Lords,  or  upper  branch  of  the  legislature, 
answering,  in  some  degree,  to  our  Senate. 

2  Two  archbishops,  and  twenty-four  bishops  of  England  and  Wales,  have  a  right  to  sit  and  vote 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  have  the  same  political  importance  as  the  peers.     By  the  act  of  union 
between  Ireland  and  England,  four  "lords  spiritual"  from  among  the  archbishops  and  bishops  of  the 
former  country,  have  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Lords.      The  "lords  temporal  and  lords  spiritual"  con- 
stitute the  House  of  Lords.     The  House  of  Commons  is  composed  of  men  elected  by  the  people,  and 
answers  to  the  House  of  Representatives  of  our  Federal  Congress.  3  Page  212. 

4  This  act  also  allowed  military  officers,  possessing  a  warrant  from  a  justice  of  the  peace,  to 
break  into  any  house  where  he  might  suspect  deserters  were  concealed.  Like  the  Writs  of  Assist- 
ance [page  212],  this  power  might  be  used  for  wicked  purposes. 

6  In  January,  1767,  Grenville  proposed  a  direct  taxation  of  the  colonies  to  the  amount  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars. 

6  Note  6,  page  212,  and  note  5,  page  134.  7  Page  215. 

8  Among  the  most  powerful  of  these  appeals,  were  a  series  of  letters,  written  by  John  Dicken- 
son,  of  Philadelphia,  and  entitled  Letters  of  a  Pennsylvania  farmer.  Like  Paino's  Crisis,  ten  years 


1775.]  PRELIMINARY     EVENTS.  219 

pressed  its  conviction,  that  Parliament  had  no  right  to  tax  the  colonies.  These 
expressions  were  in  response  to  a  circular  issued  by  Massachusetts  [Feb.,  1768] 
to  the  several  Assemblies,  asking  their  co-operation  in  obtaining  a  redress  of 
grievances.  That  circular  greatly  offended  the  Ministry  ;  and  the  governor  of 


Massachusetts  was  instructed  to  command  the  Assembly,  in  the  king's  name,  to 
rescind  the  resolution  adopting  it.  The  Assembly,  on  the  80th  of  June  follow- 
ing, passed  an  almost  unanimous  vote  not  to  rescind,1  and  made  this  very  order 
an  evidence  of  the  intentions  of  government  to  enslave  the  colonists,  by  restrain- 
ing the  free  speech  and  action  of  their  representatives. 

The  British  Ministry,  ignorant  and  careless  concorning  the  character  and 
temper  of  the  Americans,  disregarded  the  portentous  warnings  which  every 
vessel  from  the  New  World  bore  to  their  ears.  Having  resolved  on  employing 
physical  force  in  the  maintenance  of  obedience,  and  not  doubting  its  potency, 


later  [note  4,  page  250],  these  Letters  produced  a  wide-spread  and  powerful  effect  on  tho  public 
mind.  James  Otis  asserted,  in  a  pamphlet,  that  "taxes  on  trade  [tariffs],  if  designed  to  raise  a 
revenue,  were  as  much  a  violation  of  their  rights  as  any  other  tax."  John  Dickenson  was  born  in 
Maryland,  in  November,  1732.  He  studied  law  in  England  for  three  years,  and  made  his  first  ap- 
pearance in  public  life,  as  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly.  Ho  was  a  member  of  the 
Stamp  Act  Congress  [page  215],  and  of  the  Continental  Congress  [page  226].  He  was  an  eloquent 
speaker,  and  elegant  writer.  He  was  opposed  to  the  independence  of  the  colonies,  but  acquiesced, 
and  was  an  able  member  of  the  convention  that  framed  the  Federal  Constitution.  He  remained  long 
in  public  life,  and  died  in  1808,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years. 

1  James  Otis  and  Samuel  Adams  were  the  principal  speakers  on  this  occasion.  "  When  Lord 
Hillsborough  [colonial  secretary]  knows,"  said  the  former,  "that  we  will  not  rescind  our  acts,  he 
should  appeal  to  Parliament  to  rescind  theirs.  Let  Britons  rescind  their  measures,  or  the  colonies 
are  lost  to  them  forever." 


220  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1761. 

they  became  less  regardless  of  even  the  forms  of  justice,  and  began  to  treat  the 
colonists  as  rebellious  subjects,  rather  than  as  free  British  brethren.  Ministers 
sent  orders  to  the  colonial  Assemblies,  warning  them  not  to  imitate  the  factious 
disobedience  of  Massachusetts  ;  and  the  royal  governors  were  ordered  to  enforce 
submission  by  all  means  in  their  power.  The  effect  of  these  circulars  was  to 
disgust  and  irritate  the  Assemblies,  and  to  stimulate  their  sympathy  for  Massa- 
chusetts, now  made  the  special  object  of  displeasure. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  general  excitement,  in  May,  1768,  that  the  new 
commissioners  of  customs  arrived  at  Boston.  They  were  regarded  with  as 
much  contempt  as  were  the  tax-gatherers  in  Judea,  in  the  time  of  our  Saviour. ' 
It  was  difficult  to  restrain  the  more  ignorant  and  excitable  portion  of  the  pop- 
ulation from  committing  personal  violence.  A  crisis  soon  arrived.  In  June, 
1768,  the  sloop  Liberty,  belonging  to  John  Hancock,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
popular  mind  in  Boston,2  arrived  at  that  port  with  a  cargo  of  Madeira  wine. 
Tho  commissioners  demanded  the  payment  of  duties,  and  when  it  was  refused, 
they  seized  the  vessel.  The  news  spread  over  the  town,  and  the  people  re- 
solved on  immediate  and  effectual  resistance.  An  assemblage  of  citizens  soon 

O 

became  a  mob,  who  dragged  a  custom-house  boat  through  the  town,  burned  it 
upon  the  Common,  assailed  the  commissioners,  damaged  their  houses,  and  com- 
pelled them  to  seek  safety  in  Castle  William,  a  small  fortress  at  the  entrance 
to  the  harbor.3  Alarmed  by  thcso  demonstrations  of  the  popular  feeling,  Gov- 
ernor Bernard  unwisely  invited  General  Gage,4  then  in  command  of  British 
troops  at  Halifax,  to  bring  soldiers  to  Boston  to  overawe  the  inhabitants.5  They 
came  in  September  [Sept.  27.  1768],  soven  hundred  in  number,  and  on  a  quiet 
Sabbath  morning,  landed  under  cover  of  the  cannons  of  the  British  ships  which 
brought  them,  and 'with  drums  beating,  and  colors  flying,  they  marched  to  the 
Common,0  with  all  the  parade  of  a  victorious  army  entering  a  conquered  city. 
Religion,  popular  freedom,  patriotism,  were  all  outraged,  and  the  cup  of  the 
people's  indignation  was  full.7  The  colonists  were  taught  the  bitter,  but  neces- 
sary lesson,  that  armed  resistance  must  oppose  armed  oppression.8 

Like  the  Assembly  of  New  York,  that  of  Massachusetts  refused  to  afford 


1  The  publicans,  or  toll-gatherers  of  Judca,  being  a  standing  monument  of  the  degradation  of  the 
.Tews  under  the  Roman  yoke,  were  abhorred.  One  of  the  accusations  against  our  Saviour  was,  that 
he  did  "eat  with  publicans  and.sinners."  2  Page  231. 

3  About  three  miles  south-east  from  Boston.  The  fortress  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  in 
1798;  and  the  following  year  it  was  visited  by  President  Adams,  and  named  Fort  Independence,  its 
present  title.  In  connection  with  Castle  William,  wo  find  the  first  mention  of  the  tune  of  "  Yankee 
Doodle.''  In  the  Boston  Journal  of  the  Times,  September  29,  1768,  is  the  following:  "The  fleet 
was  brought  to  anchor  near  Castle  William  ;  that  night  there  was  throwing  of  sky-rockets ;  and 
those  passing  in  boats  observed  great  rejoicings,  and  that  the  Yankee  Doodle  Song  was  the  capital 
piece  in  the  band  of  music."  4  Page  186. 

5  The  British  ministry  had  already  ivsdvod  to  send  troops  to  Boston  to  subdue  the  rebellious 
propensities  of  the  people. 

0  A  large  public  park  on  the  southern  slope  of  Beacon  Hill. 

7  As  the  people  refused  to  supply  the  troops  with  quarters,  they  were  placed,  some  in  the  State 
House,  some  in  Faneuil  Hall  [page  225],  and  others  in  tents  on  the  Common.     Cannons  were 
planted  at  different  points ;  sentinels  challenged  the  citizens  as  they  passed ;  and  the  whole  town 
had  the  appearance  of  a  camp. 

8  There  were,  at  that  time,  full  two  hundred  thousand  men  in  the  colonies  capable  of  bearing 
arms. 


1775.]  PRELIMINARY     EVENTS.  221 

food  and  shelter  for  the  royal  troops  in  that  province,  and  for  this  offense,  Par- 
liament, now  become  the  supple  instrument  of  the  crown,  censured  their  dis- 
obedience, approved  of  coercive  measures,  and,  by  resolution,  prayed  the  king 
to  revive  a  long  obsolete  statute  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  by  which  the  governor 
of  the  refractory  colony  should  be  required  to  arrest,  and  send  to  England  for 
trial,  on  a  charge  of  treason,  the  ringleaders  in  the  recent  tumults.  The  colo- 
nial Assembly  indignantly  responded,  by  re-asserting  the  chartered  privileges 
of  the  people,  and  denying  the  right  of  the  king  to  take  an  offender  from  the 
country,  for  trial.  And  in  the  House  of  Commons  a  powerful  minority  battled 
manfully  for  the  Americans.  Burke  pronounced  the  idea  of  reviving  that  old 
statute,  as  "horrible.7'  "  Can  you  not  trust  the  juries  of  that  country?"  he 
asked.  "If  you  have  not  a  party  among  two  millions  of  people,  you  must 
either  change  your  plans  of  government,  or  renounce  the  colonies  forever." 
Even  Grenville,  the  author  of  the  Stamp  Act,  opposed  the  measure,  yet  a  ma- 
jority voted  in  favor  of  the  resolution,  on  the  26th  of  January,  1769. 

The  British  troops  continued  to  be  a  constant  source  of  irritation,  while, 
month  after  month,  the  colonies  were  agitated  by  disputes  with  the  royal  gov- 
ernors, the  petty  tyranny  of  lesser  officials,  and  the  interference  of  the  imperial 
government  with  colonial  legislation.  The  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  encour- 
aged by  the  expressed  sympathy  of  the  other  colonies,  firmly  refused  to  appro- 
priate a  single  dollar  for  the  support  of  the  troops.  They  even  demanded  their 
withdrawal  from  the  city,  and  refused  to  transact  any  legislative  business  while 
they  remained.  Daily  occurrences  exasperated  the  people  against  the  troops, 
and  finally,  on  the  2d  of  March,  1770,  an  event,  apparently  trifling  in  its  char- 
acter, led  to  bloodshed  in  the  streets  of  Boston.  A  rope-maker  quarreled  with 
a  soldier,  and  struck  him.  Out  of  this  affray  grew  a  fight  between  several  sol- 
diers and  rope-makers.  The  latter  were  beaten,  and  the  result  aroused  the 
vengeance  of  the  more  excitable  portion  of  the  inhabitants.  A  few  evenings 
afterward  [March  5],  about  seven  hundred  of  them  assembled  in  the  streets, 
for  the  avowed  purpose  of  attacking  the  troops.1  A  sentinel  was  assaulted  near 
the  custom-house,  when  Captain  Preston,  commander  of  the  guard,  went  to  his 
rescue  with  eight  armed  men.  The  mob  dared  the  soldiers  to  fire,  and  attacked 
them  with  stones,  pieces  of  ice,  and  other  missiles.  One  of  the  soldiers  who 
received  a  blow,  fired,  and  his  six  companions  also  discharged  their  guns. 
Three  of  the  citizens  were  killed,  and  five  were  danger- 
ously wounded.2  The  mob  instantly  retreated,  when  all 


1  These  were  addressed  by  a  tall  man,  disguised  by  a  white  wi.r  and 
a  scarlet  cloak,  who  closed  his  harangue  by  snouting,  "  To  the  main 
guard!  to  the  main  guard!"  and  then  disappeared.    It  was  always  be- 
lieved that  the  tall  man  was  Samuel  Adams,  one  of  the  most  inflexible 
patriots  of  the  Revolution,  and  at  that  time  a  popular  leader.     He  was 
a  descendant  of  one  of  the  early  Puritans  [page  75],  and  was  born  in 
Boston  in  1722.     He  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence; was  afterward   governor  of  Massachusetts;    and   died  in 

1803.     A  purer  patriot  than  Samuel  Adams,  never  lived.  SAMUEL  ADAMS. 

2  The  leader  of  the  mob  was  a  powerful  mulatto,  named  Crispus 

Attucks.     He  and  Samuel  Gray  and  James  Caldwell,  were  killed  instantly ;  two  others  received 
mortal  wounds. 


222  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1761. 

the  bells  of  the  city  rang  an  alarum,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  several  thou- 
sands of  exasperated  citizens  were  in  the  streets.  A  terrible  scene  of  blood 
would  have  ensued,  had  not  Governor  Hutchinson  assured  the  people  that 
justice  should  be  vindicated  in  the  morning.  They  retired,  but  with  firm  re- 
solves not  to  endure  the  military  despotism  any  longer. 

The  morning  of  the  6th  of  March  was  clear  and  frosty.  At  an  early  hour 
Governor  Hutchinson  was  called  upon  to  fulfill  his  promise.  The  people  de- 
manded the  instant  removal  of  the  troops  from  Boston,  and  the  trial  of  Captain 
Preston  and  his  men,  for  murder.  These  demands  were  complied  with.  The 
troops  were  removed  to  Castle  William  [March  12,  1770].  and  Preston,  ably 
defended  by  John  Adams  and  Josiah  Quincy,  two  of  the  popular  leaders,  was 
tried  and  acquitted,  with  six  of  his  men,  by  a  Boston  jury.  The  other  two  sol- 
diers were  found  guilty  of  manslaughter.  This  result  was  a  comment  on  the 
enforcement  of  the  statute  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  highly  favorable  to  the  Amer- 
icans. It  was  so  regarded  in  England,  and  was  used  with  good  effect  by  the 
opposition  in  Parliament.  It  showed  that  in  the  midst  of  popular  excitement, 
the  strong  conservative  principles  of  justice  bore  rule.  The  victims  of  the  riot 
were  regarded  as  martyrs  to  liberty,1  and  for  many  years,  the  memory  of  the 
"  Boston  Massacre,"  as  it  was  called,  was  kept  alive  by  anniversary  orations  hi 
the  city  and  vicinity. 

Perceiving  the  will  and  the  power  of  the  colonists  in  resisting  taxation  with- 
out their  consent,  the  British  ministry  now  wavered.  On  the  very  day  of  the 
bloody  riot  in  Boston  [March  5],  Lord  North,  who  was  then  the  English  prime 
minister,  proposed  to  Parliament  a  repeal  of  all  duties  imposed  by  the  act  of 
1767,2  except  that  upon  tea.  An  act  to  that  effect  was  passed  a  month  after- 
ward [April  12].  This  concession  was  wrung  from  the  minister  partly  by  tlr.) 
clamor  of  English  merchants  and  manufacturers,  who  again  felt  severely  tho 
operations  of  the  non-importation  associations  in  America.  As  tea  was  a  lux- 
ury, North  supposed  the  colonists  would  not  object  to  the  small  duty  laid  upon 
that  article,  and  he  retained  it  as  a  standing  assertion  of  the  right  of  Parliament 
to  impose  such  duties.  The  minister  entirely  mistook  the  character  of  the  peo- 
ple he  was  dealing  with.  It  was  not  the  petty  amount  of  duties  of  which  they 
complained,  for  all  the  taxes  yet  imposed  were  not  in  the  least  burdensome  to 
them.  They  were  contending  for  a  great  principle,  which  lay  at  the  foundation 
of  their  liberties ;  and  they  regarded  the  imposition  of  a  duty  upon  one  article 
as  much  a  violation  of  their  sacred  rights,  as  if  ten  were  included.  They  ac- 
cepted the  ministerial  concession,  but,  asserting  their  rights,  continued  their 
non-importation  league  against  the  purchase  and  use  of  tea.3 


1  They  were  buried  with  great  parade.  All  the  bells  of  Eopton  and  vicinity  tolled  a  funeral 
knell  while  the  procession  was  moving ;  and  as  intended,  the  affair  made  a  deep  impression  on  the 
public  mind.  "  Page  218. 

3  Even  before  North's  proposition  was  made  to  Parliament,  special  agreements  concerning  the 
disuse  of  tea,  had  been  made.  Already  the  popular  feeling  on  this  subject  had  been  manifested  to- 
ward a  Boston  merchant  who  continued  to  sell  tea  A  company  of  half-grown  boys  placed  an  effigy 
near  his  door,  with  a  finger  upon  it  pointing  toward  his  store.  While  a  man  was  attempting  to 
pull  it  down,  he  was  pelted  with  dirt  and  stones.  He  ran  into  the  store,  and  seizing  a  gun.  dis- 
charged its  contents  among  the  crowd.  A  boy  named  Snyder  was  killed,  and  Christopher  Gore 


1775.]  PRELIMINARY     EVENTS.  223 

The  spirit  of  opposition  was  not  confined  to  the  more  northern  and  eastern 
colonies.  It  was  rife  below  the  Roanoke,  and  was  boldly  made  manifest  when 
occasion  required.  In  1771,  the  Carolinas,  hitherto  exempted  from  violent  out- 
bursts of  popular  indignation,  although  never  wanting  in  zeal  in  opposing  the 
Stamp  Act,  and  kindred  measures,  became  the  theater  of  great  excitement.  To 
satisfy  the  rapacity  and  pride  of  royal  governors,  the  industry  of  the  province 
of  North  Carolina,  especially,  was  enormously  taxed.1  The  oppression  was  real, 
not  an  abstract  principle,  as  at  the  North.  The  people  in  the  interior  at  length 
formed  associations,  designed  to  resist  unjust  taxation,  and  to  control  public 
affairs.  They  called  themselves  Regulators  ;  and  in  1771,  they  were  too  nu- 
merous to  be  overawed  by  local  magistrates.  Their  operations  assumed  the 
character  of  open  rebellion  ;  and  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  Governor  Tryon2 
marched  into  that  region  with  an  armed  force,  to  subdue  them.  They  met  him 
upon  Alamance  Creek,  in  Alamance  county,  on  the  16th  of  May,  and  there  a 
bloody  skirmish  ensued.  The  Regulators  were  subdued  and  dispersed,  and 
Tryon  marched  back  in  triumph  to  the  sea-board,  after  hanging  six  of  the  lead- 
ers, on  the  19th  of  June  following.  These  events  aroused,  throughout  the  South, 
the  fiercest  hatred  of  British  power,  and  stimulated  that  earnest  patriotism  so 
early  displayed  by  the  people  below  the  Roanoke,  when  the  Revolution  broke  out.3 

The  upper  part  of  Narraganset  Bay  exhibited  a  scene,  in  the  month  of 
June,  1772,  which  produced  much  excitement,  and  widened  the  breach  between 
Great  Britain  and  her  colonies.  The  commander  of  the  British  armed  schooner 
GraspL  stationed  there  to  assist  the  commissioners  of  customs4  in  enforcing  the 
revenue  laws,  annoyed  the  American  navigators  by  haughtily  commanding  them 
to  lower  their  colors  when  they  passed  his  vessel,  in  token  of  obedience.  The 
William  Tells  of  the  bay  refused  to  bow  to  the  cap  of  this  petty  Gesler.5  For 
such  disobedience,  a  Providence  sloop  was  chased  by  the  schooner.  The  latter 
grounded  upon  a  low  sandy  point ;  and  on  that  night  [June  9,  1772],  sixty-four 
armed  men  went  down  from  Providence  in  boats,  captured  the  people  on  board 
the  Gasp^  and  burned  the  vessel.  Although  a  large  reward  was  offered  for  the 
perpetrators  (who  were  well  known  in  Providence6),  they  were  never  betrayed. 

(afterward  governor  of  Massachusetts)  was  wounded.  The  affair  produced  great  excitement.  At 
about  the  same  time,  three  hundred  "mistresses  of  families"  in  Boston  signed  a  pledge  of  total  ab- 
stinence from  the  use  of  tea,  while  the  duty  remained  upon  it.  A  few  days  afterward  a  large  num- 
ber of  young  ladies  signed  a  similar  pledge. 

1  Governor  Tryon  caused  'a  palace  to  be  erected  for  his  residence,  at  Newbern,  at  a  cost  of 
$75,000,  for  the  payment  of  which  the  province  was  taxed.     This  was  in  1768,  and  was  one  of  the 
principal  causes  of  discontent,  which  produced  the  outbreak  here  mentioned. 

2  Page  248.  3  Page  237.  4  Page  220. 

5  Gesler  was  an  Austrian  governor  of  one  of  the  cantons  of  Switzerland.     He  placed  his  cap  on 
a  pole,  at  a  gate  of  the  town,  and  ordered  all  to  bow  to  it,  when  they  should  enter.    William  Tel),  a 
brave  leader  of  the  people,  refused.     He  was  imprisoned  for  disobedience,  escaped,  aroused  his 
countrymen  to  arms,  who  drove  their  Austrian  masters  out  of  the  land,  and  achieved  the  indepen- 
denc3  of  Switzerland. 

6  One  of  the  leaders  was  Abraham  Whipple,  a  naval  commander  during  the  Revolution  [page 
310].     Several  others  were  afterward  distinguished  for  bravery  during  that  struggle.     Four  years 
afterward,  when  Sir  James  Wallace,  a  British  commander,  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Newport,  Whipple 
became  known  as  the  leader  of  the  attack  on  the   Gaspe.     Wallace  sent  him  the  following  letter: 
"You,  Abraham  Whipple,  on  the  9th  of  June,  1772,  burned  his  majesty's  vessel,  the  Gaspe.  and  I 
will  hang  you  at  the  yard-arm."     To  this  Wliipple  replied :   "  To  Sir  James  Wallace.     Sir:  Always 
catch  a  man  before  you  hang  him. — JAMES  WHIPPLE." 


224  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1761. 

These  rebellious  acts,  so  significant  of  the  temper  of  the  Americans,  greatly 
perplexed  the  British  ministry.  Lord  North1  would  gladly  have  conciliated 
them,  but  he  was  pledged  by  words  and  acts  to  the  maintenance  of  the  asserted 
principle,  that  Parliament  had  the  undoubted  right  to  tax  the  colonies  without 
their  consent.  He  labored  hard  to  perceive  some  method  by  which  conciliation 
and  parliamentary  supremacy  might  be  made  to  harmonize,  and  early  in  1773, 
a  new  thought  upon  taxation  entered  his  brain.  The  East  India  Company,2 
having  lost  their  valuable  tea  customers  in  America,  by  the  operation  of  the 
non-importation  associations,  and  having  more  than  seventeen  millions  of  pounds 
of  the  article  in  their  warehouses  in  England,  petitioned  Parliament  to  take  off 
the  duty  of  three  pence  a  pound,  levied  upon  its  importation  into  America. 
The  company  agreed  to  pay  the  government  more  than 
an  equal  amount,  in  export  duty,  if  the  change  should  be 
made.  Here  was  an  excellent  opportunity  for  the  gov- 
ernment to  act  justly  and  wisely,  and  to  produce  a  per- 
fect reconciliation;  but  the  stupid  ministry,  fearing  it 
might  be  considered  a  submission  to  "rebellious  sub- 
jects," refused  the  olive  branch  of  peace.  Continuing 
to  misapprehend  the  real  question  at  issue.  North  intro- 
duced a  bill  into  Parliament,  allowing  the  company  to 

LORD   NORTH.  .  . 

export  their  teas  to  America  on  their  own  account,  with- 
out paying  an  export  duty.  As  this  would  make  tea  cheaper  in  America  than 
in  England,  he  concluded  the  Americans  would  not  object  to  paying  the  three 
pence  duty.  This  concession  to  a  commercial  monopoly,  while  spurning  the 
appeals  of  a  great  principle,  only  created  contempt  and  indignation  throughout 
the  colonies.  0 

Blind  as  the  minister,  the  East  India  Company  now  regarded  the  American 
market  as  open  for  their  tea,  and  soon  after  the  passage  of  the  bill  [May  10, 
1778],  several  large  ships,  heavily  laden  with  the  article,  were  on  their  way 
across  the  Atlantic.  Intelligence  of  these  movements  reached  America  before 
the  arrival  of  any  of  the  ships,  and  the  people  in  most  of  the  sea-board  towns, 
where  consignments  of  tea  had  been  made,  resolved  that  it  should  not  even  be 
landed.  The  ships  which  arrived  at  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  returned  to 
England  with  their  cargoes.  At  Charleston  it  was  landed,  but  was  not  allowed 
to  be  sold;  while  at  Boston,  the  attempts  of  the  governor  and  his  friends,"  who 

1  Frederick,  Earl  of  Guilford  (Lord  Norfh),  was  a  man  of  talent,  sincerely  attached  to  English 
liberty,  and  conscientious  in  the  performanance  of  his  duties.     Like  many  other  statesmen  of  his 
time,  he  utterly  misapprehended  the  character  of  the  American  people,  and  could  not  perceive  the 
justice  of  their  claims.     Ho  was  prime  minister  during  the  whole  of  our  War  for  Independence. 
He  was  afflicted  with  blindness  during  the  last  years  of  his  life.     He  died  in  July,  1792,  at  the  age 
of  sixty  years. 

2  The  English  East  India  Company  was  formed  and  chartered  in  1600,  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  a  trade  by  sea,  between  England  and  the  countries  lying  east  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  [note  1,  page  37].     It  continued  prosperous;  and  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  the 
governor  of  its  stations  in  India,  under  the  pretense  of  obtaining  security  for  their  trade,  pubdued 
small  territories,  and  thus  planted  the  foundation  of  that  great  British  empire  in  the  East,  which 
now  comprises  the  whole  of  Hindostan,  from  Cape  Comorin  to  the  Himalaya  mountains,  with  a 
population  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  millions  of  people. 

3  The  public  mind  in  Massachusetts  was  greatly  inflamed  against  Governor  Hutchinson  at  this 


1775.]  PRELIMINARY     EVENTS.  225 

were  consignees,  to  land  the  tea  in  defiance  of  the  public  feeling,  resulted  in  the 

destruction  of  a  large  quantity  of  it.     On  a  cold  moonlight  night  [December 

16,  1773],  at  the  close  of  the  last  of  several  spirited 

meetings  of  the  citizens  held  at  Faneuil  Hall,1  a  party 

of  about  sixty  persons,  some  disguised  as   Indians, 

rushed  on  board  two  vessels  in  the  harbor,  laden  with 

tea,  tore  open  the  hatches,  and  in  the  course  of  two 

hours,  three  hundred  and  forty- two  chests  containing 

the  prossribed  article,  were  broken  open,  and  their 

contents  cast  into  the  water.     This  event  produced  a 

powerful  sensation  throughout  the  British  realm,  and 

FANEUIL   HALL. 

led  to  very  important  results. 

While  the  American  colonies,  and  even  Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  the 
British  West  Indies,  sympathized  with  the  Bostonians,  and  could  not  censure 
them,  the  exasperated  government  adopted  retaliatory  measures,  notwithstand- 
ing payment  for  all  damage  to  their  property  was  promised  to  the  East  India 
Company.  Parliament,  by  enactment  [March  7,  1774],  ordered  the  port  of 
Boston  to  be  closed  against  all  commercial  transactions  whatever,  and  the  re- 
moval of  the  custom-house,  courts  of  justice,  and  other  public  offices,  to  Salem. 
The  Salem  people  patriotically  refused  the  proffered  advantage  at  the  expense 
of  their  neighbors  ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  Marblehcad,  fifteen  miles  distant, 
offered  the  free  use  of  their  harbor  and  wharves,  to  the  merchants  of  Boston. 
Soon  after  the  passage  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  as  it  was  called,  another  act, 
which  leveled  a  blow  at  the  charter  of  Massachusetts,  was  made  a  law  [March 
28,  1774].  It  was  equivalent  to  a  total  subversion  of  the  charter,  inasmuch 
as  it  deprived  the  people  of  many  of  the  dearest  privileges  guarantied  by  that 
instrument.2  A  third  retaliatory  act  was  passed  on  the  21st  of  April,  provid- 
ing for  the  trial,  in  England,  of  all  persons  charged  in  the  colonies  with  mur- 
ders committed  in  support  of  government,  giving,  as  Colonel  Barro  said, 
u  encouragement  to  military  insolence  already  so  insupportable.'7  A  fourth 
bill,  providing  for  the  quartering  of  troops  in  America,  was  also  passed  by 
large  majorities  in  both  Houses  of  Parliament ;  and  in  anticipation  of  rebellion 
in  America,  a  fifth  act  was  passed,  making  great  concessions  to  the  Roman 
Catholics  in  Canada,  known  as  the  Quebec  Act.  This  excited  the  animosity  of 


time,  whose  letters  to  a  member  of  Parliament,  recommending  stringent  rn  . -wcs  toward  the  col- 
onies, had  been  procured  in  England,  and  sent  to  the  speaker  of  the  colonial  Assembly,  by  Dr. 
Franklin.  At  about  the  same  time,  Parliament  had  passed  a  law,  making  tho  governor  and  judges 
of  Massachusetts  independent  of  the  Assembly  for  their  salaries,  these  being  paid  out  of  the  reve- 
nues in  the  hands  of  tho  commissioners  of  customs.  This  removal  of  these  officials  beyond  all  de-- 
pendence  upon  tho  people,  constituted  them  fit  instruments  of  the  crown  for  oppressing  the  inhabit- 
ants, and  in  that  aspect  the  colonists  viewed  the  measure,  and  condemed  it. 

1  Because  tho  Revolutionary  meetings  in  Boston  were  held  in  Faneuil  Hall,  it  was  (and  still  is) 
called  The  Cradle  of  Liberty.  It  was  built,  and  presented  to  the  town,  by  Peter  Faneuil,  in  1742.. 
The  picture  shows  "its  form  during  tho  Revolution.  The  vane  on  tho  steeple,  in  the  form  of  a  grass- 
hopper (symbolical  of  devouring),  yet  holds  its  original  place. 

3  It  empowered  sheriffs  appointed  by  tho  crown,  to  select  juries,  instead  of  leaving  that  power 
with  the  selectmen  of  the  towns,  who  were  chosen  by  the  people.  It  also  prohibited  all  town 
meetings  and  other  gatherings.  It  provided  for  tho  appointment  of  the  council,  judges,  justices  of 
the  peace,  etc.,  by  the  crown  or  its  representative. 

15 


226  TnE     REVOLUTION.  [1761. 

all  Protestants.     These  measures  created  universal  indignation  toward  the  gov- 
ernment, arid  sympathy  for  the  people  of  Boston. 

On  the  first  of  June,  1774,  the  Boston  Port  Bill  went  into  operation.  It 
was  a  heavy  blow  for  the  doomed  town.  Business  was  crushed,  and  great  suf- 
fering ensued.  The  utter  prostration  of  trade  soon  produced  wide-spread  dis- 
tress. The  rich,  deprived  of  their  rents,  became  straitened ;  and  the  poor, 
denied  the  privilege  of  laboring,  were  reduced  to  beggary.  All  classes  felt  the 
scourge  of  the  oppressor,  but  bore  it  with  remarkable  fortitude.  They  were 
conscious  of  being  right,  and  everywhere,  tokens  of  the  liveliest  sympathy  were 
manifested.  Flour,  rice,  cereal  grains,  fuel,  and  money,  were  sent  to  the  suffer- 
ing people  from  the  different  colonies  ;  and  the  city  of  London,  in  its  corporate 
capacity,  subscribed  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  poor  of  Boston. 
For  the  purpose  of  enforcing  these  oppressive  laws,  General  Gage,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  British  army  in  America,1  was  appointed  governor  of 
Massachusetts,  and  an  additional  military  force  was  ordered  to  Boston.  These 
coercive  demonstrations  greatly  increased  the  public  irritation,  and  diminished 
the  hopes  of  reconciliation.  Slavish  submission  or  armed  resistance,  was  now 
the  alternative  presented  to  the  American  people.  Committees  of  correspond- 
ence which  had  been  formed  in  every  colony  in  1773, "  had  been  busy  in  the 
interchange  of  sentiments  and  opinions,  and  throughout  the  entire  community 
of  Anglo-Americans  there  was  evidently  a  general  consonance  of  feeling,  favor- 
able to  united  efforts  in  opposing  the  augmenting  tyranny  of  Great  Britain. 
Yet  they  hesitated,  and  resolved  to  deliberate  in  solemn 
council  before  they  should  appeal  to  "  the  last  argument 
of  kings."3 

The  patriots  of  Massachusetts  stood  not  alone  in 
their  integrity.  In  all  the  colonies  the  WHIGS*  were 
as  inflexible  and  bold,  and  as  valiantly  defied  the  power 
of  royal  governors,  when  unduly  exercised.  But  those  of  Massachusetts,  being 
the  special  objects  of  ministerial  vengeance,  suffered  more,  and  required  more 
boldness  to  act  among  bristling  bayonets  and  shotted  cannons,  prepared  ex- 
pressly for  their  bosoms.  Yet  they  grew  stronger  every  day  under  persecu- 
tion, and  bolder  as  the  frowns  of  British  power  became  darker.5  Even  while 


N'C 


WITE  OR  DTE, 


SNAKE   DEVICE. 


1  Page  220. 

2  At  a  consultation  of  leading  members  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Assembby,  in  March,  1773,  held 
in  the  old  Raleigh  tavern  at  Williamsb»urg,  at  which  Patrick  Henry,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Richard 
Henry  Lee,  and  others,  were  present,  it  was  agreed  to  submit  a  resolution  in  the  House  the  follow- 
ing day,  appointing  a  committee  of  vigilance  and  correspondence,  and  recommending  the  same  to 
the  other  colonies.     The  measure  was  carried,  and  these  committees  formed  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful engines  in  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  Revolution.   Similar  committees  had  already  been  formed 
in  several  towns  in  Massachusetts. 

3  These  words,  in  Latin,  were  often  placed  upon  cannons.     There  are  several  old  French  can- 
nons, made  of  brass,  in  the  State  armory  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  on  two  of  which  these  words  ap- 
pear.    They  also  appear  upon  some  French  cannons  at  West  Point. 

4  The  terms,  WHIG  and  TORY,  had  long  been  used  in  England  as  titles  of  political  parties.    The 
former  denoted  the  opposers  of  royalty;  the  latter  indicated  its  supporters.      These  terms  were 
introduced  into  America  two  or  three  years  before  the  Revolution  broke  out,  and  became  the  dis- 
tinctive titles  of  the  patriots  and  loyalists. 

6  Even  the  children  seemed  to  lose  their  timidity,  and  became  bolder.     They  nobly  exhibited  it 


1775.] 


PRELIMINARY    EVENTS. 


227 


troops,  to  overawe  them  were  parading  the  streets  of  Boston,  sturdy  representa- 
tives of  the  people  assembled  at  Salem,1  and  sent  forth  an  invitation  to  all  the 
colonies  to  appoint  delegates  to  meet  in  a  general  Congress  at  Philadelphia  on 
the  5th  of  September  following.  It  met  with  a  hearty  response  from  twelve  of 


the  thirteen  colonies,  and  the  Press  and  the  Pulpit  seconded  the  measures  with 
great  emphasis.  Some  newspapers  bore  a  significant  device.  It  was  a  snake 
cut  into  thirteen  parts,  each  part  bearing  the  initials  of  a  colony  upon  it,  as 
seen  in  the  engraving.'  Under  these  were  the  significant  words,  Unite  or  die. 
The  delegates  were  all  appointed  before  the  close  of  August,  and  the  FIRST 


on  one  occasion.  They  were  in  the  habit  of  building  mounds  of  snow  in  winter,  on  Boston  Com- 
mon. These  the  soldiers  battered  down,  so  as  to  annoy  the  boys.  This  being  repeated,  a  meeting 
of  larger  boys  was  held,  and  a  deputation  was  sent  to  General  Gage,  to  remonstrate.  "We  come, 
sir,"  said  the  tallest  boy,  "to  demand  satisfaction."  "What!"  exclaimed  Gage;  "have  your 
fathers  been  teaching  you  rebellion,  arid  sent  you  here  to  exhibit  it?"  "  Nobody  sent  us  here,  sir," 
said*the  boy.  while  his  eyes  flashed  with  indignation.  "  We  have  never  insulted  nor  injured  your 
troops,  but  they  have  trodden  down  our  snow-hills,  and  broken  the  ice  on  our  skating-grounds. 
We  complained ;  and,  calling  us  young  rebels,  told  us  to  help  ourselves  if  we  could.  We  told  the 
captain  of  this,  and  he  laughed  at  us.  Yesterday  our  works  were  destroyed  for  the  third  time,  and 
we  will  bear  it  no  longer."  Gage  admired  the  spirit  of  the  boys,  promised  them  redress,  and  turn- 
ing to  an  officer,  he  said.  "The  very  children  here  draw  in  a  love  of  liberty  with  the  air  they 
breathe  " 

At  that  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  the  patriots  matured  a  plan  for  a 
general  Congress,  provided  for  munitions  of  war  to  resist  British  power  in  their  own  province,  and 
formed  a  general  non-importation  league  for  the  whole  country.  In  the  midst  of  their  proceedings, 
General  Gage  sent  his  secretary  to  dissolve  them,  but  the  doors  of  the  Assembly  chamber  were 
locked,  and  the  key  was  in  Samuel  Adams's  pocket.  Having  finished  their  business,  the  Assembly 
adjourned,  and  thus  ended  the  last  session  of  that  body,  under  a  royal  governor.  2  Page  226. 


228  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1761. 

CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS'  assembled  in  Carpenter's  Hall,  Philadelphia,  on  the 
5th  of  September,  1774,  the  day  named  in  the  circular.  All  but  Georgia  were 
represented.  Peyton  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  was  appointed  President,  and 
Charles  Thomson  of  Pennsylvania,  Secretary.2  The  regular  business  of  the 
Congress  commenced  on  the  morning  of  the  7th,3  after  an  impressive  prayer  for 
Divine  guidance,  uttered  by  the  Rev.  Jacob  Duch',',4  of  Philadelphia.  They 
remained  in  session  until  the  26th  of  October,  during  which  time  they  matured 
measures  for  future  action,  which  met  with  the  general  approbation  of  the 
American  people.5  They  prepared  and  put  forth  sev- 
eral State  papers,6  marked  by  such  signal  ability  and 
wisdom,  as  to  draw  from  the  Earl  of  Chatham  these 
words  in  the  House  of  Lords  :  "I  must  declare  and 
avow,  that  in  all  my  reading  and  study  of  history— 
(and  it  has  been  my  favorite  study — I  have  read  Tlm- 
cydides,  and  have  studied  and  admired  the  master 
States  of  the  world) — that  for  solidity  of  reasoning, 
force  of  sagacity,  and  wisdom  of  conclusion,  under 
such  a  complication  of  circumstances,  no  nation  or 

body  of  men  can  stand  in  preference  to  the  general  Congress  at  Philadelphia.7 
In  all  its  proceedings  Congress  manifested  decorum,  firmness,8  moderation, 

^ i ___ 

1  This  name  was  given  to  distinguish  it  from  tho  two  colonial  Congresses  [pages  183  and  215] 
already  held ;  one  at  Albany  in  1754,  the  other  at  New  York  in  17G5. 

2  Thomson  was  secretary  of  Congress,  perpetually,  from  1774,  until  the  adoption  of  tho  Federal 
Constitution,  and  the  organization  of  the  new  government,  in  1789.     Watson  relates  that  Thomson 
had  just  come  into  Philadelphia,  with  his  bride,  and  was  alighting  from  his  chaise,  when  a  messen- 
ger from  the  delegates  in  Carpenter's  Hall  came  to  him,  arid  said  they  wanted  him  to  come  and 
take  minutes  of  their  proceedings,  as  he  was  an  expert  at  such  business.     For  his  first  year's  serv- 
ice, he  received  no  pav.     So  Congress  informed  his  wife  that  they  wished  to  compensate  her  for  the 
absence  of  her  husband  during  that  time,  and  wished  her  to  name  what  kind  of  a  piece  of  plate  she 
would  like  to  receive.     She  chose  an  urn,  and  that  silver  vessel  is  yet  in  the  family.     Thomson  was 
bom  in  Ireland  in  1730,  came  to  America  when  cloven  years  of  age,  and  died  in  1824,  at  the  ago 
of  ninety-four  years. 

3  When  the  delegates  had  assembled  on  the  5th,  no  one  seemed  inclined  to  break  the  silence, 
and  deep  anxiety  was  depicted  in  every  countenance.     Soon  a  grave-looking  man,  in  a  suit  of 
•'minister's  gray,"  and  unpowdered  wig,  arose,  and,  with  a  sweet,  musical  voice,  he  uttered  a  few 
eloquent  words,  that  electrified  tho  whole  audience.     "Who  is  he?"  was  a  question  that  went 
from  lip  to  lip.     A  few  who  knew  him,  answered,  "  It  is  Patrick  Henry,  of  Virginia."     There  was 
no  longer  any  hesitation.     He  who,  nine  years  before,  had  cast  the  gauntlet  of  defiance  at  the  feet 
of  British  power,  now  set  in  motion  that  august  machinery  of  civil  power,  which  assisted  in  work- 
ing out  the  independence  of  the  United  States. 

4  Duche  was  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  afterward  became  a  Tory. 

5  They  prepared  a  plan  for  a  general  commercial  non-intercourse  with  Great  Britain  and  her 
West  India  possessions,  which  was  called  The  American  Association,  and  was  recommended  for 
adoption  throughout  the  countr}-.     It  consisted  of  fourteen  articles.     In  addition  to  tho  non-inter- 
course provisions,  it  was  recommended  to  abandon  the  slave-trade,  to  improve  the  breed  of  sheep, 
to  abstain  from  all  extravagance  in  living  and  indulgence  in  horse-racing,  etc.,  and  the  appointment 
of  a  committee  in  every  town  to  promote  conformity  to  tho  requirements  of  tho  Association.     It 
was  signed  by  the  fifty-two  members  present. 

6  A  Bill  of  Rights ;  an  address  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  written  by  John  Jay ;  another  to 
the  several  Anglo-American  colonies,  written  by  William  Livingston ;  another  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Quebec,  and  a  petition  to  tho  king.  In  these,  the  grievances  and  the  rights  cf  tho  colonies  were  ably 
set  forth. 

7  He  also  said,  in  a  letter  to  Stephen  Sayre,  on  the  24th  of  December,  1774:   "I  have  not 
words  to  express  my  satisfaction  that  tho  Congress  has  conducted  this  most  arduous  and  delicate 
business,  with  such  manly  wisdom  and  calm  resolution,  as  do  the  highest  honor  to  their  deliberation." 

8  On  the  8th  of  October,  they  unanimously  resolved,  "  That  this  Congress  approve  the  opposition 


1775.]          FIRST   YEAR    OF    THE    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.         22^ 

and  loyalty ;  and  when  the  delegates  resolved  to  adjourn,  to  meet  again  at  the 
same  place  on  the  10th  of  May  following  [1775],  unless  the  desired  redress  of 
grievances  should  be  obtained,  they  did  so  with  an  earnest  hope  that  a  reconcil- 
iation might  speedily  take  place,  and  render  another  national  council  unneces- 
sary. But  they  were  doomed  to  bitter  disappointment.  Great  Britain  was 
blind  and  stubborn  still. 


CHAPTER     II. 

FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.  [1775.] 

PERSUADED  that  war  was  inevitable,  the  colonists  began  to  prepare  for  that 
event,  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1774.  They  practiced  daily  in  mil- 
itary exercises  ;  the  manufacture  of  arms  and  gunpowder  was  encouraged ;  and 
throughout  Massachusetts  in  particular,  where  the  heel  of  the  oppressor  bore 
heaviest,  the  people  were  enrolled  in  companies.  Fathers  and  sons,  encouraged 
by  the  gentler  sex,  received  lessons  together  in  the  art  of  war,  and  prepared  to 
take  arms  at  a  moment's  warning.  From  this  circumstance,  they  were  called 
minute-men.  The  Whig1  journals  grew  bolder  every  hour.  Epigrams,  para- 
bles, sonnets,  dialogues,  and  every  form  of  literary  expression,  remarkable  for 
point  and  terseness,  filled  their  columns.  We  give  a  single  specimen  of  some 
of  the  rhymes  of  the  day  : 

"THE  QUARREL  WITH  AMERICA  FAIRLY  STATED. 

"  Rudely  forced  to  drink  tea,  Massachusetts  in  anger 
Spills  the  tea  on  John  Bull ;  John  falls  on  to  bang  her ; 
Massachusetts,  enraged,  calls  her  neighbors  to  aid, 
And  give  Master  John  a  severe  bastinade. 
Now,  good  men  of  the  law !  praj-,  who  is  in  fault, 
The  one  who  began  or  resents  the  assault?" 

The  Massachusetts  leaders,  in  the  mean  while,  were  laboring,  with  intense 
zeal,  to  place  the  province  in  a  condition  to  rise  in  open  and  united  rebellion, 
when  necessity  should  demand.  And  all  over  the  land,  the  provincial  assem- 
blies, -speakers  at  public  gatherings,  and  from  the  pulpit,  were  boldly  proclaim- 
ing the  right  of  resistance.  These  demonstrations  alarmed  General  Gage,2  and 
he  commenced  fortifying  Boston  Neck.3  He  also  seized  and  conveyed  to 

of  the  inhabitants  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  the  execution  of  the  late  acts  of  Parliament,  and  if  the 
same  shall  be  attempted  to  be  carried  into  execution  by  force,  in  such  case  all  America  ought  to 
support  them  in  their  opposition."  This  resolution,  in  letter  and  spirit,  was  the  embodiment  of  the 
revolutionary  sentiment.  J  Note  4,  page  226. 

3  Thomas  Gage  was  a  native  of  England.  He  was  governor  of  Montreal  [page  203]  in  1760,  and 
Commander-in-chief  of  the  British  army  in  America,  in  1763.  He  was  appointed  governor  of 
Massachusetts,  in  1774;  left  America  in  1775;  and  died  in  1787. 

3  The  peninsula  of  Boston  was  originally  connected  with  the  main  land  by  a  narrow  isthmus 
called  the  Neck.  It  has  been  greatly  widened  by  filling  in  the  marginal  morasses ;  and  over  it  now 
passes  the  fine  avenue  which  connects  the  city  with  Roxbury,  on  the  main. 


230  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1775. 

the  city  large  quantities  of  ammunition  found  in  the  neighboring  villages,  and 
employed  stringent  measures  for  preventing  intercourse  between  the  patriots  in 
the  city  and  in  the  country.  The  exasperated  people  needed  but  the  electric 
spark  of  even  a  slight  offense  to  kindle  their  suppressed  indignation  into  a 
blaze.  They  were  ready  to  sound  the  battle-cry,  and  evoke  the  sword  of  rebel- 
lion from  its  scabbard ;  and  they  were  even  anxious  to  attack  the  soldiers  in 
Boston,  but  they  were  restrained  by  prudent  conselors.1 

A  rumor  went  abroad  on  the  third  of  September,  that  British  ships  were 
cannonading  Boston.  From  the  shores  of  Long  Island  Sound  to  the  green 
hills  of  Berkshire,  "  To  arms  !  to  arms  !"  was  the  universal  shout.  Instantly, 
on  every  side,  men  of  all  ages  were  seen  cleansing  and  burnishing  their  weap- 
ons ;  and  within  two  days,  full  thirty  thousand  minute-men  were  under  arms, 
and  hastening  toward  that  city.  They  were  met  by  a  contradiction  of  the 
rumor;  but  the  event  conveyed  such  a  portentous  lesson  to  Gage,  that  he 
pushed  forward  his  military  operations  with  as  much  vigor  as  the  opposition  of 
the  people  would  allow.2  He  thought  it  expedient  to  be  more  conciliatory ; 
and  he  summoned  the  colonial  Assembly  to  meet  at  Salem  on  the  5th  of  Octo- 
ber. Then  dreading  their  presence,  he  revoked  the  order.  Ninety  delegates 
met,  however,  and  organized  by  the  appointment  of  John  Hancock3  president. 
They  then  went  to  Cambridge,  where  they  formed  a  Provincial  Congress,  inde- 
pendent of  royal  authority  (the  first  in  America),  and  labored  earnestly  in 
preparations  for  that  armed  resistance,  now  become  a  stern  necessity.  They 
made  provisions  for  an  army  of  twelve  thousand  men  ;  solicited  other  New  En- 
gland colonies  to  augment  it  to  twenty  thousand;  and  appointed  Jedediah 
Preble  and  Artemas  Ward4  men  of  experience  in  the  French  and  Indian  war,5 
generals  of  all  the  troops  that  might  be  raised. 

The  Americans  were  now  fairly  aroused  to  action.  They  had  counted  the 
cost  of  armed  rebellion,  and  were  fully  resolved  to  meet  it.  The  defiant 
position  of  the  colonists  arrested  the  attention  of  all  Europe.  When  the  Brit- 
ish Parliament  assembled  early  in  1775,  that  body  presented  a  scene  of  great 
excitement.  Dr.  Franklin  and  others,0  then  in  England,  had  given  a  wide  cir- 
culation to  the  State  papers  put  forth  by  the  Continental  Congress  ;7  and  the 


1  Many  hundreds  of  armed  men  assembled  at  Cambridge.     At  Charlestown,  the  people  took 
possession  of  the  arsenal,  after  Gage  had  carried  off'  the  powder.     At  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  they  cap- 
tured the  fort,  and  carried  off  the  ammunition.     At  Newport,  E.  I.,  the  people  seized  the  powder, 
and  took  possession  of  forty  pieces  of  cannon  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor.     In  New  York,  Phila- 
delphia,  Annapolis,   Williamsburg,   Charleston,   and  Savannah,   the  people  took  active  defensive 
measures,  and  the  whole  country  was  in  a  blaze  of  indignation. 

2  Carpenters  refused  to  work  on  the  fortifications,  and  much  of  the  material  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  at  night,  in  spite  of  the  vigilance  of  the  guards.     Gage  sent  to  New  York  for  timber  and  work- 
men ;  but  the  people  there  would  not  permit  either  to  leave  their  port. 

3  John  Hancock  was  one  of  the  most  popular  of  the  New  England  patriots,  throughout  the 
whole  war.     He  was  born  in  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  in  1737,  was  educated  at  Harvard  College; 
became  a  counting-room  clerk  to  his  uncle,  and  inherited  that  gentleman's  great  wealth.      He 
entered  public  life  early ;  was  a  representative  in  the  Continental  Congress,  and  was  its  president 
when  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopted.     He  was  afterward  governor  of  Massachusetts. 
Mr.  Hancock  died  in  October,  1793,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years. 

4  Note  5,  page  238.  6  Page  179. 

6  Dr.  Franklin  had  then  been  agent  in  England,  for  several  of  the  colonies,  for  about  ten  yeara 

7  Note  6,  page  228. 


1775.]          FIRST    TEAR    OF    THE    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.          231 

English  mind  was  already  favorably  influenced  in  favor  of  the  Americans. 
Pitt  came  on  crutches1  from  his  retirement,  to  cast  the  weight  of  his  mighty 
influence  into  the  scale  of  justice,  by  action  in  the  House  of  Lords.  He  pro- 
posed [January  7,  1775]  conciliatory  measures.  They  were  rejected,  as  well 


as  others  offered  by  Burke,  Conway,  and  Hartly ;  and  in  their  stead,  Parlia- 
ment, in  March,  struck  another  severe  blow  at  the  industry  of  New  England, 
by  prohibiting  fishing  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland.2  Already  Lord  North 
had  moved,  in  the  House  of  Commons  [February,  1775],  for  an  address  to  the 
king,  affirming  that  Massachusetts  was  in  a  state  of  rebellion.  The  Ministers 
also  endeavored  to  promote  dissensions  in  America,  by  crippling  the  trade  of 
New  England  and  other  colonies,  but  exempting  New  York,  Delaware,  and 
North  Carolina.  The  bait  of  favor  for  these  three  colonies  was  indignantly 


1  Pitt  was  greatly  afflicted  with  the  gout.  Sometimes  he  was  confined  to  his  house  for  weeks 
by  it;  and  he  was  sometimes  seen  on  the  floor  of  Parliament  leaning  upon  cratches,  and  his  legs 
swathed  in  flannels.  In  this  condition  he  made  two  of  his  most  eloquent  speeches  in  favor  of  the 
Americans. 

At  that  time,  there  were  employed  by  the  Americans,  in  the  British  Newfoundland  fisheries, 
four  hundred  ships,  two  thousand  fishing  shallops,  and  twenty  thousand  men.  On  account  of  th's 
blow  to  the  fishing  trade,  a  great  many  inhabitants  of  Nantucket  and  vicinity,  chiefly  Quakers,  went 
to  North  Carolina,  and  in  Orange  and  Onilford  counties,  became  planters.  'Their  descendants  are 
yet  numerous  there.  The  principal  meeting-house  is  at  New  Garden. 


232  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1775. 

spurned — the  scheme  of  disunion  signally  failed.  Common  dangers  and  com- 
mon interests  drew  the  ligaments  of  fraternity  closer  than  ever.  When  the 
trees  budded,  and  the  flowers  bloomed  in  the  spring  of  1775,  all  hope  of  recon- 
ciliation had  vanished.  It  was  evident  that 

"  King,  Commons,  and  Lords,  were  uniting  amain," 

to  destroy  the  Liberty  Tree,  planted  by  faithful  hands.  The  people  of  the  col- 
onies, though  weak  in  military  resources,  were  strong  in  purpose ;  and,  relying 
upon  the  justice  of  their  cause,  and  the  assistance  of  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent, 
they  resolved  to  defy  the  fleets  and  armies  of  Great  Britain. 

There  was  great  moral  sublimity  in  the  rising  of  the  colonies  against  the 
parent  country ;  for  it  was  material  weakness  arrayed  against  great  material 
strength.  There  were  more  than  three  thousand  British  troops  in  Boston,  on  the 
first  of  April,  1775.  Confident  in  his  power,  Gage  felt  certain  that  he  could 
repress  insurrections,  and  keep  the  people  quiet.  Yet  he  felt  uneasy  concerning 
ilie  gathering  of  ammunition  and  stores,1  by  the  patriots,  at  Concord,  sixteen  mile.s 
from  Boston.  Toward  midnight,  on  the  18th  [April],  he  secretly  dispatched 
eight  hundred  men,  under  lieutenant-colonel  Smith  and  Major  Pitcairn.  to 
destroy  them.  So  carefully  had  he  arranged  the  expedition,  that  he  believed 
it  to  be  entirely  unknown  to  the  patriots.  All  his  precautions  were  vain.  The 
vigilant  Dr.  Warren,2  who  was  secretly  watching  all  the  movements  of  Gage, 
became  aware  of  the  expedition  early  in  the  evening  ;  and  when  it  moved. 
Paul  Revere,3  one  of  the  most  active  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty  in  Boston,  had 
landed  at  Charlcstown,  and  was  on  his  way  to  Concord  to  arouse  the  inhabitants 
and  minute-men.  Soon  afterward,  church-bells,  muskets,  and  cannons  spread 
the  alarm  over  the  country  ;  and  when,  at  dawn,  on  the  19th  of  April.  1775 — 
a  day  memorable  in  the  tmnals  of  our  Republic — Pitcairn,  with  the  advanced 
guard,  reached  Lexington,  n  few  miles  from  Concord,  he  found  seventy  deter- 
mined men  drawn  up  to  oppose  him.  Pitcairn  rode  forward  and  shouted, 
"Disperse!  disperse,  you  rebels!  Down  with  your  arms,  and  disperse!'' 
They  refused  obedience,  and  he  ordered  his  men  to  fire.  That  dreadful  order 
was  obeyed,  and  the  FIRST  BLOOD  or  THE  REVOLUTION  flowed  upon  the  tender 
grass  on  the  Green  at  Lexington.  Eight  citizens  were  killed,  several  were 
wounded,  and  the  remainder  were  dispersed.  The  last  survivor  of  that  noble 
band1  died  in  March,  1854,  at  the  age  of  almost  ninety-six  years. 


1  Early  in  the  year,  secret  orders  had  been  sent  by  the  ministry  to  the  royal  governors,  to 
remove  all  ammunition  and  stores  out  of  the  reach  of  the  people,  if  they  made  any  hostile  demon- 
strations. 

2  Afterward  killed  in  the  battle  on  Breed's  Hill.     See  page  235. 

8  Revere  was  an  engraver,  and  previous  to  this  time  had  executed  some  creditable  specimens 
of  his  art.  Tie  engraved  a  picture  of  the  naval  investment  of  Boston,  in  17G8,  and  of  the  Boston 
Massacre,  in  ]770.  As  a,  Grand  Master  of  the  Masonic  order,  he  was  very  influential;  }-et,  like 
those  of  Isaac  Sears,  of  IsTew  York,  his  eminent  services  in  the  cause-  of  freedom  have  been  over- 
looked. Their  fame  is  eclipsed  by  men  of  greater  minds,  but  of  no  sturdier  patriotism. 

4  Jonathan  Harrington,  who  played  the  fife  for  the  minute-men,  on  the  morning  of  the  battle. 
The  writer  visited  him  in  1848,  when  he  was  ninety  years  of  age.  He  then  had  a  perfect  recoller- 
tion  of  the  events  of  that  morning.  A  portrait  of  him,  as  he  appeared  at  that  time,  is  published  ia 
Lossing's  Pictorial  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,  page  554,  vol.  i. 


1775.]          FIRST    YEAR    OP    THE    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.         233 

Confident  of  full  success,  the  British  now  pressed  forward  to  Concord,  and 
destroyed  the  stores.  They  were  terribly  annoyed  by  the  minute-men  on  their 
way,  who  fired  upon  them  from  behind  walls,  trees,  and  buildings.  Having  accom- 
plished their  purpose,  and  killed  several  more  patriots  in  a  skirmish  there,  the 
royal  troops  hastily  retreated  to  Lexington.  The  country  was  now  thoroughly 
aroused,  and  minute-men  were  gathering  by  scores.  ^Nothing  but  the  timely 
arrival  of  Lord  Percy  with  reinforcements, l  saved  the  eight  hundred  men  from 
total  destruction.  The  whole  body  now  retreated.  All  the  way  back  to 
Bunker's  Hill,2  in  Charlestown,  the  troops  were  terribly  assailed  by  the  patri- 
ots ;  and  when,  the  following  morning,  they  crossed  over  to  Boston,  they  ascer- 
tained their  loss  to  be,  in  killed  and  wounded,  two  hundred  and  seventy-three. 
The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  was  one  hundred 
and  three.3 

The  initial  blow  for  freedom  had  now  been  struck.  It  was  appalling  to 
friend  and  foe.  The  news  of  this  tragedy  spread  over  the  country  like  a  blaze 
of  lightning  from  a  midnight  cloud,  and  li  e  the  attendant  thunder-peal,  it 
aroused  all  hearts.  From  the  hills  and  valleys  of  New  England,  the  patriots 
went  forth  by  hundreds,  armed  and  unarmed ;  and  before  the  close  of  the 
month  [April  1775],  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men  were  forming  camps'and 
piling  fortifications  around  Boston,  from  Roxbury  to  the  river  Mystic,  deter- 
mined to  confine  the  fierce  tiger  of  war,  which  had  tasted  their  blood,  upon  that 
little  peninsula.  The  provincial  Congress,4  sitting  at  Watertown,  with  Dr. 
Warren  at  its  head,  worked  day  and  night  in  consonance  with  the  gathering 
army.  They  appointed  military  officers,  organized  a  commissariat  for  supplies, 
issued  bills  of  credit  for  the  payment  of  troops  (for  which  the  province  was 
pledged),  to  the  amount  of  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars,  and  declared 
[May  5]  General  Gage  to  be  an  "  inveterate  enemy7 '  of  the  people.  And  as 
the  intelligence  went  from  colony  to  colony,  the  people  in  each  were  equally 
aroused.  Arms  and  ammunition  were  seized  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  provin- 
cial Congresses  were  formed,  and  before  the  close  of  summer,  the  power  of 
every  royal  governor,  from  Massachusetts  to  Georgia,  was  utterly  destroyed. 
Everywhere  the  inhabitants  armed  in  defense  of  their  liberties,  and  took  vigor- 
ous measures  for  future  security. 

Some  aggressive  enterprises  were  undertaken  by  volunteers.  The  most 
important  of  these  was  the  seizure  of  the  strong  fortresses  of  Ticonderoga8  and 
Crown  Point,0  on  Lake  Champlain,  chiefly  by  Connecticut  and  Vermont 

1  Earl  Percy  was  a  son  of  tho  Duko  of  Northumberland.  When  ho  was  marching  out  of  Bos- 
ton, his  band  struck  up  tho  tuno  of  Yankee  Doodle,  in  derision.  Ho  saw  a  boy  at  Roxbury  making 
himself  very  m?rry  as  ho  passed.  Percy  inquired  why  he  was  so  merry.  "To  think,"  said  the  lad, 
" how  you  will  danco  by-and-by  to  Chevy  Chase"  Percy  was  often  much  influenced  by  presenti- 
ments, and  the  words  of  the  boy  made  him  moody.  Percy  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Earl 
Percy  who  was  slain  in  tho  battle  of  Chevy  Chase,  and  he  felt  all  day  as  if  some  great  calamity 
might  befall  him.  "  Page  235. 

3  Appropriate  monuments  have  been  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  slain,  at  Lexington,  Concord, 
and  Acton.  Davis,  the  commander  of  the  militia  at  Concord,  was  from  Acton,  and  so  were  most 
of  his  men.  The  estimated  value  of  the  property  destroyed  by  the  invaders,  was  as  follows:  In 
Concord,  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars ;  in  Lexington,  eight  thousand  three 
hundred  and  five  dollars;  in  Cambridge,  six  thousand  and  ten  dollars.  *  Page  230. 

6  Page  196.  6  Page  200. 


234  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1775. 

militia,  under  the  command  of  Colonels  Ethan  Allen  and  Benedict  Arnold. 
Ticonderoga  and  its  garrison  were  taken  possession  of  at  dawn,  on  the  10th  of 
May,  1775;1  and  two  days  afterward,  Colonel  Seth  Warner,  of  the  expedition, 
with  a  few  men,  captured  Crown  Point.  The  spoils  of  victory  taken  at  these 
two  posts,  consisting  of  almost  one  hundred  and  fifty  pieces  of  cannon,  and  a 
large  quantity  of  ammunition  and  stores,  were  of  vast  consequence  to  the  Amer- 
icans. A  few  months  later  [March,  1776],  some  of  these  cannons  were  hurling 
death-shots  into  the  midst  of  the  British  troops  in  Boston.2 

Having  repudiated  royal  authority,  the  people  of  Massachusetts  were  obe- 
dient to  their  chosen  rulers,  and  efficient  civil  government  was  duly  inaugur- 
ated. On  the  19th  of  May  [1775],  the  provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts 
clothed  the  Committee  of  Safety,  sitting  at  Cambridge,  with  full  powers  to 
rcgulato  the  operations  of  the  army.  Artemas  Ward  wras  appointed  commander- 
in-chief,  Richard  Gridley,3  chief  engineer,  and  Israel  Putnam,  John  Stark,  and 
other  veterans,  who  had  served  bravely  in  the  French  and  Indian  war,  were 
appointed  to  important  commands.  The  military  genius  developed  in  that  old 
conflict,  was  now  brought  into  requisition.  Day  by  day  the  position  of  the 
British  army  became  more  perilous.  Fortunately  for  its  safety,  large  reinforce- 
ments, under  those  three  experienced  commanders,  Generals  Howe,  Clinton, 
and  Burgoyne,  arrived  on  the  25th  of  May.  It  was  timely :  and  then  the 
whole  British  force  in  Boston  amounted  to  about  twelve  thousand  men,  besides 
several  well-manned  vessels  of  war,  under  Admiral  Graves.  Gage  now  resolved 
to  attack  the  Americans  and  penetrate  the  country. 

Preparatory  to  an  invasion  of  the  province,  Gage  issued  a  proclamation 
[June  10,  1775],  declaring  all  Americans  inarms  to  be  rebels  and  traitors,  and 
offering  a  free  pardon  to  all  who  should  return  to  their  allegiance,  except  those 
arch-offenders,  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams.4  These  he  intended  to 
seize  and  send  to  England  to  be  hanged.  The  vigilant  patriots,  aware  of  Gage's 
hostile  intentions,  strengthened  their  intrenchments  on  Boston  Neck,&  and  on 
the  evening  of  the  16th  of  June,  General  Ward  sent  Colonel  Prescott"  with  a 
detachment  of  one  thousand  men,  to  take  possession  of,  and  fortify.  Bunker's 
Hill,  in  Charlestown,  which  commanded  an  important  part  of  Boston  and  the 
surrounding  water.  By  mistake  they  ascended  Breed's  Hill,  within  cannon 
shot  of  the  city,  and  laboring  with  pick  and  spade  all  that  night,  they  had  cast 
up  a  strong  redoubt7  of  earth,  on  the  summit  of  that  eminence,  before  the  Brit- 


1  Allen  was  in  chief  command.  Having  taken  possession  of  tho  fort  and  garrison  by  surprise, 
he  ascended  to  the  door  of  the  commandant's  apartment,  and  awoke  Captain  De  La  Place,  by  heavy 
blows  with  the  hilt  of  his  sword.  The  astonished  commander,  followed  by  his  wife,  came  to  the 
door.  He  knew  Allen.  "  What  do  you  want?"  he  inquired.  "I  want  you  to  surrender  this  fort," 
Allen  answered.  "By  what  authority  do  you,  demand  it?"  asked  De  La  Place.  "By  the  Great 
Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress!"  said  Allen,  with  the  voice  of  a  Stentor.  The  captain  sub- 
mitted, and  the  fortress  became  a  possession  of  the  patriots.  "  Page  247. 

3  Note  1,  page  138.  4  Note  1.  page  221.  5  Note  3,  page  229. 

G  William  Prescott  was  born  at  Groton,  Massachusetts,  in  1726.  He  was  at  Louisburg  [page 
137]  in  1745.  After  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill,  he  served  under  Gates,  until  the  surrender  of 
Burgoyne,  when  he  left  the  army.  He  died  in  1795. 

7  A  redoubt  is  a  small  fortification  generally  composed  of  earth,  and  having  very  few  features 
of  a  regular  fort,  except  its  arrangement  for  the  use  of  cannons  and  muskets.  They  are  often  tern- 


1775.] 


FIRST    TEAR    OF    THE    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE. 


235 


ish  were  aware  of  their  presence.     Gage  and  his  officers  were  greatly  astonished 
at  the  apparition  of  this  military  work,  at  the  dawn  of  the  17th. 

The  British  generals  were  not  only  astonished,  but  alarmed,  and  at  once 
perceived  the  necessity  for  driving  the  Americans  from  this  commanding 
position,  before  they  should  plant  a  heavy  battery  there,  for  in  that  event, 
Boston  must  be  evacuated  before  sunrise.  The  drums  beat 
to  arms,  and  soon  the  city  was  in  a  great  tumult.  The  im- 
minent danger  converted  many  Tories  into  professedly 
warm  Whigs,  for  the  days  of  British  rule  appeared  to  be 
closing.  Every  eminence  and  roof  in  Boston 
swarmed  with  people  and  at  about  sunrise 
[June  17,  1775],  a 
heavy  cannonade  was 
opened  upon  the  re- 
doubt, from  a  battery 
on  Copp's  Hill,  in 
Boston/  and  from  the 
shipping  in  the  har- 
bor, but  with  very 
little  effect.  Hour 
after  hour  the  patriots 
toiled  on  in  the  com- 
pletion of  their  work, 
and  at  noon-day,  their 
task  was  finished,  and  they  laid  aside  their  implements  of  labor  for  knapsacks 
and  muskets.  General  Howe,  with  General  Pigot,  and  three  thousand  men. 
crossed  the  Charles  River  at  the  same  time,  to  Morton's  Point,  at  the  foot  of 
the  eastern  slope  of  Breed's  Hill,  formed  his  troops  into  two  columns,  and 
marched  slowly  to  attack  the  redoubt.  Although  the  British  commenced  firing 
cannons  soon  after  they  began  to  ascend  the  hill,  and  the  great  guns  of  the 
ships,  and  the  battery  on  Copp's  Hill,  poured  an  incessant  storm  upon  the 
redoubt,  the  Americans  kept  perfect  silence  until  they  had  approached  within 
close  musket  shot.  Hardly  an  American  could  be  seen  by  the  slowly  approach- 
ing enemy,  yet  behind  those  rude  mounds  of  earth,  lay  fifteen  hundred  deter- 
mined men,2  ready  to  pour  deadly  volleys  of  musket-balls  upon  tho  foe,  when 
their  commanders  should  order  them. 


PLAN  OF  BUNKER'S  HILL  BATTLE. 


MONUMENT. 


porary  structures,  cast  up  in  the  progress  of  a  siege,  or  a  protracted  battle.  TJie  diagram  A,  on  the 
map,  shows  the  form  of  the  redoubt,  a  is  the  entrance. 

1  That  portion  of  Copp's  Hill,  where  the  British  battery  was  constructed,  is  a  burial-ground,  in 
which  lie  many  of  the  earlier  residents  of  that  city.  Among  them,  the  Mather  family,  distinguished 
in  the  early  history  of  the  Commonwealth.  See  page  133. 

8  During  the  forenoon,  General  Putnam  had  been  busy  in  forwarding  reinforcements  for  Pres- 
cott,  and  when  the  battle  began,  about  five  hundred  had  been  added  to  the  detachment.  Yet  he 
found  it  difficult  to  urge  many  of  the  raw  recruits  forward ;  and  after  the  war,  he  felt  it  necessary  to 
arise  in  the  church  of  which  'he  was  a  member,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  congregation,  acknowl- 
edge the  sin  of  swearing  on  that  occasion.  He  partially  justified  himself  by  saying,  "  It  was  almost 
enough  to  make  an  angel  swear,  to  see  the  cowards  refuse  to  secure  a  victory  so  nearly  won." 


236  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1775. 

It  was  now  threo  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  When  the  British  column  was 
within  ten  rods  of  the  redoubt,  Prescott  shouted  Firs !  arid  instantly  whole 
platoons  of  the  assailants  were  prostrated  by  well-aimed  bullets.1  The  survivors 
fell  back  in  great  confusion,  but  were  soon  rallied  for  a  second  attack.  They 
were  again  repulsed,  with  heavy  loss,  and  while  scattering  in  all  directions, 
General  Clinton  arrived  with  a  few  followers,  and  joined  Howe,  as  a  volunteer. 
The  fugitives  were  again  rallied,  and  they  rushed  up  to  the  redoubt  in  the  face 
of  a  galling  fire.  For  ten  minutes  the  battle  raged  fearfully,  and,  in  the  mean 
v.'hile,  Charlestown,  at  the  foot  of  the  eminence,  having  been  fired  by  a  carcass2 
from  Copp's  Hill,3  sent  up  dense  columns  of  smoke,  which  completely  enveloped 
tlie  belligerents.  The  firing  in  the  redoubt  soon  grew  weaker,  for  the  ammu- 
nition of  the  Americans  had  become  exhausted.  It  ceased  altogether,  and  then 
the  British  scaled  the  bank  and  compelled  the  Americans  to  retreat,  Avhile  they 
fought  fiercely  with  clubbed  muskets.4  Overpowered,  they  fled  across  Charles- 
town  Neck,5  gallantly  covered  by  Putnam  and  a  few  brave  men,  and  under  that 
commander,  they  took  position  on  Prospect  Hill,  and  fortified  it.  The  British 
took  possession  of  Bunker's  Hill,0  and  erected  a  fortification  there.  There  was 
absolutely  no  victory  in  the  case.  Completely  exhausted,  both  parties  sought 
rest,  and  hostilities  ceased  for  a  time.  The  Americans  had  lost,  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners,  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  men.  The  loss  of  the 
British  from  like  causes,  was  almost  eleven  hundred.7  This  was  the  first  real 
battle''  of  the  Revolution,  and  lasted  almost  two  hours. 

Terrible  for  the  people  of  Boston  and  vicinity,  were  the  events  of  that  bright 
and  cloudless,  and  truly  beautiful  June  day.  All  the  morning,  as  we  have 
observed,  and  during  the  fierce  conflict,  roofs,  steeples,  and  every  high  place,  in 
and  around  the  city,  were  filled  with  anxious  spectators.  Almost  every  family 
had  a  representative  among  the  combatants ;  and  in  an  agony  of  suspense, 
mothers,  wives,  sisters,  and  daughters,  gazed  upon  the  scene.  Many  a  loved 


1  Prescott  ordered  his  men  to  aim  at  the  waistbands  of  the  British,  and  to  pick  off  their  officers, 
whoso  line  clothes  would  distinguish  them.     It  is  said  that  men,  at  the  first  onset  in  battle,  always 
fire  too  high,  hence  the  order  to  aim  at  the  waistbands. 

2  A  carcass  is  a  hollow  case,  formed  of  ribs  of  iron  covered  with  cloth  or  metal,  with  holes  in  it. 
Being  filled  with  combustibles  and  set  on  fire,  it  is  thrown  from  a  mortar,  like  a  bomb-shell,  upon 
the  roofs  of  buildings,  and  ignites  them.     A  bomb-shell  is  a  hollow  ball  with  an  orifice,  filled  with 
powder  (sometimes  mixed  with  slugs  of  iron),  which  is  ignited  by  a  slow  match  when  fired,  explodes, 
and  its  fragments  produce  terrible  destruction.  3  See  map  on  page  235. 

4  Most  of  tho  American  muskets  were  destitute  of  bayonets,  and  they  used  the  large  end  as 
clubs.     This  is  a  last  resort.  , 

5  Charlestown,  like  Boston,  is  on  a  peninsula,  almost  surrounded  by  water  and  a  marsh.     The 
Neck  was  a  narrow  causeway,  connecting  it  with  the  main.     Charlestown  was  a  flourishing  rival  of 
Boston,  at  the  time  of  tho  battle.     It  was  then  completely  destroyed.     Six  hundred  buildings  per- 
ished in  tho  flames.     Burgoyne,  speaking  of  the  battle  and  conflagration,  said,  it  was  the  most  awful 
and  sublime  sight  he  had  ever  witnessed. 

c  As  tho  battle  took  place  on  Breed's,  and  not  on  Bunker's  Hill,  the  former  name  should 
have  been  given  to  it ;  but  the  name  of  Bunker's  Ilill  has  become  too  sacred  in  the  records  of  patriot- 
ism to  bo  changed. 

7  The  provincial  Congress  estimated  the  loss  at  about  fifteen  hundred ;  General  Gage  reported 
one  thousand  and  fifty-four.     Of  the  Americans,  only  one  hundred  and  fifteen  wero  killed;  the 
remainder  were  wounded  or  made  prisoners. 

8  A  battle  is  a  conflict  carried  on  by  large  bodies  of  troops,  according  to  the  rules  of  military 
tactics;  a  skirmish  is  a  sudden  and  irregular  fight  between  a  few  troops. 


1775.]          FIRST   YEAR    OF    THE    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.          237 

one  perished ;  and  there  the  country  lost  one  of  its  most  promising  children, 
and  freedom  a  devoted  champion.  Dr.  Warren,  who 
had  just  been  appointed  major-general,  had  crossed 
Charlestown  Neck  in  the  midst  of  flying  balls  from  the 
British  shipping,  and  reached  the  redoubt  on  Breed's 
Hill,  at  the  moment  when  the  enemy  scaled  its  banks. 
He  was  killed  by  a  musket  ball,  while  retreating. 
Buried  where  he  fell,  near  the  redoubt,  the  tall  Bunker 
Hill  monument  of  to-day,  standing  on  that  spot,  com- 
memorates his  death,  as  well  as  the  patriotism  of  his 
countrymen. 

The   storm  was  not  confined  to   the   east.     While 

these  events  were  occurring  in  New  England,  the  Revolution  was  making  rapid 
progress  elsewhere.  Even  before  the  tragedy  at  Lexington  and  Concord, 
Patrick  Henry'3  had  again  aroused  his  countrymen  by  his  eloquence,  and  in  the 
Virginia  Assembly,  convened  at  Richmond,  on  the  23d  of  March,  1775,  he 
concluded  a  masterly  speech  with  that  noted  sentiment,  which  became  the  war- 
cry  of  the  patriots,  "  GIVE  ME  LIBERTY,  OR  GIVE  ME  DEATH  !"  When, 
twenty-six  days  later  [April  20],  Governor  Dunmoro,  by  ministerial  command,3 
seized  and  conveyed  on  board  a  British  vessel  of  war,  a  quantity  of  gunpowder 
belonging  to  the  colony,  that  same  inflexible  patriot  went  at  the  head  of  armed 
citizens,  and  demanded  and  received  from  the  royal  representative,  full  restitu- 
tion. And  before  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill,  the  exasperated  people  had 
driven  Dunmore4  from  his  palace  at  Williamsburg  [June],  and  he  was  a  refugee, 
shorn  of  political  power,  on  board  a  British  man-of-war  in  the  York  River. 

Further  south,  still  bolder  steps  had  been  taken.  The  people  in  the  inte- 
rior of  North  Carolina,  where  the  Regulator  Movement  occurred  four  years 
earlier,  asserted  their  dignity  and  their  rights  as  freemen,  in  a  way  that  aston- 
ished even  the  most  sanguine  and  determined  patriots  elsewhere.  A  convention 
of  delegates  chosen  by  the  people,  assembled  at  Charlotte,  in  Mecklenberg 
county,  in  May,  1775,  and  by  a  series  of  resolutions,  they  virtually  declared 
their  constituents  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  tho  British  crown,5  organized 
local  government,  and  made  provisions  for  military  defense.  In  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia,  also,  arms  and  ammunition  had  been  seized  by  the  people,  and 
all  royal  authority  was  repudiated. 

While  the  whole  country  was  excited  by  the  rising  rebellion,  and  on  the 


1  Joseph  Warren  was  born  in  Roxbury,  in  1740.  Tie  was  at  tho  head  of  his  profession  as  a 
physieian,  when  the  events  of  the  approaching  revolution  brought  him  into  public  life.  lie  wa.s 
thirty-tive  years  of  age  when  ho  died.  His  remains  rest  in  St.  Paul's  church,  in  Boston. 

a  Note  1,  page  214.  3  Note  1,  pago  232. 

4  Dunmoro  was  strongly  suspected  of  a  desire  to  have  the  hostile  Indians  west  of  the  Allegha- 
nies  annihilate  the  Virginia  troops  sent  against  them  in  the  summer  of  1774  They  suffered  ter- 
rible loss  in  a  battle  at  Point  Pleasant  on  the  Ohio,  in  October  of  that  year,  in  consequence  of  the 
failure  of  promised  aid  from  Dunmore.  They  subdued  the  Indians,  however. 

6  This  "Declaration  of  Independence,"  as  it  is  called,  was  made  about  thirteen  months  previous 
to  the  general  Declaration  put  forth  by  the  Continental  Congress,  and  is  one  of  the  glories  of  the 
people  of  North  Carolina.  It  consisted  of  a  series  of  twenty 'resolutions,  and  was  read,  from  time  to 
time,  to  other  gatherings  of  the  people,  after  the  convention  at  Charlotte. 


233  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1775. 

very  day  [May  10]  when  Allen  and  Arnold  took  Ticonderoga, l  the  SECOND 
CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS  convened  at  Philadelphia.  Notwithstanding  New 
England  was  in  a  blaze  of  war,  royal  authority  had  virtually  ceased  in  all  the 
colonies,  and  the  conflict  for  independence  had  actually  begun,"  that  august 
body  held  out  to  Great  Britain  a  loyal,  open  hand  of  reconciliation.  Congress 
sent  [July,  1775]  a  most  loyal  petition  to  the  king,  and  conciliatory  addresses 
to  the  people  of  Great  Britain.  At  the  same  time  they  said  firmly,  "  We  have 
counted  the  cost  of  this  contest,  and  find  nothing  so  dreadful  as  voluntary 
slavery."  They  did  not  foolishly  lose  present  advantages  in  waiting  for  a  reply, 
but  pressed  forward  in  the  work  of  public  security.  Having  resolved  on  armed 
resistance,  they  voted  to  raise  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men ;  and  two  days 
before  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill  [June  15,  1775],  they  elected  GEORGE 
WASHINGTON  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  forces  raised,  or  to  be  raised,  for 
the  defense  of  the  colonies.3  That  destined  Father  of  his  Country,  was  then 
forty-three  years  of  age.  They  also  adopted  the  incongruous  mass  of  undis- 
ciplined troops  at  Boston,4  as  a  CONTINENTAL  ARMY,  and  appointed  general 
officers5  to  assist  Washington  in  its  organization  and  future  operations. 

General  Washington  took  command  of  the  army  at  Cambridge,  on  the  3d 
of  July,  and  with  the  efficient  aid  of  General  Gates,  who  was  doubtless  the  best 
disciplined  soldier  then  in  the  field,  order  was  soon  brought  out  of  great  con- 
fusion, and  the  Americans  were  prepared  to  commence  a  regular  siege  of  the 
British  army  in  Boston.0  To  the  capture  or  expulsion  of  those  troops,  the 
efforts  of  Washington  were  mainly  directed  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of 
1775.  Fortifications  were  built,  a  thorough  organization  of  the  army  was 
effected,  and  all  that  industry  and  skill  could  do,  with  such  material,  in  perfect- 
ing arrangements  for  a  strong  and  fatal  blow,  was  accomplished.  The  army, 


1  Page  234.  2  Page  232. 

3  Washington  was  a  delegate  in  Congress  from  Virginia,  and  his  appointment  was  wholly  unex- 
pected to  him.  When  the  time  came  to  choose  a  commander-in-chief,  John  Adams  arose,  and  after 
a  brief  speech,  in  which  he  delineated  the  qualities  of  the  man  whom  he  thought  best  fitted  for  the 
important  service,  he  expressed  his  intenton  to  propose  a  member  from  Virginia  for  the  office  of 
generalissimo.  All  present  understood  the  allusion,  and  the  next  day,  Thomas  Johnson,  of  Mary- 
land, nominated  Colonel  Washington,  and  he  was,  by  unanimous  vote,  elected  commander-in-chieC 
At  the  same  time  Congress  resolved  that  they  would  "  maintain  and  assist  him,  and  adhere  to  him, 
with  their  lives  and  fortunes,  in  the  cause  of  American  libertv."  When  President  Hancock 
announced  to  Washington  his  appointment,  he  modestly,  and  with  great  dignity,  signified  his  accept- 
ance in  the  following  terms:  "  Mr.  President — Though  I  am  truly  sensible  of  the  high  honor  done 
me,  in  this  appointment,  yet  I  feel  great  distress,  from  a  consciousness  that  my  abilities  and  military 
experience  may  riot  bo  equal  to  the  extensive  and  important  trust.  However,  as  the  Congress 
desire  it,  I  will  enter  upon  the  momentous  duty,  and  exert  every  power  1  possess  in  their  service, 
and  for  the  support  of  the  glorious  cause.  I  beg  they  will  accept  my  most  cordial  thanks  for  this 
distinguished  testimony  of  their  approbation.  But  lest  some  unlucky  event  should  happen,  unfavor- 
able to  my  reputation,  I  beg  it  may  be  remembered  by  every  gentleman  in  this  room,  that  I,  this 
day,  declare  with  the  utmost  sincerity,  I  do  not  think  myself  equal  to  the  command  I  am  honored 
with.  As  to  pay,  sir,  I  beg  leave  to  assure  the  Congress  that,  as  no  pecuniary  consideration  could 
have  tempted  me  to  accept  the  arduous  employment,  at  the  expense  of  my  domestic  ease  and  hap- 
piness. I  do  not  wish  to  make  any  profit  from  it.  I  will  keep  an  exact  account  of  my  expense}?. 
Those,  I  doubt  not,  they  will  discharge,  and  that  is  all  I  desire."  4  Page  232. 

5  Artemas  Ward,  Charles  Lee,  Philip  Schuyler,  arid  Israel  Putnam,  were  appointed  major- 
generals;  Horatio  Gates,  adjutant-general;  and  Seth  Pomeroy,  Richard  Montgomery.  David  Wooster, 
William  Heath,  Joseph  Spencer,  John  Thomas,  John  Sullivan,  and  Nathaniel  Green  (all  New 
England  men),  brigadier-generals.  e  Page  232. 


1775.]          FIRST   YEAR    OF    THE    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.         239 

fourteen  thousand  strong  at  the  close  of  the  year,  extended  from  Roxbury  on 
the  right,  to  Prospect  Hill,  two  miles  north-west  of  Breed's  Hill,  on  the  left. 
The  right  was  commanded  by  General  Ward,  the  left  by  General  Lee.  The 
centre,  at  Cambridge,  was  under  the  immediate  control  of  the  commander-in- 
chief. 


At  the  close  of  May,  Congress  sent  an  affectionate  address  to  the  people  of 
Canada.  They  were  cordially  invited  to  join  their  Anglo-American1  neighbors2 
in  efforts  to  obtain  redress  of  grievances,  but  having  very  little  sympathy  in 
language,  religion,  or  social  condition  with  them,  they  refused,  and  were  neces- 
sarily considered  positive  supporters  of  the  royal  cause.  The  capture  of  the 
two  fortresses  on  Lake  Champlain3  [May,  1775],  having  opened  the  way  to  the 
St.  Lawrence,  a  well-devised  plan  to  take  possession  of  that  province  and  pre- 
vent its  becoming  a  place  of  rendezvous  and  supply  of  invading  armies  from 
Great  Britain,  was  matured  by  Congress  and  the  commander-in-chief.4  To 


1  Note  1,  page  193. 

2  The  Congress  of  1774,  made  an  appeal  To  the  inhabitants  of  Quebec,  in  which  was  clearly  set 
forth  the  grievances  of  the  colonists,  and  an  invitation  to  fraternize  with  those  already  in  union. 

3  Page  234. 

4  A  committee  of  Congress,  consisting  of  Dr.  Franklin,  Thomas  Lynch,  and  Benjamin  Harrison, 
went  to  Cambridge,  in  August,  and  there  the  plan  of  the  campaign  against  Canada  was  arranged. 


240  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1775. 

accomplish  this,  a  body  of  New  York  and  New  England  troops  were  placed 
under  the  command  of  Generals  Schuyler1  and  Montgomery,"  and  ordered  to 
proceed  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain  to  Montreal  and  Quebec. 

Had  Congress  listened  to  the  earnest  advice  of  Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  to 
invade  Canada  immediately  after  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point, 
the  result  of  the  expedition  would  doubtless  have  been  very  different,  for  at  that 
time  the  British  forces  in  the  province  were  few,  and  they  had  made  no  prepar- 
ations for  hostilities.  It  was  near  the  close  of  August  before  the  invading  army 
appeared  before  St.  John  on  the  Sorel,  the  first  military  post  within  the  Cana- 
dian line.  Deceived  in  regard  to  the  strength  of  the  garrison  and  the  dispo- 
sition of  the  Canadians  and  the  neighboring  Indians,  Schuyler  fell  back 
to  Isle  Aux  Noix,3  and  after  making  preparations  to  fortify  it,  he  hastened  to 
Ticonderoga  to  urge  forward  more  troops.  Sickness  compelled  him  to  return 
to  Albany,  and  the  whole  command  devolved  upon  Montgomery,  his  second  in 
command.  That  energetic  officer  did  not  remain  long  within  his  island  intrench- 
ments,  and  toward  the  close  of  September,  he  laid  siege  to  St.  John.  The  gar- 
rison maintained  an  obstinate  resistance  for  more  than  a  month,  and  Montgomery 
twice  resolved  to  abandon  it.  During  the  siege,  small  detachments  of  brave 
men  went  out  upon  daring  enterprises.  One,  of  eighty  men.  under  Colonel 
Ethan  Allen,4  pushed  across  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  attacked  Montreal  [Sep- 
tember 25,  1775],  then  garrisoned  by  quite  n  strong  force  under  General 
Prescott."  This  was  done  at  the  suggestion  of  Colonel  John  Brown,  who  was 
to  cross  the  river  with  his  party,  a  little  above,  and  co-operate  with  Allen.  He 
foiled  to  do  so,  and  disaster  ensued.  Allen  and  his  party  were  defeated,  and 
he  was  made  prisoner  and,  with  several  of  his  men,  was  sent  to  England  in  irons. 
Another  expedition  under  Colonel  Bedell,  of  New  Hampshire,  was  more  suc- 
cessful. Tbey  captured  the  strong  fort  (but  feeble  garrison)  at  Chambly 
[October  30],  a  few  miles  north  of  St.  John:  and  at  about  the  same  time,  Sir 
Guy  Carleton,  governor  of  Canada,  with  a  reinforcement  for  the  garrison  of  St. 
John,  was  repulsed  [November  1]  by  a  party  under  Colonel  Warner,  at 
Longueil,  nearly  opposite  Montreal.  These  events  alarmed  Preston,  the  com- 
mander of  St.  John,  and  he  surrendered  that  post  to  Montgomery,  on  the  8d  of 
November. 

When  the  victory  was  complete,  the  Americans  pressed  on  toward  Mont- 


1  Philip  Sclmylor  was  born  at  Albany,  ,N"ew  York,  in  1733,  and  was  one  of  the  wisest  and  best 
men  of  his  time.     He  was  a  captain  under  Sir  William  Johnson  [page  190]  in  1755,  and  was  active 
in  the  public  service,  chiefly  in  civil  affairs,  from  that  time  until  the  Revolution.     During  that 
struggle,  ho  was  very  prominent,  and  after  the  war,  was  almost  continually  engaged  in  public  life, 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1804. 

2  Richard  Montgomery  was  born  in  Ireland,   in  1737.     He  was  with  "Wolfe,  at  Quebec  [page 
201],  and  afterward  married  a  sister  of  Chancellor  Livingston,  and  settled  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
He  gave  promise  of  great  military  ability,  when  death  ended  his  career.     See  portrait  on  page  242. 

*  Note  8,  pag-  197. 

4  Ethan  Allen  was  bora  in  Litchfield  county,  Connecticut,  He  went  to  Vermont  at  an  early 
age,  and  in  1770  was  one  of  the  bold  leaders  there  in  the  opposition  of  the  settlers  to  the  territorial 
claims  of  New  York.  He  was  never  engaged  in  active  military  services  after  his  capture.  He  died 
in  Vermont  in  February,  1789,  and  his  remains  lie  in  a  cemetery  two  miles  from  Burlington,  near 
the  Winooski.  &  Page  271. 


1775.]          FIRST   YEAR    OF    THE   WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.         241 

real.  Governor  Carleton,  conscious  of  his  weakness,  immediately  retreated  on 
board  one  of  the  vessels  of  a  small  fleet  lying  in  the  river,  and  escaped  to  Que- 
bec; and  on  the  following  day  [November  13],  Montgomery  entered  the  city 
in  triumph.  He  treated  the  people  humanely,  gained  their  respect,  and  with 
the  woolen  clothing  found  among  the  spoils,  he  commenced  preparing  his  sol- 
diers for  the  rigors  of  a  Canadian  winter.  There  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  by 
delays.  Although  all  their  important  posts  in  Canada  were  in  possession  of  the 
patriots,  yet,  Montgomery  truly  said,  in  a  letter  to  Congress,  "  till  Quebec  is 
taken,  Canada  is  unconquered."  Impressed  with  this  idea,  he  determined  to 
push  forward  to  the  capital,  notwithstanding  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  and 
the  desertion  of  his  troops.  Winter  frosts  were  binding  the  waters,  and  blind- 
ing snow  was  mantling  the  whole  country. 

The  spectacle  presented  by  this  little  army,  in  the  midst  of  discouragements 
of  every  kind,  was  one  of  great  moral  grandeur.  Yet  it  was  not  alone  at  that 
perilous  hour ;  for  while  this  expedition,  so  feeble  in  number  and  supplies,  was 
on  its  way  to  achieve  a  great  purpose,  another,  consisting  of  a  thousand  men, 
under  Colonel  Benedict  Arnold,1  had  left  Cambridge  [Sept.,  1775],  and  was 
making  its  way  through  the  deep  wilderness  by  the  Kennebec  and  Chaudiere2 
Rivers,  to  join  Montgomery  before  the  walls  of  Quebec.  That  expedition  was 
one  of  the  most  wonderful  on  record.  For  thirty-two  days  they  traversed  a 
gloomy  wilderness,  without  meeting  a  human  being.  Frost  and  snow  were 
upon  the  ground,  and  ice  was  upon  the  surface  of  the  marshes  and  the  streams, 
which  they  were  compelled  to  traverse  and  ford,  sometimes  arm-pit  deep  in 
water  and  mud.  Yet  they  murmured  not ;  and  even  women  followed  in  their 
train.3  After  enduring  incredible  toils  and  hardships,  exposed  to  intense  cold 
and  biting  hunger,  they  arrived  at  Point  Levi,1  opposite  Quebec,  on  the  9th  of 
November.  Four  days  afterward  [Nov.  13],  and  at  about  the  same  time  when 
Montgomery  entered  Montreal,  the  intrepid  Arnold,  with  only  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  half- naked  men,  not  more  than  four  hundred  muskets,  and  no  artil- 
lery, crossed  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Wolfe's  Cove,5  ascended  to  the  Plains  of 
Abraham,6  and  boldly  demanded  a  surrender  of  the  city  and  garrison  within  the 
massive  walls.  Soon  the  icy  winds,  and  intelligence  of  an  intended  sortie7  from 
the  garrison,  drove  Arnold  from  his  bleak  encampment,  and  he  ascended  the 
St.  Lawrence  to  Point  au  Trembles,  twenty  miles  above  Quebec,  and  there 


1  Page  234.  2  Pronounced  Sho-de-are. 

3  Judge  Henry,  of  Pennsylvania,  then  a  young  man,  accompanied  the  expedition.     Ho  wrote 
an  account  of  the  siege  of  Quebec,  and  in  it  he  mentions  the  wives  of  Sergeant  Grier  and  of  a  pri- 
vate soldier,  who  accompanied  them.     "Entering  the  ponds,"  he  says,  "and  breaking  the  ice  here 
and  there  with  the  butts  of  our  guns,  and  our  feet,  we  were  soon  waist-deep  in  mud  and  water.  As 
is  generally  the  case  with  youths,  it  came  to  my  mind  that  a  better  path  might  be  found  than  that 
of  the  more  elderly  guide.     Attempting  this,  the  water  in  a  trice  cooling  my  arm-pits,  made  me 
gladly  return  in  the  file.     Now,  Mrs.  Grier  had  got  before  me.     My  mind  was  humbled,  yet  aston- 
ished, at  the  exertions  of  tins  good  woman."    Like  the  soldiers,  she  waded  through  the  deep  waters 
and  the  mud. 

4  Page  201.     Several  men  who  were  afterward  prominent  actors  in  the  Revolution,  accompanied 
Arnold  in  this  expedition.     Among  them,  also,  was  Aaron  Burr,  then  a  youth  of  twenty,  who  was 
afterward  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  5  Page  202.  6  Page  202. 

1  This  is  a  French  term,  significant  of  a  sudden  sally  of  troops  from  a  besieged  city  or  fortress, 
to  attack  the  besiegers.     See  page  434. 

16 


242 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


[1775. 


awaited  the  arrival  of  Montgomery.  These  brave  generals  met  on  the  1st  of 
December  [1775],  and  woolen  clothes  which  Montgomery  brought  from  Mont- 
real, were  placed  on  the  shivering  limbs  of  Arnold's  troops.  The  united  forces, 
about  nine  hundred  strong,  then  marched  to  Quebec. 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  December  when  the  Americans  reached 
Quebec,  and  the  next  morning  early,  Montgomery  sent  a  letter  to  Carleton,  by 
a  flag,1  demanding  an  immediate  surrender.  The  flag  was  fired  upon,  and  the 
invaders  were  defied.  With  a  few  light  cannons  and  some  mortars,  and  ex- 
posed to  almost  daily  snow-storrns  in  the  open  fields,  the  Americans  besieged 
the  city  for  three  weeks.  Success  appearing  only  in  assault,  that  measure  was 
agreed  upon,  and  before  dawn,  on  the  morning  of  the  last 
day  of  the  year  [Dec.  31,  1775],  wrhile  snow  was  falling 
thickly,  the  attempt  was  made.  Montgomery  had  formed 
his  little  army  into  four  columns,  to  assail  the  city  at  differ- 
ent points.  One  of  these,  under  Arnold,  was  to  attack  the 
lower  town,  and  march  along  the  St.  Charles  to  join  another 
division,  under  Montgomery,  who  was  to  approach  by  way 
of  Cape  Diamond,2  and  the  two  were  to  attempt  a  forced  pass- 
age into  the  city,  through  Prescott  Gate.3  At  the  same 
time,  the  other  two  columns,  under  Majors  Livingston  and 
Brown,  were  to  make  a  feigned  attack  upon  the  upper  town,  from  the  Plains 
of  Abraham.  In  accordance  with  this  plan,  Montgomery  descended  Wolfe's 
Ravine,  and  marched  carefully  along  the  ice-strewn  beach,  toward  a  pallisade 
and  battery  at  Cape  Diamond.  At  the  head  of  his  men,  in  the  face  of  the 
driving  snow,  lie  had  passed  the  pallisade  unopposed, 
when  a  single  discharge  of  a  cannon  from  the  battery, 
loaded  with  grape-shot,4  killed  him  instantly,  and  slew 
several  of  his  officers,  among  whom  were  his  two  aids, 
McPherson  and  Cheeseman.  His  followers  instantly  re- 
treated. In  the  mean  while,  Arnold  had  been  severely 
wounded,  while  attacking  a  barrier  on  the  St.  Charles,5 
and  the  command  of  his  division  devolved  upon  Captain 
Morgan,0  Avhose  expert  riflemen,  with  Lamb's  artillery, 
forced  their  way  into  the  lower  town.  After  a  contest 
of  several  hours,  the  Americans,  under  Morgan,  were  obliged  to  surrender  them- 


WALLS  OF  QUEBEC. 


GENERAL   MONTGOMERY. 


1  Messengers  are  sent  from  army  to  army  with  a  white  flag,  indicating  a  desire*  for  a  peaceful 
interview.     These  flags,  by  common  consent,  are  respected,  and  it  is  considered  an  outrage  to  tiro 
on  the  bearer  of  one.    The  Americans  were  regarded  as  rebels,  and  undeserving  the  usual  courtesy. 

2  The  high  rocky  promontory  on  which  the  citadel  stands. 

3  Prescott  Gate  is  on  the  St.  Lawrence  sjde  of  the  town,  and  there  bars  Mountain-street  in  its 
sinuous  way  from  the  water  up  into  the  walled  city.    The  above  diagram  shows  the  plan  of  the  city 
walls,  and  relative  positions  of  the  several  gates  mentioned.     A  is  the  St.  Charles  Eiver,  B  the  St. 
Lawrence,  a  Wolfe  and  Montcalm's  monument  [page  202],  b  the  place  where  Montgomery  fell,  c 
the  place  where  Arnold  was  wounded. 

4  These  are  small  balls  confined  in  a  cluster,  and  then  discharged  at  once  from  a  cannon.    They 
scatter,  and  do  great  execution. 

6  This  was  at  the  foot  of  the  precipice,  below  the  present  grand  battery,  near  St.  Paul's-street. 
6  Afterward  the  famous  General  Morgan,  whose  rifle  corps  became  so  renowned,  and  who  gained 
the  victory  at  The  Cowpens,  in  the  winter  of  1781.     See  page  331. 


1775.]          FIRST    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.         243 

selves  prisoners  of  war.  The  whole  loss  of  the  Americans,  under  Montgomery 
and  Arnold,  in  this  assault,  was  about  one  hundred  and  sixty.  The  British  loss 
was  only  about  twenty  killed  and  wounded. 

Colonel  Arnold,  with  the  remainder  of  the  troops,  retired  to  Sillery,  where 
he  formed  a  camp,  and  passed  a  rigorous  Canadian  winter.  He  was  relieved  from 
chief  command  by  General  Wooster,1  on  the  1st  of  April,  who  came  doAvn  from 
Montreal  with  reinforcements,  when  another  ineffectual  attempt  was  made  to 
capture  Quebec.  When,  a  month  afterward,  General  Thomas  took  the  chief 
command  [May,  1776],  Carle  ton  was  receiving  strong  reinforcements  from 
England,  and  the  patriots  were  compelled  to  abandon  all  hope  of  conquering 
Canada.  They  wore  obliged  to  retreat  so  hastily  before  the  overwhelming 
forces  of  Carleton,  that  they  left  their  stores  and  sick  behind  them.2  Abandon- 
ing one  post  after  another,  the  Americans  were  driven  entirely  out  of  Canada  by 
the  middle  &£  June. 

The  Virginians  were  rolling  on  the  car  of  the  Revolution,  with  a  firm  arid 
steady  hand,  while  the  patriots  were  suffering  defeats  and  disappointments  at 
the  North.  We  have  already  alluded  to  the  fact,  that  the  people  of  Williams- 
burg,  then  the  capital  of  Virginia,  had  driven  Lord  Dunmore,  the  royal  gov- 
ernor, away  from  his  palace,  to  take  refuge  on  board  a  ship  of  war.3  He  was 
the  first  royal  representative  who  "  abdicated  government/"'  arid  he  was  greatly 
exasperated  because  he  was  compelled  to  do  so  in  a  very  humiliating  manner. 
From  that  vessel  he  sent  letters,  messages,  and  addresses  to  the  Virginia  House 
of  Burgesses,4  and  received  the  same  in  return.  Each  exhibited  much  spirit. 
Finally,  in  the  autumn,  the  governor  proceeded  to  Norfolk,  with  the  fleet,  and 
collecting  a  force  of  Tories  and  negroes,  commenced  depredations  in  lower  Vir- 
ginia. With  the  aid  of  some  British  vessels,  he  attacked  Hampton,  near  Old 
Point  Comfort,5  on  the  24th  of  October,  and  was  repulsed.  He  then  declared 
open  war.  The  Virginia  militia  flew  to  arms,  and  in  a  severe  battle,  fought  on 
the  9th  of  December,  at  the  Great  Bridge,  near  the  Dismal  Swamp,  twelve 
miles  from  Norfolk,  Dunmorc  was  defeated,  and  compelled  to  seek  safety  with 
the  British  shipping  in  Norfolk  harbor,  In  that  battle,  the  regiment  of  men, 
chiefly  from  Culpepper  county,  raised  by  Patrick  Henry,  and  at  the  head  of 
whom  he  demanded  payment  for  the  powder  removed  from  Williarnsburg,0  did 
very  important  service.7 

1  Page  270. 

2  General  Thomas  was  seized  with  the  small-pox,  which  had  been  raging  some  time  in  the 
American  camp,  and  died  at  Chambly  on  the  30th  of  May.     He  was  a  native  of  Plymouth.  Mass.. 
and  was  one  of  the  first  eight  brigadiers  appointed  by  Congress  [note  f>,  page  238].     Carleton 
treated  the  prisoners  and  sick  with  great  humanity.     He  afterward,  on  the  death  of  Ins  father,  be- 
camo  Lord  Dorchester.     He  died  in  1808,  aged  eighty-three  years. 

3  Page  237.  4  Page  71.  6  Page  G4  c  Page  237. 
7  This  regiment  had  adopted  a  flag  with  the  significant  device  of  a  coiled 

rattle-snake,  seen  in  the  engraving.    This  device  was  upon  many  flags  in  the 

army  and  navy  of  the  Revolution.     The  expression,  "  Don't  tread  on  me," 

had  a  double  signification.     It  might  be  said  in  a  supplicating  tone,  "Don't 

tread  on  me;"  or  menacingly,  "Don't  tread  on  me."      The  soldiers  were 

dressed  in  green  hunting-shirts,  with  Henry's  words,  LIBERTY  ou  DEATH 

[page  237],  in  large  white  letters,  on  their  bosoms.     They  had  bucks'  tails 

in  their  hats,  and  in  their  belts  tomahawks  and  scalping-knives.       Their       CULPEPPER  FLAG. 

fierce  appearance  alarmed  the  people,  as  they  marched  through  the  country. 


244  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1776. 

Five  days  after  the  battle  at  the  Great  Bridge,  the  Virginians,  under 
Colonel  Woodford,  entered  Norfolk  in  triumph  [Dec.  14,  1775],  and  the  next 
morning  they  were  joined  by  Colonel  Robert  Howe,1  with  a  North  Carolina 
regiment,  when  the  latter  assumed  the  general  command.  Dunmore  was  greatly 
exasperated  by  these  reverses,  and,  in  revenge,  he  caused  Norfolk  to  be  burned 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  January,  1776.  The  conflagration  raged 
for  fifty  hours,  and  while  the  wretched  people  were  witnessing  the  destruction 
of  their  property,  the  modern  Nero  caused  a  cannonade  to  be  kept  up.2  When 
the  destruction  was  complete,  he  proceeded  to  play  the  part  of  a  marauder  along 
the  defenseless  coast  of  Virginia.  For  a  time  he  made  his  head  quarters  upon 
Gwyn's  island,  in  Chesapeake  Bay,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Piankatank  River, 
from  which  he  was  driven,  with  his  fleet,  by  a  brigade  of  Virginia  troops  under 
General  Andrew  Lewis.3  After  committing  other  depredations,  he  went  to  the 
West  Indies,  carrying  with  him  about  a  thousand  negroes  which  he  had  col- 
lected during  his  marauding  campaign,  where  he  sold  them,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing autumn  returned  to  England.  These  atrocities  kindled  an  intense  flame 
of  hatred  to  royal  rule  throughout  the  whole  South,  and  a  desire  for  political 
independence  of  Great  Britain  budded  spontaneously  in  a  thousand  hearts 
where,  a  few  months  before,  the  plant  of  true  loyalty  was  blooming. 


CHAPTER    III. 

SECOND  YEAR  OP  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.      [1776.] 

THERE  was  great  anxiety  in  the  public  mind  throughout  the  colonies  at  the 
opening  of  the  year  1776.  The  events  of  the  few  preceding  months  appeared 
unpropitious  for  the  republican  cause,  and  many  good  and  true  men  were  dis- 
posed to  pause  and  consider,  before  going  another  step  in  the  path  of  rebellion. 
But  the  bolder  leaders  in  the  senate  and  in  the  camp  were  undismayed ;  and 
the  hopeful  mind  of  Washington,  in  the  midst  of  the  most  appalling  discourage- 
ments, faltered  not  for  a  moment.  He  found  himself  strong  enough  to  be  the 
effectual  jailor  of  the  British  army  in  Boston,  and  now  he  was  almost  prepared 
to  commence  those  blows  which  finally  drove  that  army  and  its  Tory  abettors  to 
the  distant  shores  of  Nova  Scotia.4  He  had  partially  re-organized  the  conti- 

1  Page  292. 

3  When  Dunmore  destroyed  Norfolk,  its  population  was  six  thousand ;  and  so  rapidly  was  it 
increasing  in  business  and  wealth,  that  in  two  years,  from  1773  to  1775,  the  rents  in  the  city  in- 
creased from  forty  thousand  to  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year.  The  actual  loss  by  the  cannonade  and 
conflagration  was  estimated  at  fifteen  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  personal  suffering  was  incon- 
ceivable. 

8  General  Lewis  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  was  in  the  battle  when  Braddock  was  killed. 
He  was  the  commander  of  the  Virginia  troops  in  the  battle  at  Point  Pleasant  ("note  4,  page  237], 
in  the  summer  of  1774.  He  left  the  army,  on  account  of  illness,  in  1780,  and  died  not  long  after- 
ward, while  absent  from  home.  *  Note  2,  page  80. 


1776.]         SECOND   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR   FOR   INDEPENDENCE.         245 

nental  forces  under  his  command  ;  and  on  the  first  of  January,  1776,  he  unfurled 

the  Union  Flag,  for  the  first  time,  over  the  American  camp 

at  Cambridge.1      His  army  had  then  dwindled  to  less  than 

ten  thousand  effective  men,  and  these  were   scantily  fed  and 

clothed,  and  imperfectly  disciplined.     But  the  camp  was  well 

supplied  with  provisions,  and  about  ten  thousand  minute-men,2 

chiefly  in  Massachusetts,  were  held  in  reserve,  ready  to  march 

when  called  upon. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1775,  the  Continental  Congress  had  put 
forth  all  its  energies  in  preparations  for  a  severe  struggle  with  British  power, 
now  evidently  near  at  hand.  Articles  of  war  were  agreed  to  on  the  30th  of 
June ;  a  declaration  of  the  causes  for  taking  up  arms  was  issued  on  the  6th  of 


UNION   FLAG. 


Six 

HT  HIS  BiU  entitle,  tK« 
CT-V-  Beare-p  to  -receive 
SIX  SPANISH  MILLED 
DOLLARS,  o 

Value  there  o 
OrS-ILVER-tfCfoTdinftO 

a. Resolution  of  COVI 
GRESS  wllMti  Ph 
lv.aelpTn 


BILL   OF   CHEDli1,    OK   CONTINENTAL   MONEY. 


July;  and  before  the  close  of  the  year,  bills  of  credit,  known  as  "  continental 
money,"  representing  the  value  of  six  millions  of  Spanish  dollars,  had  been 
issued.3  A  naval  establishment  had  also  been  commenced  ;4  and  at  the  opening 


1  The  hoisting  of  that  ensign  was  hailed  by  General  Howe,  the  British  commander  in  Boston,  with 
great  joy,  for  he  regarded  it  as  a  token  that  a  gracious  speech  of  the  king  on  American  affairs,  lately 
communicated  to  Parliament  was  well  received  by  the  army,  and  that  submission  would  speedily 
follow.     That  flag  was  composed  of  thirteen  stripes,  alternate  red  and  white,  symbolizing  the  thir- 
teen revolted  colonies.  In  one  corner  was  the  device  of  the  British  Union  Flag,  namely,  the  cross  of 
St.  George,  composed  of  a  horizontal  and  perpendicular  bar,  and  the  cross  of  St.  Andrew  (represent- 
ing Scotland),  which  is  in  the  form  of  x .     It  was  the  appearance  of  that  symbol  of  the  British 
union  that  misled  Howe.     This  Hag  is  represented  in  the  above  little  sketch.    On  the  14th  of  June, 
1777,  Congress  ordered  "thirteen  stars,  white,  in  a  blue  field,"  to  be  put  in  the  place  of  the  British 
union  device.     Such  is  the  design  of  our  flag  at  the  present  day.     A  star  has  been  added  for  every 
new  State  admitted  into  the  Union,  while  the  original  number  of  stripes  is  retained. 

2  Page  229. 

The  resolution  of  the  Continental  Congress,  providing  for  the  emission  of  bills,  was  adopted  on 
the  22d  of  June,  1775.  The  bills  were  printed  and  issued  soon  after,  and  other  emissions  were 
authorized,  from  time  to  time,  during  about  four  years.  At  the  beginning  of  1780,  Congress  had 
issued  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  in  paper  money.  After  the  second  year,  these  bills  began  to 
depreciate;  and  in  1780,  forty  paper  dollars  were  worth  only  one  in  specie.  At  the  close  of  1781, 
they  were  worthless.  They  had  performed  a  temporary  good,  but  were  finally  productive  of  great 
public  evil,  and  much  individual  suffering.  Some  of  these  bills  are  yet  in  existence,  and  are  con- 
sidered great  curiosities.  They  were  rudely  engraved,  and  printed  on  thick  paper,  which  caused 
the  British  to  call  it  "the  paste-board  money  of  the  rebels."  4  Note  1,  page  307. 


246  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1776. 

of  1776,  many  expert  privateersmen1  were  hovering  along  our  coasts,  to  the 
great  terror  and  annoyance  of  British  merchant  vessels. 

There  had  been,  up  to  this  time,  a  strange  apathy  concerning  American 
affairs,  in  the  British  Parliament,  owing,  chiefly,  to  the  confidence  reposed  in 
the  puissance  of  the  imperial  government,  and  a  want  of  knowledge  relative  to 
the  real  strength  of  the  colonies.  Events  had  now  opened  the  eyes  of  British 
statesmen  to  a  truer  appreciation  of  the  relative  position  of  the  contestants,  and 
the  importance  of  vigorous  action  ;  and  at  the  close  of  1775,  Parliament  had 
made  extensive  arrangements  for  crushing  the  rebellion.  An  act  was  passed 
[Nov.,  1775],  which  declared  the  revolted  colonists  to  be  rebels ;  forbade  all 
intercourse  with  them  ;  authorized  the  seizure  and  destruction  or  confiscation 
of  all  American  vessels  ;  and  placed  the  colonies  under  martial  law.2  An  ag- 
gregate land  and  naval  force  of  fifty-five  thousand  men  was  voted  for  the 
American  service,  and  more  than  a  million  of  dollars  were  appropriated  for  their 
pay  and  sustenance.  In  addition  to  these,  seventeen  thousand  troops  were  hired 
by  the  British  government  from  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse- Cassel,  and  other 
petty  German  rulers,3  to  come  hither  to  butcher  loyal  subjects  who  had  peti- 
tioned for  their  rights  for  ten  long  years,  and  now,  even  with  arms  in  their 
hands,  were  praying  for  justice,  and  begging  for  reconciliation.  This  last  act 
filled  the  cup  of  government  iniquity  to  the  brim.  It  was  denounced  in  Par- 
liament by  the  true  friends  of  England,  as  "disgraceful  to  the  British  name/' 
and  it  extinguished  the  last  hope  of  reconciliation.  The  sword  was  now  drawn, 
;md  the  scabbard  was  thrown  away. 

Intelligence  of  the  proceedings  in  Parliament  reached  America  in  January, 
1776,  and  Congress  perceived  the  necessity  of  putting  forth  immediate  and  effi- 
cient efforts  for  the  defense  of  the  extensive  sea-coast  of  the  colonies.  Washing- 
ton was  also  urged  to  attack  the  British  in  Boston,  immediately ;  and,  by  great 
efforts,  the  regular  army  was  augmented  to  about  fourteen  thousand  men  to- 
ward the  close  of  February.  In  the  mean  while,  the  provincial  Congress  of 
Massachusetts  organized  the  militia  of  the  province  anew,  and  ten  regiments, 
making  about  three  thousand  men,  arrived  in  camp  early  in  February.  The 
entire  army  now  numbered  about  seventeen  thousand  effective  men,  while  the 
British  force  did  not  exceed  five  thousand  fit  for  duty.  Reinforcements  were 
daily  expected  from  Halifax,  New  York,  and  Ireland,  and  the  present  seemed 
a  proper  moment  to  strike.  Bills  of  credit,4  representing  four  millions  of  dol- 
lars more,  were  issued  ;  Congress  promised  energetic  co-operation ;  and  on  the 


1  Private  individuals,  having  a  license  from  government  to  arm  and  equip  a  vessel,  and  with  it 
to  depredate  upon  the  commerce  of  a  nation  with  which  that  people  are  then  at  war,  are  called 
privateersmen,  and  their  vessels  are  known  as  privateers.  During  the  Revolution,  a  vast  number 
of  English  vessels  were  captured  by  American  privateersmen.  It  is,  after  all,  only  legalized  piracy, 
and  enlightened  nations  begin  to  view  it  so.  ~  Note  8,  page  170. 

3  The  Landgrave  (or  petty  prince)  of  Hesse-Cassel,  having  furnished  the  most  considerable  por- 
tion of  these  troops,  they  were  called  by  the  general  name  of  Hessians.  Ignorant,  brutal,  and 
bloodthirsty,  they  were  hated  by  the  patriots,  and  despised  even  by  the  regular  English  army.  They 
were  always  employed  in  posts  of  greatest  danger,  or  in  expeditions  least  creditable.  These  troops 
cost  the  British  government  almost  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars,  besides  the  necessity,  according 
to  the  contract,  of  defending  tho  little  principalities  thus  stripped,  against  their  foes. 

*  Page  245. 


1776.]         SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR   FOR    IX DEPENDENCE.         247 

1st  of  March,  Washington  felt  strong  enough  to  attempt  a  dislodgment  of  the 
enemy  from  the  crushed  city.1 

On  the  evening  of  the  2d  of  March  [17T6J,  a  heavy  cannonade  was  opened 
upon  Boston,  from  all  the  American  batteries,  and  was  continued,  with  brief 
intermissions,  until  the  4th.  On  the  evening  of  that  day,  General  Thomas,2 
with  twelve  hundred  men  with  intrenching  tools,  and  a  guard  of  eight  hundred, 
proceeded  secretly  to  a  high  hill,  near  Dorchester,  on  the  south  side  of  Boston, 
and  before  morning,  they  cast  up  a  line  of  strong  intrenchments,  and  planted 
heavy  cannons  there,  -which  completely  commanded  the  city  and  harbor.  It 
was  the  anniversary  of  the  memorable  Boston  Massacre,3  and  many  patriots  felt 
the  blood  coursing  more  swiftly  through  their  veins,  as  the  recollection  of  that 
event  gave  birth  to  vengeful  feelings.  It  had  nerved  their  arms  while  toiling 
all  that  long  night,  and  they  felt  a  great  satisfaction  in  knowing  that  they  had 
prepared  works  which  not  only  greatly  astonished  and  alarmed  the  British,  but 
which  would  be  instrumental  in  achieving  a  great  victory.  The  enemy  felt  the 
danger,  and  tried  to  avert  it. 

Perceiving  the  imminent  peril  of  both  fleet  and  army,  General  Howe  pre- 
pared an  expedition  to  drive  the  Americans  from  their  vantage-ground  on  Dor- 
chester heights.  A  storm  suddenly  arose,  and  mado  the  harbor  impassable.1 
The  delay  allowed  the  patriots  time  to  make  their  works  almost  impregnable, 
and  the  British  were  soon  compelled  to  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war,  or  to 
evacuate  the  city  immediately,  to  avoid  destruction.  As  prisoners,  they  would 
have  been  excessively  burdensome  to  the  colonies ;  so,  having  formally  agreed 
to  allow  them  to  depart  without  injury,  Washington  had  the  inexpressible 
pleasure  of  saying,  in  a  letter  written  to  the  President  of  Congress,  on  Sunday, 
the  17th  of  March,  "that  this  morning  the  ministerial  troops  evacuated  the 
town  of  Boston,  without  destroying  it,  and  that  we  are  now  in  full  possession." 
Seven  thousand  soldiers,  four  thousand  seamen,  and  fifteen  hundred  families  of 
loyalists,5  sailed  for  Halifax  on  that  day. 

The  gates  on  Boston  Neck  were  now  unbarred  ;  and  General  Ward,  with 
five  thousand  of  the  troops  at  Roxbury,  entered  the  city,  with  drums  beating, 
and  banners  waving,  greeted  on  every  side  with  demonstrations  of  joy  by  the 
redeemed  people.  General  Putnam  soon  afterward  [March  18]  entered  with 
another  division,  and,  in  command  of  the  whole,  he  took  possession  of  the  city 
and  all  the  forts,  in  the  name  of  the  Thirteen  United  Co'onies. 


1  Page  226.  2  Page  243.  3  Pago  221. 

4  A  similar  event  occurred  to  frustrate  the  designs  of  the  British  at  Yorktown,  several  years 
afterward.     See  page  341. 

6  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Americans  were  by  no  means  unanimous  in  their  opposition 
to  Great  Britain.  From  the  beginning  there  were  many  who  supported  the  crown ;  and  as  the 
colonists  became  more  and  more  rebellious,  these  increased.  Some  because  they  believed  their 
brethren  to  be  wrong ;  others  through  timidit}r ;  and  a  greater  number  because  they  thought  it 
their  interest  to  adhere  to  the  king.  The  loyalists,  or  Tories,  were  the  worst  and  most  efficient  en- 
emies of  the  Whigs  [note  4,  page  226]  during  the  whole  war.  Those  who  left  Boston  at  this  time, 
were  afraid  to  encounter  the  exasperated  patriots,  when  they  should  return  to  their  desolated  homes 
in  the  city,  from  which  they  had  been  driven  by  military  persecution.  The  churches  had  been 
stripped  of  their  pulpits  and  pews,  for  fuel,  fine  shade  trees  had  been  burned,  and  many  houses  had. 
been  pillaged  and  damaged  by  the  soldiery. 


248  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1776. 

Washington  had  been  informed ,  early  in  January, 
that  General  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  sailed  from  Bos- 
ton, with  a  considerable  body  of  troops,  on  a  secret  ex- 
pedition. Apprehending  that  the  city  of  New  York 
was  his  destination,  he  immediately  dispatched  General 
Charles  Lee  to  Connecticut  to  raise  troops,  and  to  pro- 
ceed to  that  city  to  watch  and  oppose  Clinton  wherever 
he  might  attempt  to  land.  Six  weeks  before  the  evacu- 
ation of  Boston  [March  17,  1776],  Lee  had  encamped 
near  New  York  with  twelve  hundred  militia.  Already 
the  Sons  of  Liberty1  had  been  busy,  and  overt  acts  of 

rebellion  had  been  committed  by  them.  They  had  seized  the  cannons  at  Fort 
George,2  and  driven  Tryon,3  the  royal  governor,  on  board  the  Asia,  a  British 
armed  vessel  in  the  harbor.  In  March,  Clinton  arrived  at  Sandy  Hook,  just 
outside  New  York  harbor,  and  on  the  same  day,  the  watchful  Lee4  providen- 
tially entered  the  city.  The  movement,  although  Avithout  a  knowledge  of  Clin- 
ton's position,  was  timely,  for  it  kept  him  at  bay.  Foiled  in  his  attempt  upon 
New  York,  that  commander  sailed  southward,  where  we  shall  meet  him  pres- 
ently. 

The  destination  of  Howe,  when  he  left  Boston,  was  also  unknown  to  Wash- 
ington. Supposing  he,  too,  would  proceed  to  New  York,  he  put  the  main  body 
of  his  army  in  motion  toward  that  city,  as  soon  as  he  had  placed  Boston  in  a 
state  of  security.  He  arrived  in  New  York  about  the  middle  of  April  [April 
14],  and  proceeded  at  once  to  fortify  the  town  and  vicinity,  and  also  the  passes 
of  the  Hudson  Highlands,  fifty  miles  above.  In  the  mean  while,  General  Lee, 
who  had  been  appointed  to  command  the  American  forces  in  the  South,  had 
left  his  troops  in  the  charge  of  General  Lord  Stirling5  [March  7],  and  was 
hastening  toward  the  Carolinas  to  watch  the  movements  of  Clinton,  arouse  the 
Whigs,  and  gather  an  army  there. 

In  the  spring  of  1776,  a  considerable  fleet,  under  Admiral  Sir  Peter  Parker, 
was  sent  from  England,  to  operate  against  the  sea-coast  towns  of  the  southern 
colonies.  Parker  was  joined  by  Clinton,  at  Cape  Fear,  in  May,  when  the  latter 
took  the  chief  command  of  all  the  land  forces.  The  fleet  arrived  off  Charleston 
bar  on  the  4th  of  June,  and  on  the  same  day,  Clinton,  with  several  hundred 
men,  landed  on  Long  Island,  which  lies  eastward  of  Sullivan's  Island.  Apprised 
of  these  hostile  designs,  and  elated  by  a  victory  obtained  by  North  Carolina 
militia,  under  Colonel  Caswell,  oter  fifteen  hundred  loyalists'3  [February  27, 

1  Note  1.  page  215. 

2  This  fort  stood  at  the  foot  of  Broadway,  on  a  portion  of  the  site  of  the  present  "Battery." 

3  Page  223. 

4  Charles  Lee  was  born  in  "Wales  in  1731.     lie  was  a  brave  officer  in  the  British  army  during 
the  French  and  Indian  "War.    He  settled  in  Virginia  in  1773,  and  was  one  of  the  first  brigadiers  of 
the  Continental  army  appointed  by  Congress.    His  ambition  and  perversity  of  temper,  finally  caused 
his  ruin.     He  died  in  Philadelphia  in  1782.     See  page  288.  5  Page  254. 

G  These  were  chiefly  Scotch  Highlanders,  and  were  led  by  Donald  McDonald,  an  influential 
Scotchman  then  residing  at  Cross  Creek,  now  Fayetteville.  The  husband  of  Flora  McDonald,  so 
celebrated  in  connection  with  the  flight  of  the  young  Pretender  from  Scotland,  at  the  close  of  the 
rebellion  in  1745,  was  in  the  battle.  "Flora  was' then  living  at  Cross  Creek. 


1776.]         SECOND    YEAR   OF   THE   WAR   FOR   INDEPENDENCE.          249 

1776],  on  Moore's  Creek,  in  the  present  Hanover  county,  the  southern  patriots 
had  cheerfully  responded  to  the  call  of  Governor  Rutledge,  and  about  six  thou- 
sand armed  men  had  collected  in  and  near  Charleston, 
when  the  enemy  appeared.1  The  city  and  eligible 
posts  near  it,  had  been  fortified,  and  quite  a  strong 
fort,  composed  of  palmetto  logs  and  sand,  and  armed 
with  twenty-six  mounted  cannons,  had  been  erected 
upon  Sullivan's  Island,  to  command  the  channel 
leading  to  the  town.  This  fort  was  garrisoned  by 
about  five  hundred  men,  chiefly  militia,  under  Colo- 
nel William  Moultrie.8 

A  combined  attack,  by  land    and   water,  upon  GENERAL  MOULTRIE. 

Sullivan's  Island,  was  commenced  by  the  British,  on 

the  morning  of  the  28th  of  June,  1776.  While  the  fleet  was  pouring  a  terrible 
storm  of  iron  balls  upon  Fort  Sullivan,  Clinton  endeavored,  but  in  vain,  to 
force  a  passage  across  a  narrow  creek  which  divided  the  two  islands,  in  order  to 
attack  the  yet  unfinished  fortress  in  the  rear.  But  Colonel  Thompson,  with  a 
small  battery  on  the  east  end  of  Sullivan's  Island,  repelled  every  forward 
movement  of  Clinton,  while  the  cannons  of  the  fort  were  spreading  havoc  amon^ 

1  O  e3 

the  British  vessels.3  The  conflict  raged  for  almost  ten  hours,  and  only  ceased 
when  night  fell  upon  the  scene.  Then  the  British  fleet,  almost  shattered  into  frag- 
ments, withdrew,  and  abandoned  the  enterprise.'1  The  slaughter  of  the  British 
had  been  frightful.  Two  hundred  and  twenty-five  had  been  killed  or  wounded, 
while  only  two  of  the  garrison  were  killed,  and  twenty-two  were  wounded.5  The 
British  departed  for  New  York  three  days  afterward0  [June  81,  1776],  and  for 
more  than  two  years,  the  din  of  war  was  not  heard  below  the  Roanoke.  This 
victory  had  a  most  inspiriting  effect  upon  the  patriots  throughout  the  land. 


1  General  Armstrong  of  Pennsylvania  [page  193],  had  arrived  in  South  Carolina  in  April,  and 
.took  the  general  command.     Lee  arrived  on  the  samo  day  when  the  British,  under  Clinton,  landed 

on  Long  Island. 

2  Born  in  South  Carolina,  in  1730.     II?  was  in  the  Cherokee  war  [page  204],  in  17G1.     He  was 
an  active  officer  until  made  prisoner,  in  1780,  when  for  two  years  he  was  not  allowed  to  bear  arms. 
He  died  in  1805.     General  Moultrie  wroto  a  very  interesting  memoir  of  the  war  in  the  South. 

3  At  one  time,  every  man  but  Admiral  Parker  was  swept  from  the  deck  of  his  vessel.     Among 
those  who  were  badly  wounded,  \vas  Lord  William  Campbell,  the  royal  governor  of  South  Carolina, 
who  afterward  died  of  his  wounds. 

4  The  Acteon,  a  large  vessel,  grounded  on  a  shoal  between  Fort  Sullivan  and  the  city,  where 
she  was  burned  by  the  Americans. 

5  The  strength  of  the  fort  consisted  in  the  capacity  of  the  spongy  palmetto  logs,  upon  which  can- 
non-balls would  make  very  little  impression.     It  appeared  to  be  a  very  insecure  defense,  and  Lee 
advised  Moultrie  to  abandon  it  when  tho  British  approached.      But  that  brave  officer  would  not 
d?83rt  it,  and  was  rewarded  with  victory.     The  ladies  of  Charleston  presented  his  regiment  with  a 
pair  of  elegant  colors,  and  the  "slaughter  pen."  as  Lee  ironically  called  Fort  Sullivan,  was  named 
Fort  Moultrie.     During  the  action,  the  staff,  bearing  a  large  flao:,  was  cut  down  by  a  cannon-ball 
from  the  fleet.     The  colors  fell  outside  the  fort.     A  sergeant  named  Jasper,  leaped  down  from  one 
of  the  bastions,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  iron  hail  that  was  pouring  from  the  fort,  coolly  picked  up 
the  flag,  ascended  to  the  bastion,  and  calling  for  a  sponge-staff,  tied  the  colors  to  it,  stuck  it  in  the 
sand,  and  then  took  his  place  among  his  companions  in  the  fort.     A  few  days  afterward,  Governor 
Rutledge  took  his  own  sword  from  his  side,  and  presented  it  to  the  brave  Jasper;  he  also  offered 
him  a  lieutenant's  commission,  which  the  young  man  modestly  declined,  because  lie  could  neither 
read  nor  write,  saying,  "I  am  not  fit  to  keep  officers'  company — I  am  but  a  sergeant." 

6  Page  252. 


250  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1776. 

Important  events  in  the  progress  of  the  war  were  now  thickening.     Re- 
bellion had  become  revolution.     While  the  stirring  events  at  the  South,  just 

mentioned,  were  transpiring,  and  while  Wash- 
ington was  augmenting  and  strengthening  the 
continental  army  in  New  York,  and  British 
troops  and  German  hirelings1  wero  approach- 
ing by  thousands,  the  Continental  Congress, 
now  in  permanent  session  in  the  State  House 
at  Philadelphia,  had  a  question  of  vast  im- 
portance under  consideration.  A  few  men,  look- 
STATE  HOUSE.  ing  beyond  the  storm-clouds  of  the  present, 

beheld  bright  visions  of  glory  for  their  country, 

when  the  people,  now  declared  to  be  rebels,2  and  out  of  the  protection  of  the 
British  king,  should  organize  themselves  into  a  sovereign  nation.  "  The  light- 
ning of  the  Crusades  wras  in  the  people's  hearts,  and  it  needed  but  a  single 
electric  touch,  to  make  it  blaze  forth  upon  the  wrorld,"  says  James,  in  writing 
of  an  earlier  disruption  of  political  systems.3  So  it  was  now,  in  the  American 
colonies.  The  noble  figure  of  an  independent  nation  stood  forth  with  a  beauty 
that  almost  demanded  worship.  The  grand  idea  began  to  flash  through  the 
popular  mind  at  the  close  of  1775 ;  and  when,  early  in  1776,  it  was  tangibly 
spoken  by  Thomas  Paine,  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  Common  Sense*  (said  to  have 
been  suggested  by  Dr.  Hush),5  and  whose  vigorous  thoughts  were  borne  by  the 
press  to  every  community,  a  desire  for  independence  filled  the  hearts  of  tho 
people.  In  less  than  eighty  days  after  the  evacuation  of  Boston  [March  17, 
1776],  almost  every  provincial  Assembly  had  spoken  in  favor  of  independence  : 
and  on  the  7th  of  June,  in  the  midst  of  the  doubt,  and  dread,  and  hesitation,  which 
for  twenty  days  had  brooded  over  the  Continental  Congress,  Richard  Henry  Lee,6 

1  Page  246.  2  Pago  246.  3  History  of  the  Crusades,  by  G.  P.  R.  James. 

4  The  chief  topic  of  this  remarkable  pamphlet,  was  the  right  and  expediency  of  colonial  inde- 
pendence.    Paine  also  wrote  a  series  of  equally  powerful  papers,  called  The  Crisis.     The  first  num- ' 
ber  was  written  in  Fort  Lee,  on  the  Hudson,  in  December,  1776,  and  published  while  Washington 
was  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware.     See  page  192.     These  had  a  powerful  effect  in  stimulating  the 
people  to  efforts  for  independence.     They  were  highly  valued  by  the  commandcr-in-chief,  and  he  pro- 
moted their  circulation.     Writing  to  a  friend  soon  after  the  appearance  of  Common  Sense,  Washington 
said,  "  By  private  letters  which  I  have  lately  received  from  Virginia,  I  find  that  Common  Sense  is 
working  a  powerful  change  there  in  the  minds  of  many  men." 

5  Benjamin  Rush  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  his  time,  as  a  physician,  a  man  of  science, 
and  an  active  patriot  during  the  whole  Revolution.     He  was  born  twelve  miles  from  Philadelphia, 
in  1745.     He  was  educated  at  Princeton,  completed  his  scientific  studies  in  Edinburg,  and  after 
his  return,  he  soon  rose  to  the  highest  eminence  in  his  profession.     He  was  the  recipient  of  many 
honors,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  in  1776,  he  advocated  and  signed  the  Declar- 
ation of  Independence.     His  labors  during  the  prevalence  of  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia,  in  1793, 
gave  him  the  imperishable  crown  of  a  true  philanthropist.     He  founded  the  Philadelphia  Dispensary 
in  1786;  and  he  was  also  one  of  the  principal  founders  of  Dickinson  College,  at  Carlisle.  Pennsyl- 
vania,    He  was  president  of  the  American  Society  for  the  abolition  of  slavery ;  of  the  Philadelphia 
Medical  Society ;  vice-president  of  the  Philadelphia  Bible  Society;  and  one  of  the  vice-presidents 
of  the  American  Philosophical  Society.     He  died  in  April.  1818,  at  the  age  of  almost  sixty-eight 
years.     A  portrait  of  Dr.  Rush  may  be  found  on  the  next  page. 

c  Richard  Henry  Lee  w^as  born  in  Westmoreland  count}".  Virginia,  in  1732.  He  was  educated 
in  England,  and  was  in  public  life  most  of  the  time  after  reaching  his  majority.  He  was  one  of  the 
earliest  opposers  of  the  Stamp  Act;  was  a  member  of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  and  signed  that 
Declaration  of  Independence  which  he  so  nobly  advocated.  He  was  afterward  a  member  of  the 
United  States  Senate;  and  soon  after  his  retirement  to  private  life,  in  1794,  he  died,  when  in  the 


1776.]         SECOND   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR  FOR   INDEPENDENCE.         251 

of  Virginia,  arose  in  his  place,  and  with  his  clear,  musical  voice,  read  aloud 
the  Resolution,  "  That  these  united  colonies  are,  and,  of  right,  ought  to  bo, 
free  and  independent  States ;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the 
British  crown,  and  that  all  political  connection  between  them  and  the  State  of 
Great  Britain,  is,  and  ought  to  be  totally  dissolved."  l 


This  was  an  exceedingly  bold  step,  and  the  resolution  did  not  meet  with 
general  favor  in  Congress,  at  first.  Many  yet  hoped,  even  against  hope,  for 
reconciliation,  and  thought  it  premature,  and  there  were  some  timid  ones  who 
trembled  while  standing  so  near  the  borders  of  high  treason.  After  debating 
the  subject  for  three  days,  the  further  consideration  of  it  was  postponed  until 
the  first  of  July.  A  committee0  was  appointed  [June  11],  however,  to  draw 


sixty-third  year  of  his  age.  A  characteristic  anecdote  is  told  of  his  son,  who  was  at  school,  in 
England,  at  the  time  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  promulgated.  One  day  a  gentleman 
asked  his  tutor,  "What  boy  is  this?"  "He  is  the  son  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  America,"  the 
tutor  replied.  The  gentleman  put  his  hand  on  the  boy's  head,  and  said,  "We  shall  yet  see  your 
father's  head  upon  Tower  Hill."  The  boy  instantly  answered,  "  You  may  have  it  when  you  can  get 
it."  That  boy  was  the  late  Ludwell  Lee,  Esq. 

1  On  the  10th  of  May,  Congress  had,  by  resolution,  recommended  the  establishment  of  independ- 
ent State  governments  in  all  the  colonies.     This,  however,  was  not  sufficiently  national  to  suit  the 
bolder  and  wiser  members  of  that  body,  and  the  people  at  large.     Lee's  resolution  more  fully- 
expressed  the  popular  will. 

2  Thomas  Jefferson,  of  Virginia;  John  Adams,  of  Massachusetts ;  Benjamin  Franklin,  of  Penn- 
sylvania ;  Roger  Sherman,  of  Connecticut ;  and  Robert  R.  Livingston,  of  New  York.     Mr.  Lee  was 
summoned  home  to  the  bedside  of  a  sick  wife,  on  the  day  before  the  appointment  of  the  committee, 
or  he  would  doubtless  have  been  its  chairman. 


252  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1776. 

up  a  declaration  in  accordance  with  the  resolution,  and  were  instructed  to  report 
on  the  same  day  when  the  latter  should  be  called  up.  Thomas  Jefferson,  of 
Virginia,  the  youngest  member  of  the  committee,  was  chosen  its  chairman,  and 
to  him  was  assigned  the  task  of  preparing  the  Declaration.  Adams  and  Frank- 
lin made  a  few  alterations  in  his  draft,  and  it  was  submitted  to  Congress  at  the 
same  hour  when  Mr.  Lee's  resolution  was  taken  up  for  consideration.  On  the 
following  day  [July  2],  the  resolution  was  adopted  by  a  large  majority.  The 
Declaration  was  debated  almost  two  days  longer ;  and  finally,  at  about  mid-day, 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  the  representatives  of  thirteen  colonies  unanimously 
declared  them  free  and  independent  States,  under  the  name  of  THE  UNITED 
STATES  OF  AMERICA.  Only  John  Hancock,  the  president  of  Congress,  signed 
it  on  that  day,  and  thus  it  first  went  forth  to  the  world.  It  was  ordered  to  be 
written  on  parchment,  and  on  the  2d  of  August  following,  the  names  of  all  but 
two  of  the  fifty-six  signers,1  were  placed  upon  it.  These  two  were  added  after- 
ward. It  had  then  been  read  to  the  army  ;2  at  public  meetings ;  from  a  hun- 
dred pulpits,  and  in  all  legislative  halls  in  the  land,  and  everywhere  awakened 
the  warmest  responses  of  approval. 

Pursuant  to  instructions,  General  Howe  proceeded  toward  New  York,  to 
meet  General  Clinton  and  Parker's  fleet.  He  left  Halifax  on  the  llth  of  June, 
[1776],  and  arrived  at  Sandy  Hook3  on  the  29th.  On  the  2d  of  July  he  took 
possession  of  Staten  Island,  where  he  was  joined  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  [July 
11],  from  the  South,4  and  his  brother,  Admiral  Lord  Howe  [July  12],  with  a 
fleet  and  a  large  land  force,  from  England.  Before  the  first  of  August,  other 
vessels  arrived  with  a  part  of  the  Hessian  troops,5  and  on  that  day.  almost  thirty 
thousand  soldiers,  many  of  them  tried  veterans,  stood  ready  to  fall  upon  the 
republican  army  of  seventeen  thousand  men,6  mostly  militia,  which  lay 
intrenched  in  New  York  and  vicinity,  less  than  a  dozen  miles  distant.7  The 


1  This  document,  containing  the  autographs  of  those  venerated  fathers  of  our  republic,  is  care- 
fully preserved  in  a  glass  case,  in  the  rooms  of  the  National  Institute  at  Washington  city.      Not  one 
of  all  that  band  of  patriots  now  survives.     Charles  Carrol  was  the  last  to  leave  us.     He  departed  in 
1832,  at  the  age  of  ninety  years.  See  Supplement.  It  is  worthy  of  remembrance  that  not  one  of  all 
those  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  died  with  a  tarnished  reputation.     The  memory 
of  all,  is  sweet. 

2  Washington  caused  it  to  be  read  at  the  head  of  each  brigade  of  the  army,  then  in  New  York 
city,  on  the  9th  of  July.     That  night,  citizens  and  soldiers  pulled  down  the  leaden  equestrian  statue 
of  George  III.,  which  stood  in  the  Bowling  Green,  and  it  was  soon  afterward  converted  into  bullets 
for  the  use  of  the  Continental  army.     The  statue  was  gilded.     The  head  of  the  horse  was  toward 
the  Hudson  River.     The  Rev.  Zachariah  Greene,  yet  [1856]  living  at   Hempstead,  Long  Island, 
heard  the  Declaration  read  to  the  soldiers.,    He  was  in  the  army. 

3  Sandy  Hook  is  a  low  ridge  of  sand,  extending  several  miles  down  the  New  Jersey  shore,  from 
the  entrance  to  Raritan  or  Amboy  Bay.     Between  it  and  the  shore,  the  water  is  navigable;  and 
near  the  mouth  of  Shrewsbury  River,  the  ridge  is  broken  by  an  inlet.  4  Page  249. 

5  Page  246. 

6  Thero  were  about  twenty-seven  thousand  men  enrolled,  but  not  more  than  seventeen  thousand 
men  were  fit  for  duty.     A  great  many  were  sick,  and  a  large  number  were  without  arms. 

7  Many  of  the  ships  passed  through  the  Narrows,  and  anchored  in  New  York  Bay.     Howe's 
flag-ship,  the  Eagle,  lay  near  Governor's  Island.     While  in  that  position,  a  bold  soldier  went  in  a 
submarine  vessel,  with  a  machine  for  blowing  up  a  ship,  and  endeavored  to  fasten  it  to  the  bottom 
of  the  Eagle,  but  failed.     He  was  discovered,  and  barely  escaped.     An  explosion  of  the  machine 
took  place  near  the  Eagle,  and  the  commander  was  so  alarmed,  that  she  was  hastily  moved  further 
down  the  Bay.     This  machine  was  constructed  by  David  Buslmell,  of  Connecticut,  and  was  called  a 
torpedo.    See  Note  2,  page  285. 


I77b  I        SECOND  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR  FOR   INDEPENDENCE.         253 

grand  object  in  view  was  the  seizure  of  New  York  and  the  country  along 
the  Hudson,  so  as  to  keep  open  a  communication  with  Canada,  separate  the 
patriots  of  New  England  from  those  of  the  other  States,  and  to  overrun  the  most 
populous  portion  of  the  revolted  colonies.  This  was  the  military  plan,  arranged 
by  ministers.  They  had  also  prepared  instructions  to  their  commanding  generals, 
to  be  pacific,  if  the  Americans  appeared  disposed  to  submit.  Lord  Howe1  and 
his  brother,  the  general,  were  commissioned  to  "  grant  pardon  to  all  who  deserved 
mercy,"  and  to  treat  for  peace,  but  only  on  terms  of  absolute  submission  on  the 
part  of  the  colonies,  to  the  will  of  the  king  and  parliament.  After  making  a 
foolish  display  of  arrogance  and  weakness,  in  addressing  General  Washington 
as  a  private  gentleman,"  and  being  assured  that  the  Americans  had  been  guilty 
of  no  offense  requiring  a  "  pardon"  at  their  hands,  they  prepared  to  strike  an 
immediate  and  effective  blow.  The  British  army  was  accordingly  put  in  motion 
on  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  August  [1776],  and  during  that  day,  ten 
thousand  effective  men,  and  forty  pieces  of  cannon,  were  landed  on  the  west- 
ern end  of  Long  Island,  between  the  present  Fort  Hamilton  and  Gravesend 
village. 

Already  detachments  of  Americans  under  General 
Sullivan,  occupied  a  fortified  camp  at  Brooklyn, 
opposite  New  York,  and  guarded  seven  passes  on  a 
range  of  hills  which  extend  from  the  Narrows  to  the 
village  of  Jamaica. 3  When  intelligence  of  the  landing 
of  the  invading  army  reached  Washington,  he  sent 
General  Putnam/  with  large  reinforcements,  to  take 
the  chief  command  on  Long  Island,  and  to  prepare  to 
meet  the  enemy.  The  American  troops  on  the  island 
now  [August  26],  numbered  about  five  thousand.  GENERAL  PUTNVM 

The   British   moved  in   three    divisions.     The  left, 

under  General  Grant,  marched  along  the  shore  toward  Gowanus ;  the  right, 
under  Clinton  and  Cornwallis,  toward  the  interior  of  the  island  ;  and  the  cen- 
ter, composed  chiefly  of  Hessians,5  under  De  Heister,  marched  up  the  Flatbush 
road,  south  of  the  hills. 

Clinton  moved  under  cover  of  night,  and  before  dawn  on  tho  morning  of 


1  Richard,  Earl  Howe,  was  brother  of  the  young  Lord  Howe  [page  197],  killed  at  Ticonderoga. 
He  was  born  in  1725,  and  died  in  1799. 

2  The  letters  of  Lord  Howe  to  the  American  commander-in-chief,  were  addressed,  "  George 
Washington,  Esq."     As  that  did  not  express  the  public  character  of  the  chief,  and  as  he  would  not 
confer  with  the  enemies  of  his  country  in  a  private  capacity,  Washington  refused  to  receive  the 
letters.     Howe  was  .instructed  not  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  Congress  in  any  way,  and  as 
Washington  had  received  his  commission  from  that  body,  to  address  him  as  "  general,"  would  have 
been  a  recognition  of  its  authority.     He  meant  no  disrespect  to  Washington.     Congress,  by  resolu- 
tion, expressed  its  approbation  of  Washington's  dignified  course. 

3  General  Nathaniel  Green  had  been  placed  in  command  of  this  division,  but  having  been  pros- 
trated by  bilious  fever,  about  a  week  before  the  landing  of  the  British  at  the  Narrows,  Sullivan  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  troops. 

4  Israel  Putnam  was  born  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  1718.     He  was  a  very  useful  officer 
during  the  French  and  Indian  war,  and  was  in  active  service  in  the  continental  army,  until  1779, 
when  bodily  infirmity  compelled  him  to  retire.     He  died  in  1790,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years. 

5  Page  246. 


254  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1776. 

the  27th,  he  had  gained  possession  of  the  Jamaica 
pass,  near  the  present  East  New  York.  At  the 
same  time,  Grant  was  pressing  forward  along  the 
shore  of  New  York  Bay,  and  at  day-break,  he 
encountered  Lord  Stirling,1  where  the  monuments 
of  Greenwood  cemetery  now  dot  the  hills.  De 
Heister  advanced  from  Flatbush  at  the  same  hour, 
and  attacked  Sullivan,  who,  having  no  suspicions 

BATTLE   OF   LONG    ISLAND.  c    ,1  c    W     ±  ±   1  • 

of  the  movements  ot  Clinton,  was  watching  the 

Flatbush  Pass.  A  bloody  conflict  ensued,  and  while  it  was  progressing, 
Clinton  descended  from  the  wooded  hills,  by  the  way  of  Bedford,  to  gain  Sul- 
livan's rear.  As  soon  as  the  .latter  perceived  his  peril,  he  ordered  a  retreat 
to  the" American  lines  at  Brooklyn.  It  was  too  late ;  Clinton  drove  him  back 
upon  the  Hessian  bayonets,  and  after  fighting  desperately,  hand  to  hand,  with 
the  foe  in  front  and  rear,  and  losing  a  greater  portion  of  his  men,  Sullivan  was 
compelled  to  surrender. 

As  usual,  misfortunes  did  not  come  single.  While  these  disasters  were 
occurring  on  the  left,  Cornwallis  descended  the  port-road  to  Gowanus,  and 
attacked  Stirling.  They  fought  desperately,  until  Stirling  Avas  made  prisoner." 
Many  of  his  troops  were  drowned  while  endeavoring  to  escape  across  the  Gow- 
anus Creek,  as  the  tide  was  rising ;  and  a  large  number  were  captured.  At 
noon  the  victory  for  the  British  was  complete.  About  five  hundred  Americans 
were  killed  or  wounded,  and  eleven  hundred  were  made  prisoners.  These  were 
soon  suffering  dreadful  horrors  in  prisons  and  prison-ships,  at  New  York.3 
The  British  loss  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  was  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven. 

It  was  with  the  deepest  anguisli  that  Washington  had  viewed,  from  New 
York,  the  destruction  of  his  troops,  yet  he  dared  not  weaken  his  power  in  the 
city,  by  sending  reinforcements  to  aid  them.  He  crossed  over  on  the  following 
morning  [August  28],  with  Mifnin,4  who  had  come  down  from  the  upper  end 
of  York  island  with  a  thousand  troops,  and  was  gratified  to  find  the  enemy 
encamped  in  front  of  Putnam's  lines,  and  delaying  an  attack  until  the  British 
fleet  should  co-operate  with  him.  This  delay  allowed  Washington  time  to  form 
and  execute  a  plan  for  the  salvation  of  the  remainder  of  the  army,  now  too 
weak  to  resist  an  assault  with  any  hope  of  success.  Under  cover%of  a  heavy 
fog,  which  fell  upon  the  hostile  camps  at  midnight  of  the  29th,  and  continued 
until  the  morning  of  the  30th,  he  silently  withdrew  them  from  the  camp,5  and, 


1  "William  Alexander,  Lord  Stirling,  was  a  descendant  of  the  Scotch  earl  of  Stirling,  mentioned 
in  note  2,  page  80.     He  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1726.     He  became  attached  to  the 
patriot  cause,  and  was  an  active  officer  during  the  war.     He  died  in  1783,  aged  fifty-seven  years. 

2  Stirling  was  sent  immediately  on  board  of  the  Eagle,  Lord  Howe's  flag-ship. 

3  Among  the  prisoners  was  General  Nathaniel  Wooclhull  [Note  1,  page  19rf],  late  president  of 
the  provincial  Congress  of  New  York.     He  was  taken  prisoner  on  the  30th,  and  after  being  severely 
wounded  at  the  time,  he  was  so  neglected,  that  his  injuries  proved  fatal  in  the  course  of  a  few  days. 
His  age  was  fifty -three.     See  Onderdonk's  Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island.  *  Page  352. 

6  During  the  night,  a  woman  living  near  the  present  Fulton  Ferry,  where  the  Americans 
embarked,  having  become  offended  at  some  of  the  patriots,  sent  her  negro  servant  to  inform  tho 


RETREAT  OF  THE  AMERICANS  FROM  LONG  ISLAND. 


1776.]         SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR   FOR  INDEPENDENCE.         257 

unperceived  by  the  British,  they  all  crossed  over  to  New  York  in  safety,  carry- 
ing every  thing  with  them  but  their  heavy  cannons.  When  the  fog  rolled  away, 
and  the  sunlight  burst  upon  Brooklyn  and  New  York,  the  last  boat-load  of 
patriots  had  reached  the  city  shore.  Mifflin,  with  his  Pennsylvania  battalion, 
and  the  remains  of  two  broken  Maryland  regiments,  formed  the  covering  party. 
Washington  and  his  staff,  who  had  been  in  the  saddle  all  night,  remained  until 
the  last  company  had  embarked.  Surely,  if  "the  stars  in  their  courses  fought 
against  Sisera,"  in  the  time  of  Deborah,1  the  wings  of  the  Cherubim  of  Mercy 
and  Hope  were  over  the  Americans  on  this  occasion.  Howe,  who  felt  sure  of 
his  prey,  was  greatly  mortified,  and  prepared  to  make  an  immediate  attack 
upon  New  York,  before  the  Americans  should  become  reinforced,  or  should 
escape  from  it." 

Unfortunately  for  the  cause  of  freedom,  at  that  time,  the  troops  under 
Washington  lacked  that  unity  of  feeling  and  moral  stamina,  so  necessary  for 
the  accomplishment  of  success  in  any  struggle.  Had  patriotism  prevailed  in 
every  heart  in  the  American  army,  it  might  have  maintained  its  position  in  the 
city,  and  kept  the  British  at  bay.  But  there  were  a  great  many  of  merely 
selfish  men  in  the  camp.  Sectional  differences3  weakened  the  bond  of  union,  and 
immorality  of  every  kind  prevailed.4  There  was  also  a  general  spirit  of  insub- 
ordination, and  the  disasters  on  Long  Island  disheartened  the  timid.  Hundreds 
deserted  the  cause,  and  went  home.  Never,  during  the  long  struggle  of  after 
years,  was  the  hopeful  mind  of  Washington  more  clouded  by  doubts,  than 
during  the  month  of  September,  1776.  In  the  midst  of  the  gloom  and  perplex- 
ity, he  called  a  council  of  war  [Sept.  12th],  and  it  was  determined  to  send  the 
military  stores  to  Dobbs'  Ferry,  a  secure  place  twenty- two  miles  up  the  Hud- 
son, and  to  retreat  to  and  fortify  Harlem  Heights,5  near  the  upper  end  of  York 


British  of  the  movement.  The  negro  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Hessians.  They  could  not  under- 
stand a  word  of  his  language,  and  detained  him  until  so  late  in  the  morning  that  his  information  was 
of  no  avail.  *  Judges,  chapter  v.,  verse  20. 

2  He  ordered  several  vessels  of  war  to  sail  around  Long  Island,  arid  come  down  the  Sound  to 
Flushing  Bay,  so  as  to  cover  the  intended  landing  of  the  troops  upon  the  main  [page  258],  in 
Westchester  county.  In  the  mean  while,  Howe  made  an  overture  for  peace,  supposing  the  late  dis- 
aster would  dispos3  the  Americans  to  listen  eagerly  to  almost  any  proposition  for  reconciliation. 
He  parolled  General  Sullivan,  and  by  him  sent  a  verbal  communication  to  Congress,  suggesting  a 
committee  for  conference.     It  was  appointed,  and  consisted  of  Dr    Franklin,  John  Adams,  and 
Edward  Rutledge.     On  the  llth  of  September,  they  met  Lord  Howe  at  the  house  of  Captain  Billop, 
on  Staten  Island,  opposite  Perth  Amboy.     The  committee  would  treat  only  for  independence,  and 
the  conference  had  no  practical  result,  except  to  widen  the  breach.     When  Howe  spoke  patron- 
izingly of  protection  for  the  Americans,  Dr.  Franklin  told  him  courteously,  that  the  Americans  were 
not  in  need  of  British  protection,  lor  they  were  fully  able  to  protect  themselves. 

3  The  army,  which  at  first  consisted  chiefly  of  New  England  people,  had  been  reinforced  by 
others  from  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  all  of  them 
jealous  of  their  respective  claims  to  precedence,  and  materially  differing  in  their  social  habits. 

4  Cotemporary  writers  give  <i  sad  picture  of  the  army  at  this  time.     Among  many  of  the  sub- 
ordinate officers,  greed  usurped  the  place  of  patriotism.    Officers  were  elected  on  condition  that  they 
should  throw  their  pay  and  rations  into  a  joint  stock  for  the  benefit  of  a  company  ;  surgeons  sold 
recommendations  for  furloughs,  for  able-bodied  men,  at  sixpence  each ;  and  a  captain  was  cashiered 
for  stealing  blankets  from  his  soldiers.     Men  went  out  in  squads  to  plunder  from  friend  and  foe,  to 
the  disgrace  of  the  army.     Its  appointments,  too,  were  in  a  wretched  condition.     The  surgeons' 
department  lacked  instruments.    According  to  a  general  return  of  fifteen  regiments,  there  were  not 
morfc  than  sufficient  instruments  for  one  battalion.     [See  Washington's  Letter  to  Congress,  Sept. 
24,  1776.] 

6  These  extend  from  the  plain  on  which  the  village  of  Harlem  stands,  about  seven  and  a  half 

17 


258  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1776. 

Island.1  This  was  speedily  accomplished;  and  when,  on  the  15th,  a  strong 
detachment  of  the  British  army  crossed  the  East  River  from  Long  Island,  and 
landed  three  miles  above  the  town,  at  Kipps'  Bay  (now  foot  of  Thirty-fourth- 
street,  East  River),  without  much  opposition,2  the  greater  portion  of  the  Amer- 
icans were  busy  in  fortifying  their  new  camp  on  Harlem  Heights. 

The  invading  Britons  formed  a  line  almost  across  the  island  to  Bloomingdale, 
within  two  miles  of  the  American  intrenchments.  just  beyond  the  present  Man- 
hattanville,  while  the  main  army  on  Long  Island  was  stationed  at  different 
points  from  Brooklyn  to  Flushing.3  On  the  16th,  detachments  of  the  belliger- 
ents met  on  Harlem  plains,  and  a  severe  skirmish  ensued.  The  Americans 
were  victorious,  but  their  triumph  cost  the  lives  of  two  brave  officers — Colonel 
Knowlton  of  Connecticut,  and  Major  Leitch  of  Virginia.  Yet  the  effect  of  the 
\  ictory  was  inspiriting ;  and  so  faithfully  did  the  patriots  ply  muscle  and  im- 
plement, that  before  Howe  could  make  ready  to  attack  them,  they  had  con- 
structed double  lines  of  intrenchments,  and  were  prepared  to  defy  him.  At 
once  perceiving  the  inutility  of  attacking  the  Americans  in  front,  he  next  en- 
deavored to  gain  their  rear.  Leaving  quite  a  strong  force  to  keep  possession 
of  the  city4  [Sept.  20],  he  sent  three  armed  vessels  up  the  Hudson  to  cut  off 
the  communications  of  the  Americans  with  New  Jersey,  while  the  great  bulk 
of  his  army  (now  reinforced  by  an  arrival  of  fresh  troops  from  England)'1  made 
their  way  [Oct.  12]  to  a  point  in  Westchester  county,0  beyond  the  Harlem 
River.  When  Washington  perceived  the  designs  of  his  en- 
emy, he  placed  a  garrison  of  almost  three  thousand  men, 
under  Colonel  Magaw,  in  Fort  Washington,7  and  withdrew 
the  remainder  of  his  army1  to  a  position  on  the  Bronx  River, 
in  Westchester  county,  to  oppose  Howe,  or  retreat  in  safety 
to  the  Hudson  Highlands,  if  necessary.  He  established  his 
head-quarters  at  White  Plains  village,  and  there,  on  the  28th 


FORT  WASHINGTON. 


miles  from  the  City  Hall,  New  York  to  Two  Hundred  and  Sixth-street,  near  King's  Bridge,  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  island.  1  Also  called  Manhattan.     See  noto  ].  page  48. 

2  Some  Connecticut  troops,  frightened  by  the  number  and  martial  appearance  of  the  British, 
fled  at  their  approach.     Washington,  then  at  Harlem,  heard  the  cannonade,  looped  into  his  saddle, 
and  approached  Kipp's  Bay  in  time  to  meet  the  flying  fugitives.     Mortified  by  this  exhibition  of 
cowardice  before  the  enemy,  the  commander-in-ehief  tried  to  rally  them,  and  in  that  dibit,  he  was 
so  unmindful  of  himself  that  he  came  near  being  captured. 

3  Wishing  to  ascertain  the  exact  condition  of  the  British  army,  Washington  engaged  Captain 
Nathan  Hale,  of  Knowlton's  regiment,  to  secretly  visit  their  camps  on  Long  Island,  and  make 
observations.     Ho  was  caught,  taken  to  Howe's  head-quarters,  Turtle  Bay,  New  York,  and  exe- 
cuted as  a  spy  by  the  brutal  provost-marshal,  Cunningham.     He  was  not  allowed  to  have  a  Bible 
nor  clergyman  during  his  last  hours,  nor  to  send  letters  to  his  friends.     His  fate  and  Andre's  [page 
326]  have  been  compared.     For  particulars  of  this  affair,  see  Onderdonk's  Revolutionary  Incidents 
of  Long  Island,  etc.,  and  Lossing's  Pictorial  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution. 

4  At  one  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  21st,  a  fire  broke  out  in  a  small  groggery  near  the  foot 
of  Broad-street,  and  before  it  was  extinguished,  about  five  hundred  buildings  were  destroyed.    The 
British  charged  the  fire  upon  the  Americans.     Although  such  incendiarism  had  been  contemplated 
when" the  Americans  found  themselves  compelled  to  evacuate  the  city,  this  was  purely  accidental. 

6  The  whole  British  army  now  numbered  about  35,000  men. 

6  Throg's  Neck,  sixteen  miles  from  the  city. 

7  Fort  Washington  was  erected  early  in  1776,  upon  the  highest  ground  on  York  Island,  ten 
miles  from  the  city,  between  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-first-?trect  and  One  Hundred  and  Eighty- 
sixth-streets,  and  overlooking  both  the  Hudson  and  Harlem  Eivers.     There  are  a  few  traces  of  its 
embankments  yet  [185(5]  visible. 

16  Nominally,  nineteen  -thousand  men,  but  actually  effective,  not  more  than  half  that  number. 


177G.]         SECOND  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR  FOR   INDEPENDENCE.         259 

of  October,  a  severe  engagement  took  place.1  The  Americans  were  driven  from 
their  position,  and  three  days  afterward  [Nov.  1,  1776],  formed  a  strong  camp 
on  the  hills  of  North  Castle,  five  miles  further  north.  The  British  general 
was  afraid  to  pursue  them ;  and  after  strengthening  the  post  at  Peekskill,  at 
the  lower  entrance  to  the  Highlands,  and  securing  the  vantage-ground  at  North 
Castle,2  Washington  crossed  the  Hudson  [Nov.  12]  with  the  main  body  of  his 
army,  and  joined  General  Greene  at  Fort  Lee,  on  the  Jersey  shore,  about  two 
miles  south  of  Fort  Washington.  This  movement  was  made  on  account  of  an 
apparent  preparation  by  the  British  to  invade  New  Jersey  and  march  upon 
Philadelphia,  where  the  Congress  was  in  session.3 

General  Knyphausan  and  a  large  body  of  Hessians4  had  arrived  at  New 
York,  and  joined  the  British  army  at  Westchester,  previous  to  the  engagement 
at  White  Plains.  After  Washington  had  crossed  the  Hudson,  these  German 
troops  and  a  part  of  the  English  army,  five  thousand  strong,  proceeded  to  attack 
Fort  Washington.  They  were  successful,  but  at  a  cost  to  the  victors  of  full  one 
thousand  brave  men.5  More  than  two  thousand  Americans  were  i  lade  prison- 
ers of  war  [Nov.  16],  and  like  their  fellow-captives  on  Long  Island,0  they  were 
crowded  into  loathsome  prisons  and  prison-ships.7  Two  days  afterward  [Nov. 
18],  Lord  Cornwallis,  with  six  thousand  men,  crossed  the  Hudson  at  Dobbs' 
Ferry,  arid  took  possession  of  Fort  Lee,  which  the  Americans  had  abandoned 
on  his  approach,  leaving  all  the  baggage  and  military  stores  behind  them. 
During  the  siege,  General  Washington,  with  Putnam,  Greene,  and  Mercer, 
ascended  the  heights,  and  from  the  abandoned  mansion  of  Roger  Morris,8  sur- 
veyed the  scene  of  operations.  Within  fifteen  minutes  after  they  had  left  that 
mansion,  Colonel  Stirling,  of  the  British  army,  who  had  just  repulsed  an 


1  The  combatants  lost  about  an  equal  number  of  men — not  more  than  three  hundred  each  in 
killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners. 

2  General  Heath  was  left  in  command  in  the  Highlands,  and  General  Leo  at  North  Castle. 

3  Page  250.     That  body  afterward  adjourned  to  Baltimore,  in  Maryland.     Sec  page  262. 

4  Page  246. 

6  The  loss  of  the  Americans,  in  killed  and  wounded,  did  not  exceed  one  hundred. 

6  Page  254. 

7  Nothing  could    exceed  the   horrors   of   these 
crowded  prisons,   as  described   by  an  eye-witness. 
The  sugar-houses  of  New  York  being  large,  were 
used  for  the  purpose,  and  therein  scores  suffered  and 
died.     But  the   most   terrible    scenes   occurred  on 
board  several  old  hulks,  which  were  anchored  in  the 
waters  around  New  York,  and  used  for  prisoners.    Of 
them  the  Jersey  was  the  most  notorious  for  the  suf- 
ferings it  contained,  and  the  brutality  of  its  officers. 

From  these  vessels,  anchored  near  the  present  Navy  THE  JERSEY  PRISON-SHIP. 

Yard,  at  Brooklyn,  almost  eleven  thousand  victims 

were  carried  ashore  during  the  war,  and  buried  in  shallow  graves  in  the  sand.  Their  remains  were 
gathered  in  1808,  and  put  in  a  vault  situated  near  the  termination  of  Front-street  and  Hudson- 
avenue,  Brooklyn.  See  Onderdonk's  Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island.  Lossing's  Field  Book, 
supplement. 

s  That  mansion,  elegant  even  now  [1856].  is  standing  on  the  high  bank  of  the  Harlem  River, 
at  One  Hundred  and  Sixty-ninth-street.  Roger  Morris  was  "Washington's  companion-in-arrn^ 
on  the  field  where  Braddock  was  defeated,  and  he  had  married  Mary  Phillipse,  a  young  lady 
whose  charms  had  captivated  the  heart  of  Washington  when  he  was  a  young  Virginia  colonel.  It 
is  now  the  property  of  Madame  Jurnel,  widow  of  Aaron  Burr,  who  was  Vice-President  of  tho  United 
States,  under  Jefferson. 


260  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1776. 

American  party,  came  with  his  victorious  troops,  and  took  possession  of  it.  It 
was  a  narrow  escape  for  those  chief  commanders. 

A  melancholy  and  a  brilliant  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  war  for  Inde- 
pendence, was  now  opened.  For  three  weeks  Washington,  with  his  shattered 
and  daily  diminishing  army,  was  flying  before  an  overwhelming  force  of  Brit- 
ons. Scarcely  three  thousand  troops  now  remained  in  the  American  army. 
Newark,  New  Brunswick,  Princeton,  and  Trenton,  successively  fell  into  the 
power  of  Cornwallis.  So  close  were  the  British  vanguards  upon  the  rear  of  the 
Americans,  sometimes,  that  each  could  hear  the  music  of  the  other.  Day  after 
day,  the  militia  left  the  army  as  their  terms  of  enlistment  expired,  for  late 
reverses  had  sadly  dispirited  them,  and  many  of  the  regulars1  deserted.  Loyalists 
were  swarming  all  over  the  country  through  which  they  passed,"  and  when,  on 
the  7th  of  December,  Washington  reached  the  frozen  banks  of  the  Delaware,  at 
Trenton,  he  had  less  than  three  thousand  men,  most  of  them  wretchedly  clad, 
half  famished,  and  without  tents  to  shelter  them  from  the  biting  winter  air. 
On  the  8th  that  remnant  of  an  army  crossed  the  Delaware  in  boats,  just  as  one 
division  of  Cornwallis' s  pursuing  army  marched  into  Trenton  with  all  the  pomp 
of  victors,  and  sat  down,  almost  in  despair,  upon  the  Pennsylvania  shore. 

Washington  had  hoped  to  make  a  stand  at  New  Brunswick,  but  was  disap- 
pointed. The  services  of  tho  Jersey  and  Maryland  brigades  expired  on  the  day 
when  he  left  that  place,  and  neither  of  them  would  remain  any  longer  in  the 
army.  During  his  flight,  Washington  had  sent  repeated  messages  to  General 
Lee,3  urging  him  to  leave  North  Castle,4  and  reinforce  him.  That  officer,  am- 
bitious as  he  was  impetuous  and  brave,  hoping  to  strike  a  blow  against  the 
British  that  might  give  himself  personal  renown,  was  so  tardy  in  his  obedience, 
that  he  did  not  enter  New  Jersey  until  the  Americans  had  crossed  the  Dela- 
ware. He  had  repeatedly,  but  in  vain,  importuned  General  Heath,  who  was 
left  in  command  at  Peekskill,  to  let  him  have  a  detachment  of  one  or  two  thou- 
sand men,  with  which  to  operate.  His  tardiness  in  obedience,  cost  him  his 
liberty.  Soon  after  entering  New  Jersey,  he  was  made  a  prisoner  [December 


1  Note  6,  page  185. 

2  General  Howe  had  sent  out  proclamations  through  the  country,  offering  pardon  and  protection 
to  all  who  might  ask  for  mercy.     Perceiving  the  disasters  to  the  American  arms  during  the  summer 
and  autumn,  great  numbers  took  advantage  of  these  promises,  and  signed  petitions.     They  soon 
found  that  protection  did  not  follow  pardon,  for  the  Hessian  troops,  in  their  march  through  New 
Jersey,  committed  great  excesses,  without  inquiring  whether  their  victims  were  Whigs  or  Tories. 
Note  4,  page  226.     Among  the  prominent  men  who  espoused  the  republican  cause,  and  now  aban- 
doned it,  was  Tucker,  president  of  the  New  Jersey  Convention,  which  had  sanctioned  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  and  Joseph  Galloway,  a  member  of  the  first  Continental  Congress.     These, 
and  other  prominent  recusants,  received  some  hard  hits  in  the  public  prints.     A  writer  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania Journal,  of  February  5,  1777,  thus  castigated  Galloway: 

"Gall'way  has  fled,  and  join' d  the  venal  Howe, 
To  prove  his  baseness,  see  him  cringe  and  bow ; 
A  t  -aitor  to  his  country  and  its  laws, 
A  friend  to  tyrants  and  their  cursed  cause. 
Unhappy  wretch !  thv  interest  must  be  sold 
For  Continental,  not 'for  polish'd  gold. 
To  sink  the  money  thou  thyself  cried  down, 
And  stabb'd  thy  country  to  support  the  crown.'' 

'  Note  4,  page  185.  «  Page  259. 


1776.]        SECOND   YEAR  OF  THE  WAR   FOR  INDEPENDENCE.         261 

13,  1776],  and  his  command  devolved  upon  General  Sullivan.1  At  about  the 
same  time  intelligence  reached  the  chief  that  a  British  squadron,  under  Sir 
Peter  Parker  (who,  as  we  have  seen  [page  247],  was  defeated  at  Charleston), 
had  sailed  into  Narraganset  Bay  [December  8th],  taken  possession  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  blockaded  the  little  American  fleet,  under  Commodore  Hopkins,2 
then  lying  near  Providence.  This  intelligence,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  failure 
of  operations  on  Lake  Champlain,3  coupled  with  the  sad  condition  of  the  main 
army  of  patriots,  made  the  future  appear  gloomy  indeed.4 

It  was  fortunate  for  the  patriot  cause  that  General  Howe  was  excessively 
cautious  and  indolent.  Instead  of  allowing  Cornwallis  to  construct  boats,5  cross 
the  Delaware  at  once,  overwhelm  the  patriots,  and  push  on  to  Philadelphia,  as 
he  might  have  done,  he  ordered  him  to  await  the  freezing  of  the  waters,  so  as 
to  cross  on  the  ice.  He  was  also  directed  to  place  four  thousand  German  troops 
in  cantonments  along  the  Jersey  shore  of  the  river,  from  Trenton  to  Burling- 
ton, and  to  occupy  Princeton  and  New  Brunswick  with  strong  British  detach- 
ments. Both  Congress  and  Washington  profited  by  this  delay.  Measures  for 
re-organizing  the  army,  already  planned,  were  put  in  operation.  A  loan  of  five 
millions  of  dollars,  in  hard  money,  with  which  to  pay  the  troops,  was  author- 
ized. By  the  offer  of  liberal  bounties,0  and  the  influence  of  a  stirring  appeal 
put  forth  by  Congress,  recruits  immediately  flocked  to  Washington's  standard 
at  Newtown.7  Almost  simultaneously,  Lee's  detachment  under  Sullivan,  and 
another  from  Ticonderoga,8  joined  him  ;  and  on  the  24th  of  December  he  found 
himself  in  command  of  almost  five  thousand  effective  troops,  many  of  them  fresh 
and  hopeful. u  And  the  increased  pay  of  officers,  the  proffered  bounties  to  the 

1  Both  Sullivan  and  Stirling,  who  were  made  prisoners  on  Long  Island  [page  254],  had  been 
exchanged,  and  were  now  again  with  the  army.  Lee  was  captured  at  Baskingridge,  where  Lord 
Stirling  resided,  and  remained  a  prisoner  until  May,  1778,  when  lie  was  exchanged  for  General 
Prescott,  who  was  captured  on  Rhode  Island.  See  page  271.  2  Note  1,  page  307. 

8  General  Gates  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  army  at  the  north,  after  the  death  of 
General  Thomas  [note  2,  page' 243]  ;  and  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1776,  Colonel  Arnold 
became  a  sort  of  commodore,  and  commanded  flotillas  of  small  vessels  in  warfare  with  others  pre- 
pared by  General  Carleton  (the  British  commander  in  Canada),  on  Lake  Champlain.     lie  had  two 
severe  engagements  (llth  and  13th  of  October),  in  which  he  lost  about  ninety  men;  the  British 
about  forty.     These  operations  were  disastrous,  yet  they  resulted  in  preventing  the  British  forces  in 
Canada  uniting  with  those  in  New  York,  and  were  thus  of  vast  importance. 

4  Although  the  Americans  had  generally  suffered  defeats,  they  had  been  quite  successful  in 
making  captives.  The  number  of  Americans  taken  by  the  British,  up  to  the  close  of  1776,  was 
four  thousand,  eight  hundred  and  fifty-four ;  the  number  of  British  taken  by  the  Americans,  was 
two  thousand,  eight  hundred  and  sixty.  In  addition  to  men,  the  Americans  had  lost  twelve  brass 
cannons  and  mortars,  and  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  made  of  iron ;  twenty-three  thousand,  nine 
hundred  and  seventy-nine  empty  shells,  and  seventeen  thousand,  one  hundred  and  twenty-two 
filled;  two  thousand  six:  hundred  and  eighty -four  double-headed  shot:  a  large  quantity  of  grape- 
shot;  two  thousand  eight  hundred  muskets:  four  hundred  thousand  cartridges ;  sixteen  barrels  of 
powder ;  five  hundred  intrenching  tools ;  two  hundred  barrows  and  other  instruments,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  provisions  and  stores. 

The  Americans  took  every  boat  they  could  find  at  Trenton,  and  cautiously  moved  them  out 
of  the  river  after  they  had  crossed. 

Each  soldier  was  to  have  a  bounty  of  twenty  dollars,  besides  an  allotment  of  land  at  the  close 
of  the  war.  A  common  soldier  was  to  have  one  hundred  acres,  and  a  colonel  five  hundred.  These 
were  given  to  those  only  who  enlisted  to  serve  "  during  the  war." 

1  A  small  village  north  of  Bristol,  about  two  miles  from  the  Delaware.  8  Page  234. 

9  According  to  the  adjutant's  return  to  Washington  on  the  22d  of  December,  the  American 
army  numbered  ten  thousand  one  hundred  and  six  men,  of  whom  five  thousand  three  hundred  and 
ninety-nine  were  sick,  on  command  elsewhere,  or  on  furlough,  leaving  an  effective  force  of  four 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  seven. 


262  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1776. 

soldiers,  and  the  great  personal  influence  of  the  commander-in-chief,  had  the 
effect  to  retain  in  the  service,  for  a  few  weeks  at  least,  more  than  one  half  of  the 
old  soldiers. 

There  were  about  fifteen  hundred  Hessians.1  and  a  troop  of  British  light 
horse,  at  Trenton,  and  these  Washington  determined  to  surprise.  The  British 
commanders  looked  with  such  contempt  upon  the  American  troops — the  mere 
ghost  of  an  army — and  were  so  certain  of  an  easy  victory  beyond  the  Delaware, 
where,  rumor  affirmed,  the  people  were  almost  unanimous  in  favor  of  the 
king,  that  vigilance  wras  neglected.  So  confident  were  they  that  the  contest 
would  bo  ended  by  taking  possession  of  Philadelphia,  that  Cornwallis  actually 
returned  to  New  York,  to  prepare  to  sail  for  .England  !  And  when  Rail,  the 
commander  of  the  Hessians  at  Trenton,  applied  to  General  Grant  for  a  rein- 
forcement, that  officer  said  to  the  messenger,  "  Tell  the  colonel  he  is  very  safe. 
I  will  undertake  to  keep  the  peace  in  New  Jersey,  with  a  corporal's  guard." 
How  they  mistook  the  character  of  Washington  !  During  all  the  gloom  of  the 
past  month,  hope  had  beamed  brightly  upon  the  heart  of  the  commander-in- 
chicf.  Although  Congress  had  adjourned  to  Baltimore0  [December  12,  1776], 
and  the  public  mind  was  filled  with  despondency,  his  reliance  upon  Providence 
in  a  cause  so  just,  was  never  shaken ;  and  his  great  soul  conceived,  and  his 
ready  hand  planned  a  bold  stroke  for  deliverance.  The  Christmas  holiday  was 
at  hand — a  day  when  Germans,  especially,  indulge  in  convivial  pleasures.  Not 
doubting  the  Hessians  would  pass  the  day  in  sports  and  drinking,  he  resolved 
to  profit  by  their  condition,  by  falling  suddenly  upon  them  while  they  were  in 
deep  slumber  after  a  day  and  night  of  carousal.  His  plan  was  to  cross  the 
Delaware  in  three  divisions,  one  a  few  miles  above  Trenton,  another  a  few  miles 
below,  and  a  third  at  Bristol  to  attack  Count  Donop3  at  Burlington.  Small 
parties  were  also  to  attack  the  British  posts  at  Mount  Holly,  Black  Horse,  and 
Bordentown,  at  the  same  time. 

On  the  evening  of  Christmas  day  [1776],  Washington  gathered  twenty- 
four  hundred  men,  with  some  heavy  artillery,  at  McConkey's  Ferry, 
eight  or  nine  miles  above  Trenton.4  They  expected  to  cross,  reach  Trenton 
at  midnight,  and  take  the  Hessians  by  surprise.  But  the  river  was  filled 
with  floating  ice,  and  sleet  and  snow  were  falling  fast.  The  passage  was 
made  in  flat-boats ;  and  so  difficult  was  the  navigation,  that  it  was  almost  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  [December  26]  when  the  troops  were  mustered  on 
the  Jersey  shore.  They  were  arranged  in  two  divisions,  commanded  respec- 
tively by  Greene  and  Sullivan,*  and  approached  Trenton  by  separate  roads. 
The  enterprise  was  eminently  successful.  Colonel  Rail,  the  Hessian  com- 
mander, was  yet  indulging  in  wire  at  the  end  of  a  night  spent  in  card-' 


' 

1  Page  246. 

2  Alarmed  at  the  approach  of  the  British,  Congress  thought  it  prurient  to  adjourn  to  Baltimore. 
A  committee  to  represent  that  body  was  left  in  Philadelphia,  to  co-operate  with  the  army.     Congress 
assembled  at  Baltimore  on  the  20th.  3  Page  275. 

4  Taylorsville  is  the  name  of  the  little  village  at  that  place.     The  river  there,  now  spanned  by 
a  covered  bridge,  is  about  six  hundred  feet  in  width,  and  has  a  considerable  current. 


1776.]         SECOND   YEAR   OF   THE*WAR   FOR   INDEPENDENCE.         263 

playing,   when  the  Americans  approached,  a  little  after  sunrise;1  and  while 

endeavoring  to  rally  his  affrighted  troops,  he  fell,  mortally  wounded,  in  the 

streets  of  Trenton.     Between  forty  and  fifty  of 

the  Hessians  were  killed  and  fatally  wounded, 

and  more  than  a  thousand  were  made  prisoners, 

together   with  arms,    ammunition,    and   stores. 

Five  hundred  British  cavalry  barely  escaped, 

and  fled  to  Bordentown.     Generals  Ewing  and 

Cadwalader,    who    commanded    the    other   two 

m  RATTLE    AT    TRENTON. 

divisions,  destined  to  attack    the  enemy  below 

Trenton,  were  unable  to  cross  the  river  on  account  of  the  ice,  to  co-operate  with 
Washington.  With  a  strong  enemy  so  near  as  Burlington  and  Princeton,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  thought  it  imprudent  to  remain  on  the  Jersey  shore,  so  with  his 
prisoners  and  booty  he  re-crossed  the  Delaware  on  the  evening  after  his  victory. 

This  was  indeed  a  victory  in  more  aspects  than  that  of  a  skillful  military 
operation.  The  Germans  under  Dunop,  on  the  river  below,  thoroughly 
alarmed,  fled  into  the  interior.  The  Tories  and  pliant  Whigs'  were  abashed ; 
the  friends  of  liberty,  rising  from  the  depths  of  despondency,  stood  erect  in  the 
pride  and  strength  of  their  principles  ;  the  prestige  of  the  Hessian  name,  lately 
so  terrible,  was  broken,  and  the  faltering  militia,  anxious  for  bounties  and 
honors,  flocked  to  the  victorious  standard  of  Washington.  Fourteen  hundred 
soldiers,  chiefly  of  the  eastern  militia,  whose  terms  of  enlistment  would  expire 
with  the  year,  agreed  to  remain  six  weeks  longer,  on  a  promise  to  each  of  a 
bounty  of  ten  dollars.  The  military  chest  was  not  in  a  condition  to  permit  him 
to  fulfill  his  promise,  and  he  wrote  to  Robert  Morris,  the  eminent  financier  of 
the  Revolution,  for  aid,  and  it  was  given.  Fifty  thousand  dollars,  in  hard 
money,  were  sent  to  the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  in  time  to  allow  Washington 
to  fulfill  his  engagement.3 

The  victory  was  also  productive  of  more  vigilant  efforts  on  the  part  of  the 


1  Rail  spent  the  night  at  the  house  of  a  loyalist,  named  Hunt.    Just  at  dawn,  a  messenger,  sent 
by  a  Tory  on  the  line  of  march  of  tho  patriots,  came  in  hot  haste  to  the  colonel.     Excited  by  wine, 
and  intent  upon  his  game,  that  officer  thrust  the  note  into  his  pocket.     Like  the  Athenian  polemarch, 
who,  when  he  received  dispatches  relative  to  a  conspiracy,  refused  to  open  them,  saying.  "Busi- 
ness to-morrovv,"  Rail  did  not  look  at  tli3  message,  but  continued  his  amusement  untif  tho  roll  of 
ths  American  drum,  and  the  crack  of  his  rille,  fell  upon  his  dull  ears,  and  called  him  to  duty. 

2  Note  4,  page  226. 

3  Then  it  was  that  Robert  Morris  not  only  evinced  his  faith  in  tho  success  of  the  patriot  caus?, 
and  his  own  love  of  country,  but  he  tested  the  strength  of  his  credit  and  mercantile  honor.     The 
sum  was  large,  and  the  requirement  seemed  almost  impossible  to  meet.      Government  credit  was 
low,  but  confidence  in  Robert  Morris  was  unbounded.     On  leaving  his  office,  musing  upon  how  he 
should  obtain  the  money,  he  met  a  wealthy  Quaker,  and  said,  "I  want  money  for  the  use  of  tho 
army."     "Robert,  what  security  canst  thou  give?"  asked  the  Quaker.     "My  note  and  my  honor," 
promptly  replied  Morris.     "  Thou  shalt  have  it,"  as  promptly  responded  the  lender,  who  offered  him 
a  considerable  sum,  and  the  next  morning  it  was  on  its  way  to  the  camp  of  Washington.     Robert 
Morris  was  a  native  of  England,  where  he  was  born  in  17.'>3.     He  came  to  America  in  1744,  and 
became  a  merchant's  clerk  in  Philadelphia.     By  the  force  of  industry,  energy,  and  a  good  character, 
he  arose  to  the  station  of  one  of  the  first  merchants  of  his  time.     lie  was  a  signer  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  was  active  as  a  public  financier,  throughout  the  war.      Toward  its  close 
[1781],  he  was  instrumental  in  establishing  a  national  bnnk.     After  the  war,  he  was  a  state  legis- 
lator, and  Washington  wished  him  to  be  his  first  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  but  he  declined  it.     By 
land  speculations  he  lost  his  fortune,  and  died  in  comparative  poverty,  in  May,  1806,  when  a  little 
more  than  seventy  years  of  age.     See  his  portrait  on  next  page. 


264 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


[1776. 


invaders.  Believing  the  rebellion  to  be  at  an  end,  and  the  American  army 
hopelessly  annihilated,  when  Washington,  with  his  shivering,  half-starved 
troops,  fled  across  the  Delaware,  Cornwallis,  as  we  have  observed,  had  returned 
to  New  York  to  embark  for  England.  The  contempt  of  the  British  for  the 


"  rebels,"  was  changed  to  respect  and  fear,  and  when  intelligence  of  the  affair 
at  Trenton  reached  Howe,  he  ordered  Cornwallis  back  with  reinforcements,  to 
gain  the  advantage  lost.  Congress,  in  the  mean  while,  perceiving  the  necessity 
of  giving  more  power  to  the  commander-in -chief,  wisely  clothed  him  [December 
27]  with  all  the  puissance  of  a  military  dictator,  for  six  months,  and  gave  him 
absolute  control  of  all  the  operations  of  war,  for  that  period.1  This  act  was 
accomplished  before  that  body  could  possibly  have  heard  of  the  victory  at  Tren- 
ton, for  they  were  then  in  session  in  Baltimore. 

Inspirited  by  his  success  at  Trenton,  the  panic  of  the  enemy,  and  their 
retirement  from  the  Delaware,  Washington  determined  to  recross  that  river. 
and  act  on  the  offensive.  He  ordered  General  Heath,  who  was  with  quite  a 


1  When  Congress  adjourned  on  the  12th,  to  meet  at  Baltimore,  almost  equal  powers  were  given 
to  Washington,  but  they  were  not  then  defined.  Now  they  were  so,  by  resolution.  They  wrote  to 
Washington,  when  they  forwarded  the  resolution,  ';  Happy  is  it  for  this  country,  that  the  general 
of  their  forces  can  be  safely  intrusted  with  unlimited  power,  and  neither  personal  security,  liberty, 
nor  property,  be  in  the  least  degree  endangered  thereby."  At  that  time,  Congress  had  given  Gen- 
eral Putnam  almost  unlimited  command  in  Philadelphia.  All  munitions  of  war  there,  were  placed 
under  his  control.  He  was  also  authorized  to  employ  all  private  armed  vessels  in  the  Delaware,  in 
the  defense  of  Philadelphia.  See  note  1,  page  246. 


1777.]        THIRD  YEAR    OF    THE    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.          265 

large  body  of  New  England  troops  at  Peekskill,1  to  move  into  New  Jersey 
with  his  main  force ;  and  the  new  militia  levies  were  directed  to  annoy  the  flank 
and  rear  of  the  British  detachments,  and  make  frequent  attacks  upon  their 
outposts.  In  the  mean  while,  he  again  crossed  the  Delaware  [December  30th]. 
with  his  whole  army,  and  took  post  at  Trenton,  while  the  British  and  German 
troops  were  concentrating  at  Princeton,  only  ten  miles  distant.  Such  was  the 
position  and  the  condition  of  the  two  armies  at  the  close  of  the  second  year  of 
the  War  for  Independence — the  memorable  year  when  this  great  Republic  of 
the  West  was  born. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THIRD  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.     [1777.] 

THE  strange  apathy  of  nations,  like  individuals,  in  times  of  great  danger,  or 
when  dearest  interests  depend  upon  the  utmost  vigilance  and  care,  is  a  remark- 
able phase  in  human  character,  and  the  records  thereof  appear  as  monstrous 
anomalies  upon  the  pages  of  history.  Such  was  the  case  with  the  executive 
and  legislative  povper  of  the  British  nation  during  the  momentous  year  of  1776, 
when  the  eye  of  ordinary  forecast  could  not  fail  to  perceive  that  the  integrity 
of  the  realm  was  in  imminent  danger,  and  that  the  American  colonies,  the  fair- 
est jewels  in  the  British  crown,  were  likely  to  be  lost  forever.  Such  an  apathy, 
strange  and  profound,  seemed  to  pervade  the  councils  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, even  while  the  public  mind  of  England  was  filled  with  the  subject  of  the 
American  rebellion.  Notwithstanding  an  army  had  been  driven  from  one  city2 
[March,  1776],  a  fleet  expelled  from  another3  [June],  their  colonies  declared 
independent1  [July  4],  and  almost  thirty  thousand  of  their  choice  troops  and 
fierce  hirelings  had  been  defied  and  combatted6  [August],  Parliament  did  not 
assemble  until  the  last  day  of  October,  to  deliberate  on  these  important  mat- 
ters. Then  the  king,  in  his  speech,  congratulated  them  upon  the  success  of  the 
royal  troops  in  America,  and  assured  them  (but  without  the  shadow  of  good 
reason  for  the  belief)  that  most  of  the  continent:)!  powers  entertained  friendly 
feelings  toward  Great  Britain.  During  a  dull  session  of  six  weeks,  new  sup- 
plies for  the  American  service  were  voted,  while  every  conciliatory  proposition 
was  rejected ;  and  when  Parliament  adjourned,  in  December,  to  keep  the 
Christmas  holidays,  the  members  appeared  to  feel  that  their  votes  had  crushed 
the  rebellion,  and  that,  on  their  re-assembling  in  January,  they  would  be  in- 
vited to  join  in  a  Tc  Dcurn0  at  St.  Paul's,  because  of  submission  and  peace  in 


1  On  the  east  bank  of  the  Hudson,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Highlands,  forty-five  miles  from  the 
city  of  New  York.     See  page  270. 

2  Page  247.  3  Page  249.  4  Pago  251.  5  Page  233. 

6  The  T<i  Deum  Laudamus  ( We  praise  thee,  0  God)  is  always  chanted  in  churches  in  England, 
and  on  the  continent,  after  a  great  victory,  great  deliverance,  etc.     These  is  something  revolting  in 


266  THE    REVOLUTION".  [1777. 

America.  At  that  very  moment,  Washington  was  planning  his  brilliant 
achievement  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware.1 

In  contrast  with  this  apathy  of  the  British  Government,  was  the  vigilance 
and  activity  of  the  Continental  Congress.  Their  perpetual  session  was  one  of 
perpetual  labor.  Early  in  the  year  [March,  1776].  the 
Secret  Committee  of  that  body  had  appointed  Silas  Deane,8 
a  delegate  from  Connecticut,  to  proceed  to  France,  as  their 
agent,  with  general  powers  to  solicit  the  co-operation  of 
other  governments.  Even  these  remote  colonists  knew 
that  the  claims  of  the  king  of  England  to  the  friendship 
of  the  continental  powers,  was  fallacious,  and  that  France, 
Spain,  and  Holland,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  even  Cath- 
SILAS  DEANE.  arine  of  Russia,  and  Pope  Clement  the  Fourteenth  (Gan- 

ganellij,  all  of  whom  feared  and  hated  England,  instead  of  being  friendly  to 
her,  were  anxious  for  a  pretense  to  strike  her  fiercely,  and  humble  her  pride, 
because  of  her  potency  in  arms,  her  commerce,  her  diplomacy,  and  her  strong 
Protestantism.  All  of  these  spoke  kindly  to  the  American  agent,  and  Deane 
was  successful  in  his  embassy.  He  talked  confidently,  and  by  skillful  manage- 
ment, during  the  summer  of  1776,  he  obtained  fifteen  thousand  muskets  from 
the  French  arsenals,  and  abundant  promises  of  men  and  money.  And  when  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  had  been  made  [July  4],  Congress  appointed  a  reg- 
ular embassy3  [Sept.  22,  1776],  to  the  court  of  France,  and  finally  sent  agents 
to  other  foreign  courts.4  They  also  planned,  and  finally  executed  measures  for 
strengthening  the  bond  of  union  between  the  several  colonies,  already  made 
powerfully  cohesive  by  common  dangers  and  common  hopes.  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, which  formed  the  organic  laws  of  the  nation  until  the  adoption  of 


this  to  the  true  Christian  mind  and  heart.  "War,  except  strictly  defensive  as  a  last  extremity,  is 
always  a  monstrous  injustice ;  and  for  its  success  in  soddening  God's  fair  earth  with  human  blood, 
men  in  epaulettes,  their  hands  literally  dripping  with  gore,  will  go  into  the  temple  dedicated  to  the 
Prince  of  Peace,  and  there  sing  a  Te  Deum!  l  Page  201. 

2  Silas  Deane  was  born  at  Groton,  in  Connecticut,  and  was  educated  at  Yale  College.     He  was 
elected  to  the  first  Congress  [page  228]  in  1774,  and  after  being  some  time  abroad,  as  agent  for  the 
Secret  Committee,  he  was  recalled,  on  account  of  alleged  bad  conduct.     Ho  published  a  defense  of 
his  character  in  1778,  but  he  failed  to  reinstate  himself  in  the  public  opinion.     He  went  to  England 
toward  the  close  of  1784,  where  ho  died  in  extreme  poverty,  in  1789. 

3  The  embassy  consisted  of  Dr.  Franklin,  Silas  Deane,  and  Arthur  Lee.     Franklin  and  Lee 
joined  Dcano  at  Paris,  at  the  middle  of  December,  1 7  7  G.     Lee  had  then  been  in  Europe  for  some 
time,  as  a  sort  of  private  agent  of  the  Secret  Committee.  He  made  an  arrangement  with  the  French 
king  to  send  a  largo  amount  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  specie,  to  the  colonists,  but  in  such  a  way 
that  it  would  appear  as  a  commercial  transaction.     The  agent  on  the  part  of  the  French  was 
Beaumarchais,  who  assumed  the  commercial  title  of  Roderiquo  TTortalc  s  &  Co.,  and  Lcc  took  the 
name  of  Mary  Johnson.  This  arrangement  with  the  false  and  avaricious  Beaumarchais,  was  a  source 
of  great  annoyance  and  actual  loss  to  Congress  in  after  years.     "What  was  a  gratuity  on  the  part  of 
the  French  government,  in  the  name  of  Hortales  &  Co.,  Beaumarchais  afterward  presented  a  claim 
for,  and  actually  received  from  Congress  four  hundred  thousand  dollars.     Benjamin  Franklin  was 
born  in  Boston,  in  170G.     He  was  a  printer;  worked  at  his  trade  in  London  ;  became  eminent  in 
his  business  in  Philadelphia;  obtained  a  high  position  as  a  philosopher  and  statesman;  was  agent 
in  England  for  several  colonies;  was  chief  embassador  for  the  United  States  in  Europe  during  the 
Revolution,  and  filled  various  official  stations  in  the  scientific  and  political  world.     He  was  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  men  that  ever  lived;  and,  next  to  Washington,  is  the  best  known  and  most 
revered  of  all  Americans.     He  died  in  1790,  at  the  age  of  more  than  eighty-four  yenrs       Arthur 
Lee  was  a  brother  of  Richard  Henry  Lee  [page  250],  and  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  !7^>u.     He  was 
a  fine  scholar,  and  elegant  writer.     He  died  in  1782.  *  Holland,  Spain,  and  Prussia. 


1777.] 


THIRD   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR  FOR   INDEPENDENCE. 


267 


the  Federal  Constitution,  were,  after  more  than  two  years'  consideration,  ap- 
proved by  Congress,  and  produced  vastly  beneficial  results  during  the  remain- 
der of  the  struggle.1 


Such,  in  brief,  were  the  chief  operations  of  the  civil  power  of  the  revolted 
colonies.     Let  us  now  turn  to  the  military  operations  at  the  opening  of  a  new 

1  In  July,  17-75,  Dr.  Franklin  submitted  a  plan  of  union  to  Congress.  On  the  llth  of  June, 
1776,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  plan.  Their  report  was  laid  aside,  and  not  called  up 
until  April,  1777.  From  that  time  until  the  15th  of  November  following,  the  subject  was  debated 
two  or  three  times  a  week,  when  thirteen  Articles  of  Confederation  were  adopted.  The  substance 
was  that  the  thirteen  confederated  States  should  be  known  as  the  United  States  of  America ;  that  all 
engage  in  a  reciprocal  treaty  of  alliance  and  friendship,  for  mutual  advantage,  each  to  assist  the 
other  when  help  should  be  needed ;  that  each  State  should  have  the  right  to  regulate  its  own  in- 
ternal affairs ;  that  no  State  should  separately  send  or  receive  embassies,  begin  any  negotiations, 
contract  engagemsnts  or  alliances,  or  conclude  treaties  with  any  foreign  power,  without  the  consent 
of  the  general  Congress ;  that  no  public  officer  should  bo  allowed  to  accept  any  presents,  emolu- 
ments, office,  or  title,  from  any  foreign  power,  and  that  neither  Congress  nor  State  governments 
should  possess  the  power  to  confer  any  title  of  nobility ;  that  none  of  the  States  should  have  the 
right  to  form  alliances  among  themselves,  without  the  consent  of  Congress ;  that  they  should  not 
have  the  power  to  levy  duties  contrary  to  the  enactments  of  Congress;  that  no  State  should  keep 
up  a  standing  army  or  ships  of  war,  in  time  of  peace,  beyond  the  amount  stipulated  by  Congress; 
that  when  any  of  the  States  should  raise  troops  for  the  common  defense,  all  the  officers  of  the  rank 
of  colonel  and  under,  should  be  appointed  by  the  legislature  of  the  State,  and  the  superior  officers  by 
Congress ;  that  all  expenses  of  the  war  should  be  paid  out  of  the  public  treasury ;  that  Congress 
alone  should  have  the  power  to  coin  money  ;  and  that  Canada  might  at  any  time  be  admitted  into 
tha  confederacy  when  she  felt  disposed.  The  last  clauses  were  explanatory  of  the  power  of  certain 
governmental  operations,  and  contained  details  of  the  same.  Such  was  the  form  of  government 
which  existed  as  the  basis  of  our  Republic,  for  almost  twelve  years.  See  Supplement. 


268  THE     REVOLUTION".  [1777. 

year.  Congress,  we  have  observed,1  delegated  all  military  power  to  Washing- 
ton, and  he  used  it  with  energy  and  discretion.  We  left  him  at  Trenton,  pre- 
pared to  act  offensively  or  defensively,  as  circumstances  should  require.  There 
he  was  joined  by  some  troops  under  Generals  Mifflin  and  Cadwalader,  who 
came  from  Bordentown  and  Crosswicks,  on  the  night  of  the  1st  of  January. 
Yet  with  these,  his  effective  force  did  not  exceed  five  thousand  men.  Toward 
the  evening  of  the  2d  of  January,  1777,  Cornwallis,  with  a  strong  force,  ap- 
proached from  Princeton,  and  after  some  skirmishing,  the  two  armies  encamped 
on  either  side  of  a  small  stream  which  runs  through  the  town,  within  pistol- 
shot  of  each  other.  Washington  commenced  intrenching  his  camp,  and  Corn- 
wallis, expecting  reinforcements  in  the  morning,  felt  sure  of  his  prey,  and 
deferred  an  attack  for  the  night. 

The  situation  of  Washington  and  his  little  army  was  now  perilous  in  the 
extreme.  A  conflict  with  such  an  overwhelming  force  as  was  gathering, 
appeared  hopeless,  and  the  Delaware  becoming  more  obstructed  by  ice  every 
hour,  rendered  a  retreat  across  it,  in  the  event  of  a  surprise,  almost  impossible. 
A  retreat  down  the  stream  was  equally  perilous.  An  escape  under  cover  of  the 
night,  was  the  only  chance  of  safety,  but  the  ground  was  too  soft  to  allow  the 
patriots  to  drag  their  heavy  cannons  with  them  ;  and  could  they  withdraw  unob- 
served by  the  British  sentinels,  whose  hourly  cry  could  be  heard  from  the 
camp  ?  This  was  a  question  of  deep  moment,  and  there  was  no  time  for  long 
deliberation.  A  higher  will  than  man's  determined  the  matter.  The  Protector 
of  the  righteous  put  forth  his  hand.  While  a  council  of  war  was  in  session, 
toward  midnight,  the  wind  changed,  and  the  ground  was  soon  so  hard  frozen, 
that  there  could  be  no  difficulty  in  conveying  away  the  cannons.  Instantly  all 
was  in  activity  in  the  American  camp,  while  Cornwallis  and  his  army  were 
soundly  sleeping — perhaps  dreaming  of  the  expected  sure  victory  in  the  morn- 
ing. Leaving  a  few  to  keep  watch  and  feed  the  camp-fires,  to  allay  suspicion, 
Washington  silently  withdrew,  with  all  his  army,  artillery,  and  baggage ;  and 
at  dawn  [January  3,  1777],  he  was  in  sight  of  Princeton,  prepared  to  fall  upon 
Cornwallis's  reserve  there  2  The  British  general  had  scarcely  recovered  from 
his  surprise  and  mortification,  on  seeing  the  deserted  camp  of  the  Americans, 
when  the  distant  booming  of  cannons,  borne  upon  the  keen  winter  air,  fell 
ominously  upon  his  ears.  Although  it  was  mid-winter,  he  thought  it  was  the 
rumbling  of  distant  thunder.  The  quick  ear  of  General  Erskine  decided  other- 
wise, and  he  exclaimed,  "To  arms,  general!  Washington  has  out-generaled 
us.  Let  us  fly  to  the  rescue  at  Princeton  !"  Erskine  was  right,  for,  at  that 
moment,  Washington  and  the  British  reserve  were  combating. 

Owing  to  the  extreme  roughness  of  the  roads,  Washington  did  not  reach 
Princeton  as  early  as  he  expected,  and  instead  of  surprising  the  British,  and 
then  pushing  forward  to  capture  or  destroy  the  enemy's  stores  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, he  found  a  portion  of  the  troops  already  on  their  march  to  join  Corn- 


1  Page  264. 

2  A  brigade,  under  Lieutenant-colonel  Mawhood,  consisting  of  three  regiments  and  three  troops 
of  dragoons,  were  quartered  there. 


1777.] 


THIRD   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR   FOR   INDEPENDENCE. 


269 


BATTLE    AT   PRINCETON. 


wallis  at  Trenton.  A  severe  encounter  occurred,  when  the  American  militia 
giving  way,  the  British,  with  a  victorious  shout,  rushed  forward,  expecting  to 
produce  a  general  rout.  At  that  moment  Washington 
advanced  with  a  select  corps,  brought  order  out  of  con- 
fusion, and  leading  on  his  troops  with  waving  sword  and 
cheering  voice,  turned  the  tide  of  battle  and  achieved  a 
victory.  The  brave  General  Mercer,1  while  fighting  at 
the  head  of  his  men,  was  killed,  and  many  other  be- 
loved officers  were  lost  on  that  snowy  battle-field.2  Nor 
was  the  conflict  of  that  morning  yet  ended.  When  Corn- 
wallis  perceived  the  desertion  of  the  American  camp, 
and  heard  the  firing  at  Princeton,  he  hastened  with  a 
greater  portion  of  his  troops,  to  the  aid  of  his  reserve, 
and  to  secure  his  stores  at  New  Brunswick.  The  Ameri- 
cans, who  had  not  slept,  nor  scarcely  tasted  food  for 
thirty-six  hours,  were  compelled,  just  as  the  heat  of  the  first  battle  was  over,  to 
contest  with  fresh  troops,  or  fly  with  the  speed  of  strong  men.  Washington 
chose  the  latter  alternative,  and  when  Cornwallis  entered  Princeton,  not  a 
"rebel"  was  to  be  found.3  History  has  no  parallel  to  offer  to  these  events  of 
a  few  days.  Frederic  the  Great  of  Prussia,  one  of  the  most  renowned  com- 
manders of  modern  times,  declared  that  the  achievements  of  Washington  and 
his  little  band  of  compatriots,  between  the  25th  of  December  and  the  4th  of 
January  following,  were  the  most  brilliant  of  any  recorded  in  the  annals  of 
military  performances. 

The  Americans  were  too  weak  to  attempt  the  capture  of  the  British  stores 
at  New  Brunswick,  so,  with  his  fatigued  troops  Washington  retreated  rapidly 
toward  the  hill  country  of  East  Jersey.4  Allowing  time  only  to  refresh  his 
little  army  at  Pluckemin,  he  pressed  forward  to  Morristown,  and  there  estab- 
lished his  winter  quarters.  But  he  did  not  sit  down  in  idleness.  After  plant- 
ing small  cantonments5  at  different  points  from  Princeton  to  the  Hudson 
Highlands,  he  sent  out  detachments  to  harass  the  thoroughly  perplexed  British. 
These  expeditions  were  conducted  with  so  much  skill  and  spirit,  that  on  the  first 


1  Mercer's  horse  had  been  shot  under  him,  and  he  was  on  foot  at  the  head  of  his  men,  when  a 
British  soldier  felled  him  with  a  clubbed  musket  [note  4,  page  236].     At  first,  the  British  believed 
it  to  be  Washington,  and,  with  a  shout,  they  cried,  "  The  rebel  general  is  taken."     Hugh  Mercer 
was  a  native  of  Scotland.     He  was  a  surgeon  on  the  field  of  Culloden,  and  was  practicing  medicine 
in  Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  when  the  Revolution  broke  out.     He  was  with  Washington  in  the 
French  and  Indian  War.     He  was  made  commander  of  the  flying  camp  in  17 7G,  and  at  the  time  of 
his  death  was  about  fifty-six  years  of  age.     The  picture  of  a  house  in  the  corner  of  the  map  of  the 
battle  at  Princeton,  is  a  representation  of  the  house  in  which  General  Mercer  died.     It  is  yet  [1856] 
standing. 

2  The  chief  of  these  were  Colonels  Haslett  and  Potter,  Major  Morris,  and  Captains  Shippen, 
Fleming  and  Neal.     The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  this  engagement,  was  about  thirty,  including  the 
officers  above  named. 

8  We  have  mentioned,  on  page  210,  the  planetarium,  at  Princeton,  constructed  by  David  Kitten- 
house.  This  excited  the  admiration  of  Cornwallis,  and  he  intended  to  carry  it  away  with  him.  It 
is  also  said  that  Silas  Deane  [page  264]  proposed  to  present  this  work  of  art  to  the' French  govern- 
ment, as  a  bonus  for  its  good  will.  Cornwallis  was  kept  too  busy  in  providing  for  his  own  safety, 
while  in  Princeton,  to  allow  him  to  rob  the  college  of  so  great  a  treasure.  *  Page  160. 

6  Permanent  stations  for  small  bodies  of  troops. 


270  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1777. 

of  March,  1777,  not  a  British  nor  a  Hessian  soldier  could  be  found  in 
New  Jersey,  except  at  New  Brunswick  and  Amboy.1  Those  dreaded  bat- 
talions which,  sixty  days  before,  wrere  all-powerful  in  New  Jersey,  and  had 
frightened  the  Continental  Congress  from  Philadelphia,  were  now  hemmed  in 
upon  the  Raritan,  and  able  to  act  only  on  the  defensive.  Considering  the 
attending  circumstances,  this  was  a  great  triumph  for  the  Americans.  It 
revived  the  martial  spirit  of  the  people,  and  the  hopes  of  all  good  patriots ;  and 
hundreds  in  New  Jersey,  who  had  been  deceived  by  Howe's  proclamation,  and 
had  suffered  Hessian  brutality,  openly  espoused  the  Whig  cause.  Congress 
had  returned  to  Philadelphia,2  and  commenced  its  labors  with  renewed  vigor. 

It  was  almost  the  first  of  June  before  the  main  body  of  the  two  armies  com- 
menced the  summer  campaign.  In  the  mean  Avhile,  smaller  detachments  were 
in  motion  at  various  points.  A  strong  armament  was  sent  up  the  Hudson,  in 
March,  to  destroy  American  stores  at  Peekskill,  at  the  southern  entrance  to  the 
Highlands.  The  Americans  there,  under  the  command  of  General  McDougaL 
perceiving  a  defense  of  the  property  to  be  futile,  set  fire  to  the  stores  and 
retreated  to  the  hills  in  the  rear.  The  British  returned  to  New  York  the  same 
evening  [March  23,  1777].  Almost  a  month  afterward  [April  13],  Corn- 
wallis  went  up  the  Raritan  from  New  Brunswick,  to  surprise  the  Americans 
under  General  Lincoln,  at  Boundbrook.  The  latter  escaped,  with  difficulty, 
after  losing  about  sixty  men  and  a  part  of  his  baggage.  Toward  the  close  of 
April  [April  25],  Governor  Tryon,3  at  the  head  of  two  thousand  British  and 
Tories,  went  up  Long  Island  Sound,  landed  at  Compo  [April  26],  between 
Norwalk  and  Fairfield,  marched  to  Danbury,  destroyed  a  large  quantity  of 
stores  belonging  to  the  Americans,  burned  the  town,  and  cruelly  treated  the 
inhabitants.  Perceiving  the  militia  to  be  gathering  in  great  numbers,  he 
retreated  rapidly  the  next  morning,  by  way  of  Ridgefield.  Near  that  village, 
he  had  some  severe  skirmishing  with  the  militia  under  Generals  Wooster, 
Arnold,4  and  Silliman.  Wooster  was  killed,5  Arnold  narrowly  escaped,  but 
Silliman,  keeping  the  field,  harassed  the  British  all  the  way  to  the  coast.  At 
Compo,  and  while  embarking,  they  were  terribly  galled  by  artillery  under 
Lamb.6  Tryon  lost  almost  three  hundred  men  during  this  expedition,  and 
killed  or  wounded  about  half  that  number  of  Americans.  His  atrocities  on  that 


1  The  Americans  went  out  in  small  companies,  made  sudden  attacks  upon  pickets,  out-posts, 
and  foraging-  parties,  and  in  this  way  frightened  the  detachments  of  the  enemy  and  drove  them  in 
to  the  main  body  on  the  Raritan.  At  Spring-Held,  a  few  miles  from  Eiizabethtown.  they 
attacked  a  party  of  Hessians  who  were  pdnetrating  the  country  from  Elizabethport  [January  7, 
1777],  killed  between  forty  and  fifty  of  them,  and  drove  the  remainder  in  great  confusion  back  to 
Staten  Island.  A  larger  foraging  party  was  defeated  near  Somerset  court  house  [January  20]  by 
about  live  hundred  New  Jersey  militia  under  General  Dickinson;  and  Newark,  Elizabethtown  and 
Woodbridge,  were  taken  possession  of  by  the  patriots.  2  Page  262.  3  Page  223. 

4  Page  234.     For  his  gallantry  at  Ridgefield,  Congress  ordered  a  horse,  richly  caparisoned,  to 
be  presented  to  him. 

5  David  Wooster  was  born  in  Stratford,  Connecticut,  in  1710.     He  was  at  Louisburg  in  1745 
[page  137],  became  a  captain  in  the  British  army,  and  was  in  the  French  and  Indian  War.     He  was 
in  Canada  in  the  spring  of  1776  [page  243],  and  gave  promise  of  being  one  of  the  most  efficient  of 
the  American  officers  in  the  war  for  Independence.     His  loss,  at  such  a  critical  period  of  the  conflict, 
was  much  deplored.     The  State  of  Connecticut  erected  a  monument  to  his  memory,  in  1854. 

0  Page  240. 


1777.]  THIRD   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR   FOR  INDEPENDENCE.          271 

occasion  were  never  forgotten  nor  forgiven.  The  name  of  Tryon  will  ever  be 
held  in  detestation  by  all  lovers  of  justice  and  humanity.  He  had  already, 
while  governor  of  North  Carolina,  been  named  by  the  Indians,  The  Great 
Woffj  and  in  his  marauding  expeditions  during  the  earlier  years  of  the  war 
for  Independence,  his  conduct  confirmed  the  judgment  of  the  Red  Men.  We 
shall  meet  him  again. 

The  Americans  did  not  always  act  upon  the  defensive :  they  were  some- 
times the  aggressors.  Toward  the  close  of  May  [May  22,  1777],  Colonel 
Meigs,  with  one  hundred  and  seventy  men,  crossed  Long  Island  Sound  in  whale- 
boats,  from  Guilford,  Connecticut,  and  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  23d 
of  that  month,  attacked  a  British  provision  post  at  Sagg  Harbor,  near  the 
eastern  extremity  of  Long  Island.  They  burned  a  dozen  vessels,  and  the  store- 
houses and  contents,  secured  ninety  prisoners,  and  reached  Guilford  at  two 
o'clock  the  next  day,  without  losing  a  man  of  their  own  party.  For  this  exploit, 
Congress  voted  thanks  to  Colonel  Meigs  and  his  men,  and  a  sword  to  the  com- 
mander. A  little  later  in  the  season,  an  equally  bold  exploit  was  performed 
on  Rhode  Island.  On  a  dark  night  in  July  [July  10],  Colonel  William  Bar- 
ton, with  a  company  of  picked  men,  cross  3d  Narraganset  Bay  in  whale-boats, 
in  the  midst  of  the  British  fleet,  stole  cautiously  to  the  quarters  of  General 
Prescott,1  the  British  commander  on  Rhode  Island,  seized  him  while  in  bed, 
and  carried  him  in  triumph  across  the  bay  to  Warwick.  There  a  carriage  was 
in  waiting  for  him,  and  at  sunrise  ho  was  under  a  strong  guard  at  Providence. 
From  thence  he  was  sent  to  the  headquarters  of  Washington,  at  Middlebrook, 
on  the  Raritan,8  and  was  exchanged,  in  April,  the  next  year,  for  General 
Charles  Lee.3  For  Colonel  Barton's  bravery,  on  that  occasion,  Congress  voted 
him  an  elegant  sword,  and  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  and  pay  of  a  colonel 
in  the  continental  army. 

The  American  commander-in-chief  continued  his  head  quarters  at  Morris- 
town  until  near  the  last  of  May.  During  the  spring  he  had  inoculated  a  large 
portion  of  his  troops  for  the  small-pox  ;4  and  when  the  leaves  put  forth,  a  fair 
degree  of  health  prevailed  in  his  camp,  and  his  army  had  increased  by  recruits, 
to  almost  ten  thousand  men.  He  was  prepared  for  action,  offensive  and  defens- 
ive ;  but  the  movements  of  the  British  perplexed  him.  Burgoyne  was  assem- 
bling an  army  at  St.  John,  on  the  Sorel,5  and  vicinity,  preparatory  to  an 
invasion  of  New  York,  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain,  to  achieve  that  darling 
object  of  the  British  ministry,  the  occupation  of  the  country  on  the  Hudson.0 


1  Page  240.     Prescott's  quarters  were  at  a  house  yet  [185G]  standing,  a  short  distance  above 
Newport,  and  about  a  mile  from  the  bay. 

2  While  on  his  way,  his  escort  stopped  at  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  to  dine.     Prescott  was  :\ 
morose,  haughty,  and  violent-tempered  man.     At  the  table,  a  dish  of  succotash  (beans  and  corn) 
was  brought  to  him.     Not  being  accustomed  to  such  food,  he  regarded  it  as  an  insult,  and  taking 
the  dish  from  the  hands  of  the  hostess,  he  strewed  its  contents  upon  the  floor.     Her  husband  being 
informed  of  it,  flogged  the  general  severely,  with  a  horsewhip. 

3  Note  4,  page  248  ;  also  page  288. 

*  The  common  practice  of  vaccination  at  the  present  day  was  then  unknown  in  this  country. 
Indeed,  the  attention  of  Jenner,  the  father  of  the  practice,  had  then  just  been  turned  to  the  subject. 
It  was  practiced  here  a  year  after  the  close  of  tho  war.  5  Page  240.  c  Page  283. 


272  THE     REVOLUTION".  [1777. 

But  whether  Howe  was  preparing  to  co-operate  with  Burgoyne,  or  to  make 
another  attempt  to  seize  Philadelphia,1  Washington  could  not  determine.  He 
prepared  for  both  events  by  stationing  Arnold  with  a  strong  detachment  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Delaware,  concentrating  a  large  force  on  the  Hudson,  and 
moving  the  main  body  of  his  army  to  Middlebrook,  within  ten  miles  of  the 
British  camp  at  New  Brunswick. 

Washington  was  not  kept  in  suspense  a  great  while.  On  the  12th  of  June 
[1777],  Howe  passed  over  from  New  York,  where  he  made  his  head  quarters 
during  the  winter,  concentrated  the  main  body  of  his  army  at  New  Brunswick, 
and  tried  to  draw  Washington  into  an  engagement  by  a  feigned  movement  [June 
14]  toward  the  Delaware.  The  chief,  perceiving  the  meaning  of  this  movement, 
and  aware  of  his  comparative  strength,  wisely  remained  in  his  strong  position 
at  Middlebrook  until  Howe  suddenly  retreated  [June  19],  sent  some  of  his 
troops  over  to  Staten  Island  [June  22],  and  appeared  to  be  evacuating  New 
Jersey.  This  movement  perplexed  Washington.  He  was  fairly  deceived ;  and 
ordering  strong  detachments  in  pursuit,  he  advanced  several  miles  in  the  same 
direction,  with  his  whole  army.  Howe  suddenly  changed  front  [June  25],  and 
attempted  to  gain  the  rear  of  the  Americans  ;  but,  after  Stirling's  brigade  had 
maintained  a  severe  skirmish  with  a  corps  under  Cornwallis  [June  26],  the 
Americans  regained  their  camp  without  much  loss.  Five  days  afterward  [June 
30],  the  whole  British  army  crossed  over  to  Staten  Island,  and  left  New  Jersey 
in  the  complete  possession  of  the  patriots. 

Washington  now  watched  the  movements  of  his  enemy  with"  great  anxiety 
and  the  utmost  vigilance.  It  was  evident  that  some  bold  stroke  was  about  to  be 
attempted  by  the  British.  On  the  12th  of  July,  Burgoyne,  who  had  been 
moving  steadily  up  Lake  Champlain,  with  a  powerful  army,  consisting  of  about 
seven  thousand  British  and  German  troops,  and  a  large  body  of  Canadians  and 
Indians,  took  possession  of  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,2  and  spread  terror 
over  the  whole  North.  At  the  same  time  the  British  fleet  at  New  York  took 
such  a  position  as  induced  the  belief  that  it  was  about  to  pass  up  the  Hudson 
arid  co-operate  with  the  victorious  invader.  Finally,  Howe  left  General  Clinton 
in  command  at  New  York,  and  embarking  on  board  the  fleet  with  eighteen 
thousand  troops  [July  23],  he  sailed  for  the  Delaware.  When  Washington 
comprehended  this  movement,  he  left  a  strong  force  on  the  Hudson,  and  with 
the  main  body  of  his  troops  pushed  forward  to  Philadelphia.  There  he  was 
saluted  by  a  powerful  ally,  in  the  person  of  a  stripling,  less  than  twenty  years 
of  age.  He  was  a  wealthy  French* nobleman,  who,  several  months  before,  while 
at  a  dinner  with  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,3  first  heard  of  the  struggle  of  the 
Americans,  their  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  the  preparations  made  to 
crush  them.  His  young  soul  was  fired  with  aspirations  to  give  them  his  aid ; 
and  quitting  the  army,  he  hurried  to  Paris.  Although  he  had  just  married 
a  young  and  beautiful  girl,  and  a  bright  career  was  opened  for  him  in  his  own 

1  Page  261.  2  Page  234. 

8  The  duke  was  the  brother  of  the  king  of  England,  and  at  the  time  in  question,  was  dining  with 
some  French  officers,  in  the  old  town  of  Mentz,  in  Germany. 


1777.] 


THIRD   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR   FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


country,  he  left  all,   and    hastened  to  America  in  a  vessel  fitted  out  at  his 

own  expense.     He  offered  his  services  to  the  Continental 

Congress,  and  that  body  gave  him  the  commission  [July 

31]  of  a  major-general.     Three  days  afterward  [Aug.  3] 

he  was  introduced  to  Washington  at  a  public  dinner  ;  and 

within  less   than   forty  days    he  was    gallantly   fighting 

[September  11],  as  a  volunteer,  for  freedom  in  America, 

on  the  banks  of  the  Brandy  wine.     That  young  general  was 

the  Marquis   de  LA   FAYETTE/  whose  name  is  forever 

linked  with  that  of  Washington  and  Liberty. 

The  British  fleet,  with  the  army  under  Sir  William  Howe,2  did  not  go  up 
the  Delaware,  as  was  anticipated,  but  amended  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  at  it ; 
head,  near  the  village  of  Elkton,  in  Maryland,  the  land  forces  disembarked 
[Aug.  25],  and  marched  toward  Philadelphia.  Washington  had  advanced  be- 
yond the  Brandy  wine  Creek,  and  took  post  a  few  miles  from  Wilmington. 
Howe's  superior  force  compelled  him  to  fall  back  to  the  east  side  of  the  Brandy- 

and  at  Chad's  Ford,  several 


GENERAL    LA    FAYET';!:. 


wme 


miles  above  Wilmington,  he  made 
a  stand  for  the  defense  of  Phila- 
delphia. At  that  point,  the  IIcs- 
ians  under  Knyphausen3  attacked 
the  left  wing  of  the  Americans 
[Sept.  11,  1777],  commanded  by 
Washington  in  person  ;  while  Howe 
and  Cornwallis,  crossing  the  stream 
several  miles  above,  fell  upon  the 
American  right,  under  General 
Sullivan,  near  the  Birmingham 
meeting-house.4  The  contest  raged 
fearfully  during  the  whole  day. 
At  night  the  shattered  and  defeated  battalion ;  of  patriots  retreated  to 
Chester,  and  the  following  day  [Sept.  12]  to  Philadelphia.  Many  brave  men 
were  killed  or  disabled  on  that  sanguinary  field.  La  Fayctto  was  severely 
wounded  ;5  and  the  patriots  lost  full  twelve  hundred  men,  killed,  wounded,  and 


BATTLE    AT   THE   BRANDYWINE. 


1  He  was  born  on  the  Gth  of  September,  1757.     He  married  the  daughter  of  the  Duke  do 
Noailles,  a  beautiful  heiress,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years.     He  first  landed  on  the  coast  of  South 
Carolina,  in  Winyaw  Bay,  near  Georgetown,  and  made  a  land  journey  to  Philadelphia.     His  appli- 
cation was  not  received  at  lirst,  by  the  Continental  Congress ;  but  when  his  true  character  and 
designs  were  known,  they  gave  him  a  major-general's  commission.     He  was  afterward  an  active 
patriot  in  his  own  country  in  many  perilous  scenes.     He  visited  America  in  1824—5  [page  453], 
and  died  in  1834,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years.     The  Baron  de  Kalb  [page  316]  and  eleven 
other  French  and  Polish  officers,  came  to  America  in  La  Fayette's  vessel. 

2  After  the  battle  near  Brooklyn  [page  254],  the  king  conferred  the  honor  of  knighthood  upon 
General  "William  Howe,  the  commander-in-chL'f  of  the  British  forces  in  America.     The  ceremony 
was  performed  by  several  of  his  officers,  at  his  quarters  in  the  Bookman  House,  Turtle  Bay,  East 
River.  3  Page  259 

This  was  (and  is  yet)  a  Quaker  meeting-house,  situated  a  few  miles  from  Chad's  Ford,  on  the 
road  from  Jefferis's  Ford  (where  Howe  and  Cornwallis  crossed)  to  Wilmington. 

A  bullet  passed  through  his  leg.     He  was  conveyed  to  Bethlehem,  in  Pennsylvania,  where 

18 


274  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1777. 

made  prisoners.  The  British  lost  almost  eight  hundred.  Washington  failed 
of  success  more  on  account  of  false  intelligence,  by  which  he  was  kept  in  igno- 
rance of  the  approach  of  the  British  on  his  left,  than  by  want  of  skill  or  force.1 

Washington  did  not  remain  idle  in  the  Federal  capital,  but  as  soon  as  the 
troops  were  rested,  he  crossed  the  Schuylkill,  and  proceeded  to  confront  Howe, 
who  was  making  slow  marches  toward  Philadelphia.  They  met  [Sept.  16] 
twenty  miles  west  of  that  city,  and  some  skirmishing  ensued ;  but  a  heavy  rain 
prevented  a  general  battle,  and  the  Americans  withdrew  toward  Reading. 
General  Wayne,  in  the^mean  while,  was  hanging  upon  the  rear  of  the  enemy 
with  about  fifteen  hundred  men.  On  the  night  of  the  20th,  he  was  surprised 
by  a  party  of  British  and  Hessians,  under  General  Grey,  near  the  Paoli  Tav- 
ern, and  lost  about  three  hundred  of  his  party.2  With  the  remainder  he  joined 
Washington,  then  near  Valley  Forge,  and  vigilantly  watching  the  movements 
of  Howe.  As  these  indicated  the  intention  of  the  British  commander  to  attempt 
the  seizure  of  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition  and  military  stores  which  the 
Americans  had  collected  at  Reading,  Washington  abandoned  Philadelphia,  and 
took  position  at  Pottsgrove,  thirty-five  miles  distant,  to  protect  those  indispens- 
able materials  for  his  army.  Howe  crossed  the  Schuylkill  [Sept.  23,  1777], 
near  Norristown,  and  marched  to  the  Federal  city3  [Sept.  26],  without  oppo- 
sition. Congress  fled  at  his  approach,  first  to  Lancaster  [Sept.  27],  and  then  to 
York,  where  it  assembled  on  the  30th,  and  continued  its  session  until  the  fol- 
lowing summer.  The1  main  body  of  the  British  army  was  encamped  at  Ger- 
mantown,  four  miles  from  Philadelphia,  and  Howe  prepared  to  make  the  latter 
place  his  winter  quarters.4 

Upon  opposite  sides  of  the  Delaware,  a  few  miles  below  Philadelphia,  were 
two  forts  of  considerable  strength  (Mifflin  and  Mercer),  garrisoned  by  the 
Americans.  While  the  British  army  was  marching  from  the  Chesapeake5  to 
Philadelphia,  the  fleet  had  sailed  around  to  the  Delaware,  and  had  approached 
to  the  head  of  that  bay.  The  forts  commanded  the  river ;  and  chevavx-de- 
frise6  just  below  them,  completely  obstructed  it,  so  that  the  army  in  Philadel- 
phia could  obtain  no  supplies  from  the  fleet.  The  possession  of  these  forts  was 


11  ie  Moravian  sisters  nursed  him  during  his  confinement.  Count  Pulaski  began  his  military  career 
in  the  American  army,  on  the  field  of  Brandywine,  where  he  commanded  a  troop  of  horse,  and 
after  the  battle  he  was  appointed  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier.  He  was  slain  at  Savannah.  See  note 
3,  page  350. 

1  The  building  seen  in  the  corner  of  the  map,  is  a  view  of  the  head  quarters  of  Washington,  yet 
[1856]  standing,  a  short  distance  from  Chad's  Ford. 

2  The  bodies  of  fifty-three  Americans,  found  on  the  field  the  next  morning,  were 
interred  in  one  broad  grave ;  and  forty  years  afterward,  the  "  Republican  Artillerists" 
of  Chester  county,  erected  a  neat  marble  monument  over  them.      It  stands  in  the 
center  of  an  inclosure  which  contains  the  ground  consecrated  by  the  burial  of  these 
patriots. 

3  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Washington,  have   been,   respectively,  federal 
cities,  or  cities  where  the  Federal  Congress  of  the  United  States  assembled. 

4  Note  2,  page  285.  B  Page  273. 

6   Chevaux-de-frise  are  obstructions  placed  in  river  channels  to  prevent  the  pass- 
age of  vessels.      They  are  generally  made  of  a  series  of  heavy  timbers,  pointed  with 
iron,  and  secured  at  an  angle  in  a  strong  frame  filled  with  stones,  as  seen  in  the 
engraving.    Figure  A  shows  the  position  under  water;  figure  B  shows  how  the  tim- 
CHEVATTX-I>E-     j^g  are  arrange(j  an(j  tne  stones  placed  in  them. 


1777.]          THIRD   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR   FOR   INDEPENDENCE.  275 

important,  and  on  the  22d  of  October,  they  were  attached  by  detachments  sent 
by  Howe.  Fort  Mercer  was  assailed  by  two  thousand  Hessian  grenadiers  under 
Count  Donop.1  They  were  repulsed  by  the  garrison  of  less  than  five  hundred 
men,  under  Lieutenant- Colonel  Christopher  Greene,  of  Rhode  Island,  after  los- 
ing their  commander,"  and  almost  four  hundred  soldiers.  The  garrison  of  Fort 
Mifflin,  under  Lieutenant- Colonel  Samuel  Smith,  also  made  a  gallant  defense. 
but  after  a  series  of  assaults  by  land  and  water,  it  was  abandoned  [Nov.  16, 
1777].  Two  days  afterward,  Fort  Mercer  was  also  abandoned,  and  several 
British  ships  sailed  up  to  Philadelphia.3 

When  Washington  was  informed  of  the  weakened 
condition  of  the  British  army,  by  the  detachment  of 
these  forces  to  attack  the  Delaware  forts,  he  resolved 
to  assail  the  camp  at  Germantown.  He  had  moved 
down  the  Schuylkill  to  Skippack  Creek  [Sept.  25], 
and  from  that  point  he  marched,  silently,  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  3d  of  October  [1777],  toward  the  camp 
of  the  enemy.  He  reached  Chestnut  Hill,  beyond 

Germantown,  at  dawn  the  following  morning,  and  the      ^^  ^  GERMANTOWX> 
attack  soon  commenced  near  there.     After  a  severe 

battle,  which  continued  almost  three  hours,  the  patriots  were  repulsed,  with  a 
loss,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  about  equal  to  that  at  Brandy  wine.4 
The  British  lost  only  about  six  hundred.  On  the  19th,  Howe  broke  up  his 
encampment  at  Germantown,  and  three  weeks  afterward,  he  proceeded  to  place 
his  whole  army  in  winter  quarters  in  Philadelphia.  Washington  retired  to 
his  camp  on  Skippack  Creek  ;  and  on  the  29th  of  November,  he  prepared  to 
go  into  winter  quarters  at  White  Marsh,  fourteen  miles  from  Philadelphia. 

Let  us  now  turn  for  a  while  from  these  scenes  of  conflict  and  disaster  in 
which  the  beloved  commander-in-chief  was  personally  engaged,  to  the  consider- 
ation of  important  events  which  were  transpiring  on  the  waters  and  banks  of 
Lake  Champlain  and  the  Hudson  River.  Burgoyne,  with  more  than  ten 
thousand  men,  invested  Ticonderoga  on  the  2d  of  July.  The  fortress  was  gar- 
risoned by  General  St.  Clair,  with  only  about  three  thousand  men.  Upon 


1  Page  263. 

2  Donop  was  terribly  wounded,  and  taken  to  the  house  of  a  Quaker  near  by,  where  he  expired 
three  days  afterward.    He  was  buried  within  the  fort.    A  few  years  ago  his  bones  were  disinterred, 
and  his  skull  was  taken  possession  of  by  a  New  Jersey  physician. 

8  In  the  defense  of  these  forts,  the  Americans  lost  about  three  hundred  men,  and  the  enemy 
almost  double  that  number. 

1  Washington  felt  certain  of  victory  at  the  beginning  of  the  battle.  Just  as  it  commenced,  a 
dense  fog  overspread  the  country ;  and  through  the  inexperience  of  his  troops,  great  confusion,  in 
'  their  movements,  was  produced.  A  false  rumor  caused  a  panic  among  the  Americans,  just  as 
the  British  were  about  to  fall  back,  and  a  general  retreat  and  loss  of  victory  was  the  result.  In 
Germantown,  a  strong  stone  house  is  yet  [1856]  standing,  which  belonged  to  Judge  Chew.  This 
a  part  of  the  enemy  occupied,  and  from  the  windows  fired  with  deadly  effect  upon  the  Ameri- 
cans. No  blame  was  attached  to  Washington  for  this  defeat,  when  victory  seemed  easy  and  certain. 
On  the  contrary,  Congress,  on  the  receipt  of  Washington's  letter,  describing  the  battle,  passed  a  vote 
of  thanks  to  him  for  his  "  wise  and  well-concerted  attack  upon  the  enemy's  army  near  German- 
town;"  and  "to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army,  for  their  brave  exertions  on  that  occasion."  A 
medal  was  also  ordered  to  be  struck,  and  presented  to  Washington. 


276  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1777. 

Mount  Independence,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake,  was  a  small  fortifica- 
tion and  a  weak  garrison.1  These  composed  the  entire 
force,  except  some  feeble  detachments  of  militia,  to  op- 
pose the  invaders.  On  the  approach  of  Burgoyne,  St. 
Clair2  left  his  outworks,  gathered  his  forces  near  the 
fortress,  and  prepared  for  an  assault ;  but  when,  on  the 
evening  of  the  5th,  he  saw  the  scarlet  uniforms  of  the 
British  on  the  top  of  Mount  Defiance,3  and  a  battery  of 
heavy  guns  planted  there,4  more  than  five  hundred  feet 
above  the  fort,  he  knew  resistance  would  be  vain.  That 

GENERAL   ST.    CLAlll.  . 

evening  lie  sent  Ins  ammunition  and  stores  up  the  lake 

to  Skenesborough,5  and  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  silently  crossed  over  to 
Mount  Independence,  and  commenced  a  retreat  to  Fort  Edward,6  the  head- 
quarters of  General  Schuyler,  who  was  then  in  command  of  the  northern  army. 
The  retreating  army  would  have  been  beyond  the  reach  of  pursuers  by 
dawn,  had  not  their  exit  been  discovered.  Contrary  to  express  orders,  a  build- 
ing was  fired  on  Mount  Independence,  and  by  its  light  their  flight  was  discov- 
ered by  the  enemy,  and  a  strong  party,  consisting  of  the  brigade  of  General 
Fraser,  and  two  Hessian  corps  under  Riedesel,  was  immediately  sent  in  pursuit. 
At  dawn,  the  British  flag  was  waving  over  Ticonderoga  ;  and  a  little  after  sun- 
rise [July  7,  1777],  the  rear  division  of  the  flying  Americans,  under  Colonel 
Seth  Warner,7  were  overtaken  in  Hubbardton,  Vermont,  and  a  severe  engage- 
ment followed.  The  patriots  were  defeated  and  dispersed,  and  the  victors 
returned  to  Ticonderoga.8  Before  sunset  the  same  evening,  a  flotilla  of  British 
vessels  had  overtaken  and  destroyed  the  Americans'  stores  which  St.  Clair  had 
sent  up  the  lake,  and  also  a  large  quantity  at  Skenesborough.  The  fragments 
of  St.  Clair's  army  reached  Fort  Edward  on  the  12th,  thoroughly  dispirited. 
Disaster  had  followed  disaster  in  quick  succession.  Within  a  week,  the  Amer- 
icans had  lost  almost  two  hundred  pieces  of  artillery,  and  a  large  amount  of 
provisions  and  military  stores. 


1  During  the  previous  years,  the  Americans  constructed  a  picketed  fort,  or  stockade  [note  2, 
page  183],  on  that  eminence,  built  about  three  hundred  huts  or  barracks,  dug  several  wells,  and 
placed  batteries  at  different  points.     The  remains  of  these  are  now  [1856]  everywhere  visible  on 
Mount  Independence.     That  eminence  received  this  name  because  the  troops  took  possession  of  it 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1776.     Page  250. 

2  Arthur  St.  Clair  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  came  to  America  with  Admiral  Boscawen,  early 
in  May,  1755.     He  served  under  Wolfe  [page  201];  and  when  the  Revolution  broke  out,  he  en- 
tered the  American  army.     He  served  during  the  war,  and  afterward  commanded  an  expedition 
against  the  Indians  in  Ohio,  where  he  was  unsuccessful.    He  died  in  1818,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four 
years. 

3  This  is  a  hill  about  750  feet  in  height,  situated  on  the  south-west  side  of  the  outlet  of  Lake 
George,  opposite  Ticonderoga. 

4  With  immense  labor,  Burgoyne  opened  a  road  up  the  northern  slope  of  Mount  Defiance,  and 
dragged  heavy  artillery  to  the  summit.     From  that  point,  every  ball  might  be  hurled  within  the 
fort  below  without  difficulty.     The  position  of  that  road  may  yet  [1856]  be  traced  by  the  second 
growth  of  trees  on  its  line  up  the  mountain. 

5  Now  "Whitehall.     It  was  named  after  Philip  Skene,  who  settled  there  in  1764.     The  narrow 
part  of  Lake  Champlain,  from  Ticonderoga  to  Whitehall,  was  formerly  called  Wood  Creek  (the  name 
of  the  stream  that  enters  the  lake  at  Whitehall),  and  also  South  River.     6  Page  188.     7  Page  232. 

8  The  Americans  lost,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  a  little  more  than  three  hundred ;  the 
British  reported  their  loss  at  one  hundred  and  eighty-three. 


1777.]  THIRD   YEAR  OF   THE   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.  277 

The  force  under  General  Schuyler  was  very  small,  and  even  with  this  rein- 
forcement by  the  fugitives  from  the  lake,  he  had  only  about  four  thousand  effect- 
ive men — a  number  totally  inadequate  to  combat  with  those  of  Burgoyne.  He 
therefore  sent  a  strong  party  toward  Skenesborough  to  fell  huge  trees  across 
the  roads,  and  to  destroy  all  the  bridges,  so  as  to  obstruct  the  march  of  the 
invaders,  while  he  slowly  retreated  down  the  Hudson  valley  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Mohawk,  and  there  established  a  fortified  camp.1  His  call  for  aid  was  nobly 
responded  to,  for  the  whole  country  was  thoroughly  aroused  to  a  sense  of  peril. 
Detachments  were  sent  from  the  regular  army  to  strengthen  him  ;  and  soon 
General  Lincoln  came  with  a  large  body  of  New  England  militia.  When 
General  Gates  arrived,  to  take  the  chief  command,2  he  found  an  army  of  thir- 
teen thousand  men,  ready  to  meet  the  invader. 

The  progress  of  Burgoyne  was  slow,  and  he  did  not  reach  Fort  Edward 
until  the  30th  of  July.3  The  obstructions  ordered  by  Schuyler,  and  the  de- 
struction of  the  bridges,  were  great  hinderances.4  His  army  was  also  worn  down 
by  fatigue,  and  his  provisions  were  almost  exhausted.  To  replenish  his  stores, 
he  sent  five  hundred  Germans,  Canadians,  and  Tories,  and  one  hundred  Indians, 
under  Colonel  Baume,  to  seize  provisions  and  cattle  which  the  Americans  had 
collected  at  Benningtori,  thirty-five  miles  distant.  Colonel  John  Stark  had 
called  out  the  New  Hampshire  militia :  and  near  Hoosick,  within  five  miles  of 
Bemrington,  they  met  [Aug.  16J  and  defeated  the  marauders.  And  toward 
evening,  when  another  German  party,  under  Colonel  Breyman,  approached, 
they  also  were  defeated  by  a  continental  forco  under  Colonel  Seth  Warner.6 
Many  of  the  enemy  were  killed,  and  a  large  number  were  made  prisoners.  Bur- 
goyne's  entire  loss,  in  this  expedition,  was  almost  a  thousand  men.  The  Amer- 
icans had  on3  hundred  killed,  and  as  many  wounded.  This  defeat  was  fatal  to 
Burgoyne's  future  operations'" — this  victory  was'  a  day-star  of  hope  to  the 


1  Thaddeus  Koseiuszko,  a  Polish  refugee,  who  carne  with  Lafay- 
ette [page  273],  was  now  attached  to  Schuylcr's  army,  as  engines T. 
Under  his  direction,  the  intrenchments  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk 
River,  were  constructed  ;  also,  those  at  Stillwater  and  Saratoga.  The 
camp  at  the  mouth  of  tho  Moha\vk  was  upon  islands  ju&t  below  the 
Great,  or  Cohoes'  Falls. 

3  General  Schuyler  had  superseded  Gates  in  June,  and  had  been 
skillfully  confronting  Burgoyne.  But  Gates,  seeing  a  chance  for  gain- 
ing laurels,  and  having  a  strong  party  of  friends  in  Congress.  sought 
the  chief  command  of  the  northern  army.  It  was  ungenerously  taken 
from  Schuyler  at  the  moment  when,  by  great  exertions  and  through 
great  hardships,  he  had  a  forco  prepared  to  confront  Burgoyne,  with 
some  prospect  of  success. 

3  It  was  while  Burgoyne  was  approaching  that  point,  that  Jano  KOSCIUSZKO. 
M'Crea,  the  betrothed  of  a  young  Tory  in  tho  British  army,  was  shot, 

while  being  conveyed  by  a  party  of  Indians  from  Fort  Edward  to  the  British  camp.  Her  death  was 
untruly  charged  upon  the  Indians,  and  it  was  made  tho  subject  of  the  most  bitter  denunciations  of  the 
British  ministers,  for  employing  such  cruel  instrumentalities.  Tho  place  of  her  death  is  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  village  of  Fort  Edward.  The  pine-tree  which  marked  the  spot,  decayed  a  few  years 
since,  and  in  1853,  it  was  cut  down,  and  converted  into  canes  and  boxes  for  the  curious. 

4  Burgoyne  was  obliged  to  construct  forty  bridges  on  the  wav,  and  to  remove  the  many  trees 
which  lay  across  the  roads.    To  estimate  the  amount  of  fatigue  which  the  troops  must  have  endured 
during  that  hot  month,  it  must  be  remembered  that  each  soldier  bore  a  weight  of  sixty  pounds,  in 
arms,  accoutrements,  and  supplies.  5  Pages  234  and  240. 

6  It  dispirited  his  troops,  who  were  worn  down  with  the  fatigue  of  the  obstructed  march  from 
Skenesborough  to  Fort  Edward.     It  also  causad  a  delay  of  a  month  at  that  place,  and  in  the  mean 


278 


THE     REVOLUTION. 


[1777. 


Americans.     Applause  of  the  New  Hampshire  militia  rang  through  the  land, 
and  Stark  was  made  a  brigadier  in  the  continental  army. 

During  Burgoyne's  approach,  the  Mohawk  valley  had  become  a  scene  of 
great  confusion  and  alarm.  Colonel  St.  Leger  and  his 
savages,  joined  by  the  Mohawk  Indians,  under  Brant,1 
and  a  body  of  Tories,  under  Johnson2  and  Butler,  had 
arrived  from  Oswego,  and  invested  Fort  Stanwix.  on 
the  3d  of  August  [1777].  The  garrison  was  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Gansevoort,  and  made  a  spirited 
defense.  General  Herkimer  rallied  the  militia  of  his 
neighborhood  ;  and  while  marching  to  the  assistance  of 
Gansevoort,  he  fell  into  an  Indian  ambuscade  [Aug.  6] 
at  Oriskany.3  His  party  was  totally  defeated,  after  a 
bloody  conflict,  and  himself  was  mortally  wounded.  On 
the  same  day,  a  corps  of  the  garrison,  under  Colonel 
Willet,  made  a  successful  sortie,4  and  broke  the  pOAver  of  the  besiegers. 
Arnold,  who  had  been  sent  by  Schuylcr  to  the  relief  of  the  fort,  soon  afterward 
approached,  when  the  besiegers  fled  [Aug.  22],  and  quiet  was  restored  to  the 
Mohawk  valley. 

The  disastrous  events  at  Bennington  and  Fort  Stan- 
wix, arid  the  straitened  condition  of  his  commissariat, 
greatly  perplexed  Burgoyne.  To  retreat,  advance,  or 
remain  inactive,  seemed  equally  perilous.  With  little 
hope  of  reaching  Albany,  where  he  had  boasted  he  would 
eat  his  Christmas  dinner,  he  crossed  the  Hudson  and 
formed  a  fortified  camp  on  the  hills  and  plains  of  Sara- 
toga, now  the  site  of  Schuylerville.  General  Gates 
advanced  to  Bemis's  Heights,  about  four  miles  north  of 


JOSEPH   BRANT. 


GENERAL   BURGOYNE. 


while  their  provisions  were  rapidly  diminishing.     "While  at  Fort  Edward,  Burgoyne  received  intel- 
ligence of  the  defeat  of  St.  Leger  at  Fort  Stanwix. 

1  Joseph  Brant  was  a  Mohawk  Indian,  and  a  great  favorite  of  Sir  William  Johnson.     He  ad- 
hered to  the  British,  and  went  to  Canada  after  the  war,  where  he  died  in  1807,  aged  sixty-five 
years. 

2  Sir  William  Johnson  [page  190]  (then  dead)  had  been  a  sort  of  auto- 
crat among  the  Indians  and  Tories  in  the  Mohawk  valley.  He  nattered 
the  chiefs  in  various  ways,  and  through  them  he  obtained  almost  un- 
bounded influence  over  the  tribes,  especially  that  of  the  Mohawks.  He 
was  in  the  habit  of  giving  those  chiefs  who  pleased  him,  a  diploma,  certi- 
fying their  gooc^character,  and  faithfulness  to  his  majesty.  These  con- 
tained a  picture',  representing  a  treaty  council,  of  which  the  annexed 
engraving  is  a  copy.  His  family  were  the  worst  enemies  of  the  Ameri- 
cans during  the  war,  in  that  region.  His  son,  John,  raised  a  regiment  of 
Tories,  called  the  Johnson  Greens  (those  who  joined  St.  Leger) ;  and  John 
Butler,  a  cruel  leader,  was  at  the  head  of  another  band,  called  Sutler's  Rangers.  These  co-operated 
with  Brant,  the  great  Mohawk  sachem,  and  for  years  they  made  the  Mohawk  valley  and  vicinity 
truly  a  "  dark  and  bloody  ground."  These  men  were  the  allies  of  St.  Leger  on  the  occasion  in 
question. 

3  The  place  of  the  battle  is  about  half  way  between  Utica  and  Eome.    The  latter  village  is  upon 

ITort  Stanwix,  built  by  Bradstreet  and  his  troops  in  1758  [page  197].  It  was  repaired 
and  gainscned  in  1776,  and  its  name  was  changed  to  Fort  Schuyler.  Another  Fort  Schuyler  was 
built  during  the  French  and  Indian  War,  where  Utica  now  stands. 

4  Note  7,  page  241. 


A   TREATY. 


BURGOYNE  SURRENDERING  HIS  SWORD  TO  GATES. 


1777.] 


THIRD   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR  FOR    INDEPENDENCE. 


281 


Still  water  (and  twenty-five  from  Albany),  and  also  formed  a  fortified  camp.1 
Burgoyne  perceived  the  necessity  for  immediate  operations,  and  advancing  toward 
the  American  camp,  a  severe  but  indecisive  action 
ensued,  on  the  19th  of  September  [1777].  Night 
terminated  the  conflict,  and  both  parties  claimed  the 
victory.2  Burgoyne  fell  back  to  his  camp,  where  he 
resolved  to  await  the  arrival  of  expected  detach- 
ments from  General  Clinton,  who  was  to  attack  the 
posts  on  the  Hudson  Highlands,  and  force  his  way  to 
Albany.3  But  after  waiting  a  few  days,  and  hearing 
nothing  from  Clinton,  he  prepared  for  another  at- 
tempt upon  the  Americans,  for  the  militia  were  flock- 
ing to  Gates' s  camp,  arid  Indian  warriors  of  the  Six 


on 


BEMIS'S  HEIGHTS. 


NATION'S4  were  gathering  there.  His  own  force t 
the  contrary,  Avas  hourly  diminishing.  As  his  star,  which  arose  so  brightly  at 
Ticonderoga,5  began  to  decline  upon  the  Hudson,  the  Canadians  and  his  Indian 
allies  deserted  him  in  great  numbers.0  He  was  compelled  to  fight  or  flee. 
Again  he  advanced  ;  and  after  a  severe  battle  of  several  hours,  on  the  7th  of 
October,  and  almost  on  the  same  ground  occupied  on  the  19th  of  September,  ho 
was  compelled  to  fall  back  to  the  heights  of  Saratoga,  and  leave  the  patriots  in 
the  possession  of  the  field.  Ten  days  afterward  [October  17],  finding  only 
three  days'  provisions  in  his  camp,  hearing  nothing  of  Clinton,  and  perceiving 
retreat  impossible,  he  was  compelled  to  surrender  his  whole  army  prisoners  of 
war.7  Of  necessity,  the  forts  upon  Lake  Champlain  now  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  patriots. 


1  The  remains  of  some  of  tho  intrcnchments  were  yet  visible  in  1850,  when  the  writer  visited 
the  locality. 

2  The  number  of  Americans  engaged  in  this  action,  was  about  two  thousand  five  hundred ;  that 
of  the  British  was  about  three  thousand.     The  former  lost,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  three 
hundred  and  nineteen;  the  British  loss  was  rather  less  than  five  hundred.  3  Page  283. 

4  Page  25.  5  Page  276. 

6  The  Indians  had  been  disappointed  in  their  expectations  of  blood  and  plunder ;  and  now  was 
their  hunting  season,  when  provisions  must  be  secured  for  winter  use.     The  Canadians  saw  nothing 
but  defeat  in  the  future,  and  left  the  army  in  whole  companies. 

7  The  whole  number  surrendered  was  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-one,  of  whom 
two  thousand  four  hundred  and  twelve  were  Germans  or  Hessians  [page  183],  under  the  chief  com- 
mand of  the  Baron  Riedesel,  whose  wife  accompanied  him,  and  afterward  wrote  a  very  interesting 
account  of  her  experience  in  Americ.i.     Burgoyne  did  dine  at  Albany,  but  as  a  prisoner,  though  a 
guest  at  the  table  of  General  Schuyler.     That  noble  patriot,  though  smarting  under  the  injustice  of 
Congress  anl  tli3  pride  of  Gates,  did  not  aba:;o  his  zeal  for  the  good  causj  when  he  had  surrendered 
his  command  into  the  hands  of  his  successor,  but,  as  a  private  citizen,  gave  his  time,  his  labor,  and 
his  money  freely,  until  he  saw  the  invader  humbled ;  and  then,  notwithstanding  Burgoyne,  without 
the  show  of  a  just  excuse,  had  destroyed  Schuyler's  fine  mansion,  his  mills,  and  much  other  prop- 
erty, at  Saratoga,  ha  made  the  vanquished  general  a  guest  at  his  own  table.     When  Burgoyno  said, 
''  You  are  very  kind  to  one  who  has  done  you  so  much  injury,"  the  generous  patriot  replied,  "That 
was  the  fate  of  war ;  bt  us  say  no  more  about  it."     Burgoyne's  troops  laid  down  their  arms  upon 
tin  plain  in  front  of  Schuylerville ;  and  the  meeting  of  the  conqueror  and  the  conquered,  for  the 
latter  to  surrender  his  sword,  was  a  very  significant  scene.     The  two  came  out  of  Gatcs's  marquee 
together.     Without  exchanging  a  word,  Burgoyne,  according  to  previous  arrangement  stepped 
back,  drew  his  sword,  arid,  in  the  presence  of  the  two  armies,'  presented  it  to  General  Gates.     The 
latter  received  it  with  a  courteous  inclination  of  the  head,  and  instantly  returned  it  to  the  vanquished 
general.     They  then  returned  to  the  marquee  together.     The  British  'filed  off,  and  took  up  their  lino 
of  march  for  Boston:  and  thus  ended  this  important  act  in  the  great  drama,  upon  the  heights  of 
Saratoga.     Burgoyne's  troops  were  marched  to  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  with  the  view  of  sending 


282  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1777. 

Glorious,  indeed,  was  this  victory  for  the  Americans.  It  gave  them  a  fine 
train  of  brass  artillery,  five  thousand  muskets,  and  a  vast  amount  of  munitions 
of  war.  Its  moral  effect  was  of  greater  importance.  All  eyes  had  been 
anxiously  turned  to  the  army  of  the  North,  and  Congress  and  the  people 
listened  eagerly  for  every  breath  of  rumor  from  Saratoga.  How  electric  was 
the  effect  when  a  shout  of  victory  came  from  the  camp  of  Gates  ! l  It  rolled 
over  the  land,  and  was  echoed  from  furrows,  workshops,  marts  of  commerce, 
the  halls  of  legislation,  and  from  the  shattered  army  of  Washington  at  White- 
marsh.2  Toryism  stood  abashed ;  the  bills  of  Congress  rose  twenty  per  cent,  in 
value  ;°  private  capital  came  from  its  hiding-places  for  public  employment ;  the 
militia  flocked  to  the  standards  of  leaders,  and  the  great  patriot  heart  of  Amer- 
ica beat  with  strong  pulsations  of  hops.  The  effect  in  Europe  was  also  favor- 
able to  the  Americans.  The  highest  hopes  of  the  British  ministry  rested  on 
this  expedition,  and  the  generalship  of  Burgoyne  justified  their  expectations. 
It  was  a  most  severe  blow,  and  gave  the  opposition  in  Parliament  the  keenest 
weapons.  Pitt,  leaning  upon  his  crutches,4  poured  forth  eloquent  denunciations 
[December,  1777]  of  the  mode  of  warfare  pursued — the  employment  of  German 
hirelings5  and  brutal  savages.0  "If  I  were  an  American,  as  I  am  an  English- 
man," he  exclaimed,  "  while  a  foreign  troop  was  landed  in  my  country,  I  never 
would  lay  down  my  arms — never,  never,  never  !"  In  the  Lower  House,7 
Burke,  Fox,  and  Barre  were  equally  severe  upon  the  government.  When,  on 
the  3d  of  December,  the  news  of  Burgoyne' s  defeat  reached  London,  the  latter 
arose  in  his  place  in  the  Commons,8  and  with  a  serene  and  solemn  countenance, 
asked  Lord  George  Germain,  the  Secretary  of  War,  what  news  he  had  received 
by  his  last  expresses  from  Quebec,  and  to  say,  upon  his  word  of  honor,  what 
had  become  of  Burgoyne  and  his  brave  army.  The  haughty  secretary  was 
irritated  by  the  cool  irony  of  tho  question,  but  was  comp ailed  to  acknowledge 
that  the  unhappy  intelligence-  of  Burgoyn/s  surrender  had  reached  him.  He 
added,  u  The  intelligence  needs  confirmation."  Tint  confirmation  was  not 
slow  in  reaching  the  ministry. 

Mightily  did  this  victory  weigh  in  favor  of  the  Americans,  at  the  French 


them  to  Europe,  but  Congress  thought  it  proper  to  retain  them,  and  they  were  marched  to  the 
interior  of  Virginia.  John  Burgoyne  was  a  natural  son  of  Lord  Bingley,  and  was  quite  eminent  as 
a  dramatic  author.  On  his  return  to  England,  he  resumed  his  seat  as  a  member  of  Parliament,  and 
opposed  the  war.  He  died  in  1792. 

1  General  Gates  was  so  elated  with  the  victory,  which  had  been  prepared  for  him  by  General 
Schuyler,  and  won  chiefly  by  the  valor  of  Arnold  and  Morgan  [page  331],  that  he  neglected  the 
courtesy  due  to  the  commander-in-chief,  and*  instead  of  sending  his  dispatches  to  him,  he  sent  his 
aid.  Colonel  Wilkinson,  with  a  verbal  message  to  Congress.     That  body  also  forgot  its  dignity  in 
the  hour  of  its  joy.  and  the  young  officer  was  allowed  to  announce  the  victory  himself,  on  the  floor 
of  Congress.     In  his  subsequent  dispatches,  Gates  did  not  even  mention  the  names  of  Arnold  and 
Morgan.     History  has  vindicated  their  claims  to  the  honor  of  the  victory,  and  placed  a  just  estimate 
upon  tho  ungenerous  conduct  of  their  commander.     Congress  voted  a  gold  medal  to  Gates. 

2  Page  275.  3  Note  3,  page  245.  4  Note  1,  page  231.  5  Note  3,  page  246. 

6  A  member  justified  the  employment  of  the  Indians,  by  saying  that  the  British  had  a  right  to 
use  the  means  "which  God  and  nature  had  given  them."  Pitt  scornfully  repeated  the  passage,  and 
said,  "These  abominable  principles,  and  this  most  abominable  avowal  of  them,  demands  most 
decisive  indignation.  I  call  upon  that  right  reverend  bench  (pointing  to  the  bishops),  those  holy 
ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  pious  pastors  of  the  church — I  conjure  them  to  join  in  the  holy  work, 
and  to  vindicate  the  religion  of  their  God."  7  Note  2,  page  218.  8  Note  2,  page  218. 


1777.]  THIRD   YEAR  OF  THE   WAR   FOR  INDEPENDENCE.  283 

court.  Unaided  by  any  foreign  power,  the  Americans  had  defeated  and  cap- 
tured a  well -trained  army  of  about  six  thousand  men,  led  by  experienced  com- 
manders. "  Surely  such  a  people  possess  the  elements  of  success,  and  will  achieve 
it.  We  may  now  safely  strike  England  a  severe  blow,1  by  acknowledging  the 
independence,  and  forming  an  alliance  with  her  revolted  colonies,"  argued  the 
French  government.  And  so  it  did.  Intelligence  of  the  surrender  of  Bur- 
goyne  reached  Pajis  on  the  4th  of  December,  1777.  King  Louis  then  cast  off  all 
disguise,  and  informed  the  American  commissioners  that  the  treaty  of  alliance 
and  commerce,  already  negotiated,  would  be  ratified,  and  "that  it  was  decided 
to  acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  United  States."  Within  a<  little  more 
than  a  hundred  days  after  Burgoyne  laid  down  his  arms  at  Saratoga,  France 
had  formed  an  alliance  with  the  confederated  States  [Feb.  6,  1778],  and  pub- 
licly avowed  it.  The  French  king,  in  the  mean  while,  wrote  to  his  uncle,  the 
king  of  Spain,  urging  his  co-operation ;  for,  according  to  the  family  compact 
of  the  Bourbons,  made  in  1761,  the  king  of  Spain  was  to  be  consulted  before 
such  a  treaty  could  be  ratified. 

While  these  events  were  in  progress  at  Saratoga,  General  Clinton  was 
making  hostile  demonstrations  upon  the  banks  of  the  lower  Hudson.  He 
attempted  the  concerted  co-operation  with  Burgoyne,  but  he  was  too  late  for 
success.  He  ascended  the  Hudson  with  a  strong  force,  captured  Forts  Clinton 
and  Montgomery,  in  the  Highlands2  [October  G,  1777],  and  sent  a  marauding 
expedition  above  these  mountain  barriers,  to  devastate  the  country  [October 
13],  and  endeavor  to  draw  off  some  of  the  patriot  troops  from  Saratoga.3  These 
marauders  burned  Kingston,  and  penetrated  as  far  as  Livingston's  Manor,  in 
Columbia  county.  Informed  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  they  hastily 
retreated,  and  Clinton  and  his  army  returned  to  New  York.  Some  of  Gates' 
troops  now  joined  Washington  at  White  Marsh,4  and  Howe  made  several 
attempts  to  entice  the  chief  from  his  encampment,  but  without  success.5  Finally 


1  France  rejoiced  at  the  embarrassments  of  England,  on  account  of  her  revolted  colonies,  and 
from  the  beginning  secretly  favored  the  latter.     She  thought  it  inexpedient  to  aid  the  colonies 
openly,  until  there  appeared  some  chance  for  their  success,  yet  arms  and  money  were  secretly  pro- 
vided [note  3,  page  266],  for  a  long  time  previous  to  the  alliance.     Her  motives  were  not  the 
benevolent  ones  to  aid  the  patriots,  so  much  as  a  selfish  desire  to  injure  England  for  her  own  bene- 
fit.    The  French  king,  in  a  letter  to  his  uncle,  of  Spain,  avowed  the  objects  to  be  to  "  prevent  the 
union  of  the  colonies  with  the  mother  country,"  and  to  "  form  a  beneficial  alliance  with  them."     A 
Bourbon  (the  family  of  French  kings)  was  never  known  to  be  an  honest  advocate  of  free  principles. 

2  These   forts  were  situated   on   opposite   sides   of  a  stream  which   forms  the  dividing  line 
between  Orange  and  Rockland  counties.     Fort  Indpendence,  near  Peekskill,  and  Fort  Constitution, 
opposite  West  Point,  were  abandoned  on  his  approach.     Fort  Putnam,  at  West  Point,  was  not  yet 
erected. 

3  While  the  garrison  of  the  two  forts  (who  escaped)  were  re-gathering,  back  of  New  Windsor,  a 
man  from  the  British  army  was  arrested  on  suspicion  of  being  a  spy.     He  was  seen  to  swallow 
something.     An  emotie  brought  it  up,  and  it  was  discovered  to  be  a  hollow  silver  bullet,  containing 
a  dispatch  from  Clinton  to  Burgoyne,  written  on  thin  paper.     That  bullet  is  yet  in  the  family  of 
George  Clinton,  who  was  the  first  republican  governor  of  New  York.      The  dispatch  was  as 
follows:   '••Nous  y  void  [Here  we  are],  and  nothing  between  us  and  Gates.     I  sincerely  hope  this 
little  success  of  ours  will  facilitate  your  operations.     In  answer  to  your  letter  of  the  28th  of  Sep- 
tember, by  C.  C.,  I  shall  only  say,  I  can  not  presume  to  order,  or  even  advise,  for  reasons  obvious. 
I  heartily  wish  you  success.     Faithfully  yours,  H.  CLINTON."     The  prisoner  was  taken  to  Kingston, 
and  there  hanged  as  a  spy.  4  Page  275. 

5  Howe  marched  out  to  attack  Washington  on  the  4th  of  December,  expecting  to  take  him  by 
surprise.     A  Quaker  lady  of  Philadelphia,  at  whose  house  some  British  officers  were  quartered,  had 


284 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


[1778. 


Washington  moved  from  that  position  [December  11],  and  went  into  winter 
quarters  at  Valley  Forge,  where  he  might  easier  afford  protection  to  Congress 
at  York,  and  his  stores  at  Reading.1  The  events  of  that  encampment  at  Valley 
Forge  afford  some  of  the  gloomiest  as  well  as  some  of  the  most  brilliant  scenes 
in  the  records  of  American  patriotism.  * 


CHAPTER   V. 

FOURTH  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.      [1778.] 

IF  there  is  a  spot  on  the  face  of  our  broad  land  wherein  patriotism  should 
delight  to  pile  its  highest  and  most  venerated  monument,  it  should  be  in  the 
bosom  of  that  rugged  gorge  on  the  bank  of  the  Schuylkill,  twenty  miles  north- 


west from  Philadelphia,  known  as  Valley  Forge,  where  the  American  army 
was  encamped  during  the  terrible  winter  of  1777-' 78. 2     In  all  the  world's  his- 


overheard  them  talking  about  this  enterprise,  gave  "Washington  timely  information,  and  he  was  too 
well  prepared  for  Howe,  to  fear  his  menaces.  After  some  skirmishes,  in  which  several  Americans 
were  lost,  Howe  returned  to  Philadelphia.  1  Page  274. 

2  That  was  a  winter  of  severe  and  protracted  cold.     The  waters  of  New  York  Bay  were  so 
firmly  frozen,  that  the  British  took  heavy  cannons  from  the  city  to  Staten  Island,  on  the  ice. 


1778.] 


FOURTH  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR   FOR   INDEPENDENCE. 


285 


ENCAMPMENT  AT  VALLEY  FOBGE- 


tory,  we  have  no  record  of  purer  devotion,  holier  sincerity,  or  more  pious  self- 
immolation,  than  was  then  and  there  exhibited  in  the  camp  of  Washington. 
Many  of  the  soldiers  had  marched  thither  from  Whitemarsh,  bare-footed,  and 
left  bloody  foot-prints  in  the  snow  on  their  dreary 
journey.1  There,  in  the  midst  of  frost  and  snow,  half- 
clad  and  scantily  fed,  they  shivered  in  rude  huts, 
while  the  British  army  was  indulging  in  comforts  and 
luxuries  within  a  large  city.2  Yet  that  freezing  and 
starving  army  did  not  despair ;  nor  did  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  who  shared  their  privations  and  suf- 
fered injury  at  the  hands  of  intriguing  men,3  lose  con- 
fidence in  the  patriotism  of  the  people  or  his  troops, 
or  doubt  the  wisdom  of  Providence.4  The  winter  wore 
away,  and  when  the  buds  began  to  burst,  a  cheering 
ray  of  glad  tidings  came  from  Europe.  The  intelli- 
gence of  the  treaty  of  alliance  with  France,5  was  a 
hopeful  assurance  of  success,  and  when  the  news 
spread  through  the  camp,  on  the  1st  of  May  [1778], 
shouts  loud  and  long  shook  the  forests  which  shrouded  the  hills  around  Valley 
Forge.6 

Nor  was  that  a  solitary  gleam  of  hope.     Light  also  emanated  from  the 

1  Gordon,  the  historian,  says,  that  while  at  Washington's  table  in  1784,  the  chief  informed  him 
that  bloody  foot-prints  were  everywhere  visible  in  the  course  of  their  march  of  nineteen  miles,  from 
Whitemarsh  to  Valley  Forge. 

2  The  power  of  the  British  army  was  much  weakened  by  indulgence,  during  that  winter.    Pro!- 
ligacy  begat  disease,  crime,  and  insubordination.      The  evil  effects  produced  upon  the  army  led  Dr. 
Franklin  to  say,  "  Howe  did  not  take  Philadelphia — Philadelphia  took  Howe."    General  Howe  took 
leave  of  the  army  in  May,  and  the  officers  gave  him  a  splendid  farewell  fete,  which  was  called  a 
MiscManza,  signifying  a  medley.     For  a  full  description,  see  Lossing's  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution. 
During  their  occupation  of  the  city,  the  enemy  were  annoyed  by  the  patriots  in  various  ways.     In 
January,  some  Whigs  at  Bordentown,  where  Francis  Ilopkirison,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independonce,  resided,  sent  a  number  of  kegs  down  the  Delaware,  which  were  filled  with 
powd3r,  and  furnished  with  machinery,  in  such  a  manner,  that  on  rubbing  against  any  object  in  the 
stream,  tiny  would  explode.      Thes>  were  the  torpedoes  invented  by  Bushnell  of  Connecticut, 
already  mentioned  on  page  252.    The  British  vessels,  hauled  into  the  docks  to  keep  clear  of  the  Ice, 
escaped  rec3iving  a:iy  injury  from  theso  missiles.     One  of  them  exploded  near  the  city,  and  pro- 
duced intense  alarm.      Not  a  stick  or  a  chip  was  seen  floating,  for  twenty-four  hours  afterward,  but 
it  was  fired  at  by  the  British.    This  circumstance  afforded  the  theme  for  that  remarkable  poem  from 
the  psn  of  Hopkins^n.  entitled  The  Battle  of  the  Keys.      Ilopkinson  [see  page  284]  was  a  native  of 
Philadelphia  and  married  and  settled  in  Bordentown,  New  Jersey.     He  was  an  elegant  writer,  a 
great  wit,  a  good  musician,  and  a  thorough-bred  gentleman.     He  was  a  warm  and  active  patriot, 
became  eminent  as  a  jurist  after  the  war,  and  died  in  1791,  at  the  ago  of  forty-seven  years.     His 
brother,  Josep'i  Hopkinson,  was  tho  author  of  our  national  song.  Hail  Columbia. 

During  this  season  a  scheme  was  formed  among  a  few  officers  of  tho  army,  and  members  of 
Congress,  for  depriving  Washington  of  his  command,  and  giving  it  to  Gates  or  Lee.  Both  of  these 
ambitious  men  sought  the  honor,  and  the  former  was  fully  identified  with  the  clandestine  move- 
ments toward  that  end.  One  of  the  chief  actors  in  the  plot,  who  was  more  the  instrument  of  others 
than  a  voluntary  and  independent  schemer,  was  General  Conway,  an  Irishman,  who  belonged  to  the 
continental  army.  The  plot  was  discovered  and  defeated,  and  Conway  was  led  to  make  a  most 
humble  apology  to  Washington,  for  his  conduct. 

On  one  occasion,  Isaac  Potts,  whose  house  was  Washington's  head-quarters  at  Valley  Forge, 
discovered  the  chief  in  a  retired  place,  pouring  out  his  soul  in  prayer  to  his  God.  Potts  went  home 
to  his  wife,  and  said,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  "  If  there  is  any  one  .on  this  earth  to  whom  the  Lord 
will  listen,  it  is  George  Washington  "  5  Page  283. 

On  the  7th  day  of  May  the  army  fired  salutes  in  honor  of  the  event,  and  by  direction  of  the 
chief,  they  all  shouted,  "  Huzza  for  the  king  of  France!" 


286  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1778. 

British  throne  and  Parliament.  The  capture  of  Burgoyne,  and  the  general 
failure  of  the  campaign  of  1777,  had  made  the  English  people,  and  a  powerful 
minority  in  Parliament,  clamorous  for  peace  and  reconciliation.  Lord  North, 
the  prime-minister,1  was  compelled  to  listen.  To  the  astonishment  of  every 
body,  he  proposed  [Feb.  17]  a  repeal  of  all  the  acts  of  Parliament  obnoxious  to 
the  Americans,  which  had  been  enacted  since  1763  ;  and  in  the  course  of  his 
speech  in  favor  of  his  conciliatory  plan,  he  actually  proposed  to  treat  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  as  a  legal  body.2  Two  bills,  expressing  these  conciliatory 
measures,  were  passed  after  much  opposition,3  and  received  the  signature  of  the 
king,  on  the  llth  of  March.  Commissioners4  were  appointed  to  proceed  to 
America  to  negotiate  for  peace  with  Congress,  and  the  British  government 
seemed  really  anxious  to  offer  the  olive  branch,  without  qualification.  But  the 
Americans  had  been  too  often  deceived  to  accept  any  thing  confidingly  from  that 
source,  and  as  soon  as  these  bills  reached  Congress  [April  15],  and  it  was  found 
that  they  made  no  mention  of  the  independence  of  the  colonies,  that  body  at 
once  rejected  them  as  deceptive.  When  the  commissioners  came  [June  4], 
Congress  refused  to  negotiate  with  them  until  Great  Britain  should  withdraw 
her  fleets  and  armies,  or  unequivocally  acknowledge  the  independence  of  the 
United  States.  After  unsuccessfully  appealing  to  the  American  people,  and 
one  of  them  endeavoring  to  bribe  members  of  Congress/  the  commissioners 
returned  to  England,  and  the  war  went  on. 

The  alliance  with  Franco  gave  the  patriots  greater  confidence  in  their  ulti- 
mate success.  It  was  immediately  productive  of  action.  The  first  movement 
of  the  French  government,  in  compliance  with  the  requirements  of  that  treaty, 
was  to  dispatch  a  squadron,  consisting  of  twelve  ships  of  the  line,  and  four 
large  frigates,  under  Count  D'Estaing,  to  blockade  the  British  fleet  in  the  Del- 
aware. When,  a  month  before  he  sailed,  the  British  ministry  was  officially 
informed  [March  17,  1778]  of  the  treaty,  and  it  was  considered  equivalent  to  a 
declaration  of  war,  a  vessel  was  dispatched  with  a  message  to  the  British  com- 
manders, ordering  them  to  evacuate  Philadelphia  and  the  Delaware,  and  to  con- 
centrate their  forces  at  New  York.  Fortunately  for  Lord  Howe,  he  had  left 


1  Page  224.  2  Note  2,  page  253. 

3  Pitt  was  favorable  to  these  bills,  but  when  a  proposition  was  made  to  acknowledge  the  independ- 
ence of  the  colonies,  and  thus  dismember  the  British  empire,  he  opposed  the  measure  with  all  his 
might,  tie  was  in  favor  of  reconciliation,  not  of  separation.  It  was  during  his  speech  on  this  sub- 
ject, that  he  was  seized  [April  7]  with  the  illness  which  terminated  his  life  a  month  afterward. 
Pitt  was  born  in  November,  1708,  and  died'on  the  llth  of  May,  1778,  when  almost  seventy  years 
of  age. 

*  The  Earl  of  Carlisle,  George  Johnstone,  formerly  governor  of  Florida,  and  "William  Eden, 
a  brother  of  Sir  Robert  Eden,  the  last  royal  governor  of  Maryland.  Adam  Ferguson,  the  eminent 
professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Edinburg,  accompanied  them  as  secretary. 

5  Among  those  who  were  approached  was  General  Joseph  Reed,  a  delegate  from  Pennsyl- 
vania. Mrs.  Ferguson,  wife  of  a  relative  to  the  secretary  of  the  commissioners,  then  residing  in 
Philadelphia,  and  who  was  intimate  with  Mr.  Reed,  was  employed  to  sound  him.  Mr.  Reed  had 
been  suspected  by  some  of  his  compatriots  of  rather  easy  virtue  as  a  republican,  and  the  fact  that 
he  was  approachable  in  this  way,  confirmed  their  suspicions.  Mrs.  Ferguson  was  authorized  to 
offer  him  high  official  station  and  a  large  sum  of  money,  if  he  would  use  his  influence  in  favor  of 
peace,  according  to  the  submissive  terms  offered  by  the  commissioners.  Her  mission  became 
known,  and  General  Reed  alleged  that  he  said  to  her,  " I  am  not  worth  purchasing;  but  such  as  I 
am,  the  king  of  England  is  not  rich  enough  to  do  it." 


1778.]         FOURTH   TEAR   OF   THE   WAR  FOR   INDEPENDENCE.         287 

the  Delaware  a  few  days  before  the  arrival  of  D'Estaing1  [July  8,  1778],  and 
found  safety  in  the  waters  of  Amboy  or  Raritan  Bay,  into  which  the  heavy 
French  vessels  could  not  enter  over  the  bar  that  stretches  northward  from 
Sandy  Hook  toward  the  Narrows.  A  little  earlier  than  this,  there  had  been  a 
change  in  the  command  of  the  British  army.  Sir  Henry  Clinton,2  a  more  effi- 
cient officer  than  Howe,  had  succeeded  him  as  general- 
in-chief,  toward  the  close  of  May,  and  on  the  18th  of 
June,  he  withdrew  his  whole  army  from  Philadelphia. 
With  eleven  thousand  men,  and  an  immense  baggage 
and  provision  train,  he  started  for  New  York,  by  the 
way  of  New  Brunswick  and  Amboy.  Washington,  sus- 
pecting some  important  movement,  was  on  the  alert,  and 
breaking  up  his  encampment  at  Valley  Forge,  he  pur-  & 
sued  Clinton  with  more  than  equal  force.3  By  adroit 

,  ,  ff  4.1^        \  •  '     ,  GENERAL    CL1XTOX. 

movements,  detachments  ot  the  American  army  so  inter- 
cepted Clinton's  march,  as  to  compel  him  to  change  his  course  in  the  direction 
of  Sandy  Hook,  while  New  Jersey  militia  continually  harassed  his  flanks  and 
rear.4     Finally,   a  general   engagement  took  place   [June   28,   1778]   on  the 
plains  of  Monmouth,  in  the  present  village  of  Freehold,  in  New  Jersey. 

The  28th  of  June,  1778,  a  day  memorable  in  the  annals  of  Freedom,  was 
the  Christian  Sabbath,  The  sky  was  cloudless  over  the  plains  of  Monmouth,5 
when  the  morning  dawned,  and  the  sun  came  up  with  all  the  fervor  of  the  sum- 
mer solstice.  It  was  the  sultriest  day  of  the  year — one  of  tho  warmest  ever 
known.  On  that  calm  Sabbath  morning,  in  the  midst  of  paradisal  beauty, 
twenty  thousand  men  girded  on  the  implements  of  hellish  war,  to  maim  and 
destroy  each  other — to  sully  the  green  grass  and  the  fragrant  flowers  with 
human  blood.  Nature  was  smiling  in  her  summer  garments,  and  in  earth  and 
air  there  was  fullness  of  love  and  harmony.  Man,  alone,  was  the  discordant 
note  in  the  universal  melody.  He,  alone,  the  proud  "lord  of  creation/'  dis- 
turbed the  chaste  worship  of  the  hour,  which  ascended  audibly  from  the  groves, 
the  streams,  the  meadows,  and  the  woodlands. 

The  two  armies  began  to  prepare  for  action  at  about  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  at  day-break  they  were  in  motion.  Before  nine,  detachments  met 


1  Silas  Deane  [page  266]  returned  to  America  in  D'Estaing's  flag-ship,  and  Gerard,  the  first 
French  minister  to  the  United  States,  came  in  the  same  vessel.     Congress  was  now  in  session  in 
Philadelphia,  having  returned  from  York  [page  274]  on  the  30th  of  June,  twelve  days  after  the 
British  had  left  for  New  York. 

2  Henry  Clinton  was  a  son  of  George  Clinton,  governor  of  the  province  of  New  York  in  1743, 
and  a  grandson  of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln.     After  the  war  ho  was  made  governor  of  Gibraltar  [1795], 
and  died  there  the  same  year. 

Arnold  was  yet  quite  lame  from  the  effects  of  a  severe  wound  in  the  leg,  which  he  received  in 
the  battle  on  Bemis's  Heights  [page  278],  and  at  his  solicitation,  Washington  left  him  in  command  of 
a  corps  at  Philadelphia,  with  the  powers  of  a  military  governor.  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware 
in  pursuit  of  Clinton,  with  a  little  more  than  12,000  men. 

Washington  was  anxious  to  attack  Clinton  when  he  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Allentown,  but  Leo 
and  others  ^overruled  his  opinions,  in  a  council  of  war. .  Greene,  La  Fayette,  and  Wayne  agreed 
with  the  chief,  and  supported  by  these  able  officers,  he  resolved  on  a  general  engagement. 

The  battle  of  Monmoath  was  fought  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  present  village  of  Free- 
hold, New  Jersey,  chiefly  within  the  space  of  two  miles  north-west  of  the  town. 


288 


THE    KEYOLUTION. 


[1778. 


BATTLE  AT   MONMOUTH. 


in  deadly  conflict,  and  from  that  hour  until  dark,  on  that  long  summer  day,  the 

terrible  contest  raged.  It  was 
commenced  by  the  advanced  division 
of  the  American  army,  under  Gen- 
eral Charles  Lee.1  His  apparent 
want  of  skill  or  courage,  and  a  mis- 
understanding of  orders  on  the 
part  of  some  of  his  officers,  pro- 
duced a  general  and  tumultuous 
retreat  of  his  division.  The  fugitives  were  met  by  the  approaching  main  body, 
under  Washington,2  and  being  speedily  checked  and  restored  to  order  by  the 
chief,  they  were  led  to  action,  and  the  battle  became  general.  Many  fell  under 
the  excessive  heat  of  the  day,  and  when  night  came,  both  parties  were  glad  to 
rest.  The  Americans  slept  on  their  arms3  during  the  night,  with  the  intention 
of  renewing  the  battle  at  dawn,  but  when  light  appeared,  the  British  camp  was 
deserted.  Clinton  had  silently  withdrawn  [June  29],  and  was  far  on  his  way 
toward  Sandy  Hook.4  Washington  did  not  follow,  but  marching  to  New 
Brunswick,  and  thence  to  the  Hudson  River,  he  proceeded  to  White  Plains,5 
where  he  remained  until  late  in  autumn.  Then  he  crossed  into  New  Jersey, 
and  made  his  winter  quarters  at  Middlebrook,  on  the  Raritan,  where  he  was 


1  Page  248.     This  command  was  first  given  to  La  Fayette,  but  when  Lee,  who  had  opposed  the 
measure  in  council,  signified  his  readiness  to  lead  it,  it  was  given  to  him,  as  he  was  the  senior 
officer. 

2  Washington  was  greatly  irritated  when  he  met  the  fugitives,  and  riding  up  to   Lee.  he 
addressed  him  w'th  much  warmth  of  language,  and  directed  him  to  assist  in  restoring  order.     Lee 
promptly  obeyed,  but  the  sting  of  Washington's  words  rankled  in  his  bosom,  and  on  that  day,  after 
the  battle,  he  addressed  an  offensive  letter  to  the  chief.     Leo  was  arrested  and  tried  by  a  court- 
martial,  on  the  charges  of  disobedience  of  orders,  misbehavior  before  the  enemy,  and  disrespect  to 
the  commander-in-chief.     He  was  found  guilty,  and  was  suspended  from  command  for  one  year. 
He  never  entered  the  army  again,  and  died  in  obscurity,  in  Philadelphia,  in  October,  1782.     He 
was  brave,  but  bad  in  manners  and  morals,  profane  in  language,  and  a  contemner  of  religion.     It  is 
believed  that  he  was  willing  to  have  Washington  lose  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  because  he  (Lee), 
was  opposed  to  it,  and  at  the  same  time  was  seeking  to  rise  to  the  chief  command  upon  the  ruins 
of  Washington's  reputation.     We  have  already  alluded  to  the  conspiracy  toward  that  end,  on  page 
285.     The  hottest  of  the  battle  occurred  a  short  distance  from  the  Freehold  Presbyterian  Church 
yet  [1856]  standing.     Near  it  is  a  board,  with  an  inscription,  showing  the  burial-spot  of  Colonel 
Monckton,  of  the  British  army,  who  was  killed  in  the  battle. 

3  This  expression  is  used  respecting  troops  who  sleep  with  all  their  accoutrements  on,  and 
their  weapons  by  their  side,  ready  for  action  in  a  moment.     The  British  left  about  three  hundred 
killed  on  the  field  of  battle.     They  also  left  a  large  number  of  the  sick  and  wounded  to  the  mercy 
of  the  Americans.     The  Americans  lost  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight.     Many  of  the  missing  afterward  rejoined  the  army.     They  had  less  than  seventy  killed. 

4  In  his  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  General  Clinton  said,  "I  took  advantage  of  the  moon- 
light to  rejoin  General  Knyphausen,"  &c.    «As,  according  to  an  almanac  of  that  year,  the  moon  was 
quite  new,  and  set  two  hours  before  Clinton's  march,  this  boast  of  leaving  in  the  moonlight  occa» 
sioned  much  merriment.     Trumbull,  in  his  M'Fingal,  alluding  to  this,  says, 


'  He  forms  his  camp  with  great  parade, 
While  evening  spreads  the  world  in  shade, 
Then  still,  like  some  endanger' d  spark, 
Steals  off  on  tiptoe  in  the  dark ; 
Yet  writes  his  king,  in  boasting  tone, 
IIo\v  grand  he  march1  d  by  light  of  moon.! 


Go  on,  great  general,  nor  regard 
The  scoffs  of  every  scribbling  bard, 

rr-  305. 


"Who  sings  how  gods,  that  fearful  night, 
Aided  by  miracle  your  flight; 
As  once  they  used,  in  Homer's  day, 
To  help  weak  heroes  run  away ; 
Tells  how  the  hours,  at  this  sad  trial, 
Went  back,  as  erst  on  Ahaz'  dial, 
While  British  Joshua  stayed  the  moon 
On  Monmouth' s  plain  for  Ajalon. 
Heed  not  their  sneers  or  gibes  so  arch, 
Because  she  set  before  your  march." 


1778.]        FOURTH  TEAR   OF   THE   WAR  FOR   INDEPENDENCE.         289 

encamped  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  the  previous  year.1  Clinton's  shattered 
forces  went  on  board  the  British  fleet  at  Sandy  Hook,  and  proceeded  to  New 
York,  where  the  head  quarters  of  the  royal  army  continued  until  the  close  of 
the  war.2  And  when  D'Estaing  appeared  off  Sandy  Hook,  the  British  fleet  was 
safe  in  Raritan  Bay.  As  we  have  already  mentioned, 
the  bar  from  Sandy  Hook  to  Staten  Island  would  not 
allow  the  heavy  French  vessels  to  pass,  and  D'Estaing 
therefore  relinquished  his  design  of  attacking  Howe's 
fleet,  and  on  the  solicitation  of  Washington,  he  proceeded 
to  Newport,  to  assist  the  Americans  in  an  attempt  to 
drive  the  British  from  Rhode  Island.3  General  Sullivan 
had  been  sent  to  supersede  General  Spencer  in  command 
there ;  and  Washington  also  dispatched  La  Fayette,  with 
two  continental  regiments  (accompanied  by  General  COUNT  D'ESTAING. 
Greene,  then  quartermaster  general),  to  aid  in  the  expe- 
dition. John  Hancock4  came  at  the  head  of  Massachusetts  militia,  and  similar 
troops  gathered  at  Tiverton,  from  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island.3  On  the  9th 
of  August,  [1778],  the  whole  American  force  crossed  from  Tiverton  to  the  north 
end  of  Rhode  Island,  and  the  British  guards  fled  to  the  camp  of  General  Pigot, 
at  Newport. 

Several  ships  of  war  came  from  England  at  about  this  time,  to  reinforce  the 
British  fleet  at  New  York,  and  a  few  days  after  D'Estaing  sailed  for  Newport, 
a  large  squadron  under  Howe,  proceeded  to  the  relief  of  Pigot.  It  appeared 
off  Rhode  Island  on  the  same  day  [Aug.  9]  when  tho  Americans  landed  on  the 
northern  end  of  it.  D'Estaing,  who  was  then  within  tho  harbor,  went  out  to 
meet  Howe,  but  before  they  came  to  an  engagement,  a  terrible  storm  arose 
[Aug.  12],  and  scattered  and  disabled  both  fleets.6  The  French  squadron 
returned  to  Newport  [August  20],  and  immediately  sailed  for  Boston  to  be 
repaired.  The  Americans  had  then  advanced  almost  to  Newport,  with  every 
prospect  of  making  a  successful  siege.  They  had  been  promised  four  thousand 
land  troops  from  the  French  fleet.  These  were  denied  them ;  and  refusing  to 
listen  to  entreaties  or,  remonstrances,  D'Estaing  sailed  for  Boston  and  abandoned 
the  Americans.7  The  latter  hastily  withdrew  to  the  north  end  of  the  island 

1  Page  272.  2  Page  350.  3  Page  261.  4  Page  2.31. 

6  The  people  of  Rhode  Island  had  suffered  dreadfully  from  the  brutality  of  the  British  troops. 
There  had  been  some  amelioration  of  their  condition  since  the  capture  of  Prescott  [page  271],  and 
under  the  rule  of  Pigot,  the  present  commander.     When  success  seemed  possible,  thousands  of 
volunteers  flocked  to  the  standards  of  Sullivan  and  La  Fayette.     John  Hancock  was  appointed  a 
general  of  some  of  these  volunteers.     But  his  term  of  service  was  short.     Like  Dr.  Franklin  [page 
193],  Hancock  was  better  fitted  for  a  statesman  than  a  soldier. 

Very  old  people  on  Rhode  Island,  who  remembered  this  gale,  spoke  of  it  to  the  writer  in 
1850,  as  "the  great  storm."  So  violent  was  tho  wind,  that  it  brought  spray  from  the  ocean  a  mile 
distant,  and  encrusted  the  windows  of  the  town  with  salt. 

7  This  conduct  was  warmly  censured  by  the  American  commanders,  because  it  had  no  valid 
excuse.     It  deprived  them  of  a  victory  just  within  their  grasp.     Congress,  however,  afraid  to  offend 
the  French,  uttered  not  a  word  of  blame.      The  matter  was  passed  over,  but  not  forgotten.     Once 
again   [page  305],  the  same  admiral  abandoned  the  Americans.      D'Estaing  was   a   native  of 
Auvergne,  France.     He  became  involved  in  the  French  Revolution,  in  1792,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1"93,  he  was  guillotined.     The  guillotine  was  an  instrument  for  cutting  off  the  head,  invented  by 
M.  Guillotine,  who  was  eventually  beheaded  by  it  himself. 

19 


290  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1778. 

[August  28],  pursued  by  the  British,  and  a  severe  engagement  took  place 
[August  29j  at  Quaker  Hill.  Sullivan  repulsed  the  British,  and  on  the  night 
of  the  30th,  withdrew  his  whole  army  to  the  main,  near  Bristol,  in  time  to 
avoid  an  interception  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  had  just  arrived  with  four 
thousand  troops,  in  light  vessels.1  The  Americans  lost  in  this  expedition,  thirty 
killed,  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  wounded  and  missing.  The  British 
loss  was  about  two  hundred  and  twenty. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  on  the  sea-board,  a  dreadful  tragedy 
was  enacted  in  the  interior,  when  the  Wyoming,  Mohawk,  Schoharie,  and 
Cherry  Valleys,  were  made  the  theaters  of  terrible  scenes  of  blood  and  devasta- 
tion. Tories  from  distant  Niagara,2  and  savages  upon  the  head  waters  of  the  ' 
Susquehanna,  gathered  at  Tioga  early  in  June ;  and  at  the  beginning  of  July, 
eleven  hundred  of  these  white  and  dusky  savages,  under  the  general  command 
of  Colonel  John  Butler,3  entered  [July  2,  1778]  the  lovely  valley  of  Wyoming, 
in  northern  Pennsylvania.  Most  of  the  strong  men  were  then  away  on  distant 
duty,  and  families  and  homes  found  defenders  only  in  aged  men,  tender  youths, 
resolute  women,  and  a  few  trained  soldiers.  These,  about  four  hundred  strong, 
under  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,4  marched  up  the  valley  [July  4],  to  drive  back 
the  invaders.  But  they  were  terribly  smitten  by  the  foe,  and  a  large  portion 
of  them  were  slain  or  made  prisoners.  A  few  escaped  to  Forty  Fort,  near 
Wilkesbarre,  wherein  families,  for  miles  around,  had  sought  safety.  Uncertain 
of  their  fate — for  the  invaders  were  sweeping  like  a  dark  storm  down  the  Sus- 
quehanna— the  night  of  the  battle-day  was  a  terrible  one  for  the  people  in  the 
fort.  But  their  agony  of  suspense  was  ended  the  following  morning,  when  the 
leader  of  the  invaders,  contrary  to  the  expectations  of  those  who  knew  him, 
agreed  upon  humane  terms  of  surrender.5  The  gates  of  the  fort  were  thrown 
open,  and  most  of  the  families  returned  to  thei»  homes  in  fancied  security.  They 
were  doomed  to  terrible  disappointment  and  woe.  Brant,  the  great  Indian 

1  When  Clinton  was  assured  of  the  security  of  Rhode  Island,  he  detached  General  Grey  on  a 
marauding  expedition  upon  the  southern  shores  of  Massachusetts,  and  among  the  adjacent  islands, 
and  then  returned  to  New  York.  Grey  burned  about  seventy  vessels  in  Buzzard's  Bay,  near  New 
Bedford,  and  in  that  vicinity  destroyed  property  valued  at  more  than  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  thousand  dollars.  Ho  then  went  to  Martha's  Vineyard  [page  57],  arid  carried  away,  for  the 
army  in  New  York,  about  three  hundred  oxen,  and  ten  thousand  sheep.  On  the  first  of  October, 
Clinton  sent  a  successful  expedition  to  capture  American  stores  at  Little  Egg  Harbor,  on  the  New 
Jersey  coast.  2  Page  200.  3  Note  2,  page  278. 

4  Zebulon  Butler  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  was  born  in  1731.     He  was  in  the  French 
and  Indian  War,  and  was  one  of  the  earlier  settlers  in  Wyoming.     In   1778  he  was.  appointed 
colonel,  and  was  with  Sullivan  in  his  memorable  expedition  against  the  Senecas  [page  304]  the  fol- 
lowing year.     He  was  in  active  service  Jhoughout  the  war,  and  died  in  Wyoming  in  1795,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-four  years. 

5  All  our  histories  contain  horrible  statements  of  the  fiend-like  character  of  John  Butler,  and  his 
unmitigated  wickedness  on  this  occasion.     They  also  speak  of  the  "monster  Brant"  [page  278]  as 
the  leader  of  the  Indians,  and  the  instigator  of  the  crimes  of  which  they  were  guilty.     Both  of  these 
men  were  bad  enough ;  but  recent  investigations  clearly  demonstrate  that  Brant  was  not  there  at 
all ;  and  the  treaty  for  surrender,  which  is  still  in  existance,  granted  most  humane  terms  to  the  be- 
sieged, instead  of  the  terrible  one  reported  in  our  histories.     The  fugitives  who  fled  over  the  mount- 
ains, and  made  their  way  back  to  their  native  Connecticut,  crossed  the  Hudson,  many  of  them  at 
Poughkeepsie,  where  John  Holt  was  publishing  a  weekly  paper.    Their  fears  had  magnified  events, 
and  their  tales  of  terror  were  published  in  Holt's  journal,  and  thus  became  records  for  future  his- 
torians.    Among  other  things,  it  was  related  that  when  the  question  was  asked,  on  what  terms  the 
fort  might  be  surrendered,  Colonel  John  Butler,  with  more  than  savage  cruelty,  replied,  T1\A  Hatchet! 
This  is  wholly  untrue,  and  yet  the  story  is  repeated  in  all  our  histories. 


1778.]         FOURTH  YEAR   OF  THE  "WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.         291 

leader,  was  not  there  to  restrain  his  savage  bands,1  and  their  thirst  for  blood 
and  plunder  soon  overcame  all  their  allegiance  to  their  white  commander.  Be- 
fore sunset  they  had  scattered  over  the  valley ;  and  when  night  fell  upon  the 
scene,  the  blaze  of  more  than  twenty  dwellings  cast  its  lurid  glare  over  the 
paradise  of  yesterday.  The  cries  of  the  murdered  went  up  from  almost  every 
house  and  field ;  and  when  the  moon  arose,  the  terrified  inhabitants  were  fleeing 
to  the  Wilkesbarre  mountains,  and  the  dark  morasses  of  the  Pocono  beyond.  In 
that  vast  wilderness  between  the  valley  and  the  Delaware,  appropriately  called 
the  Shades  of  Death,  many  women  and  children,  who  escaped  the  hatchet, 
perished  by  hunger  and  fatigue.  That  "  Wyoming  Massacre,"  as  it  has  been 
appropriately  called,  stands  out  in  bold  relief  as  one  of  the  darkest  crimes  per- 
petrated during  the  War  for  Independence. 

In  the  mean  while,  Brant2  was  leading  or  sending  war  parties  through  the 
country  south  of  the  Mohawk  River  ;  and  the  Johnsons3  and  their  Tory  adher- 
ents were  allies  of  the  savages  in  the  Mohawk  valley.  On  the  llth  and  12th 
of  November  [1778],  a  party  of  Tories,  under  Walter  N.  Butler,4  accompanied 
by  Indians,  under  Brant,  fell  like  lightning  upon  the  settlement  of  Cherry  Val- 
ley. Many  of  the  people  were  killed,  or  carried  into  captivity  ;  and  for  months 
no  eye  was  closed  in  security  at  night,  within  an  area  of  a  hundred  miles  and 
more,  around  this  desolated  village.  Tryon  county,  as  that  region  of  New 
York  was  then  called,  was  a  "  dark  and  bloody  ground"  for  full  four  years,  and 
the  records  of  the  woes  of  the  people  have  filled  volumes.5  Our  space  allows 
us  to  mention  only  the  most  prominent  events  of  that  period. 

And  now,  when  the  year  1778 — the  fourth  year  of  the  war — drew  to  a 
close,  the  British  army  had  accomplished  very  little  more  in  the  way  of  conquest. 
than  at  the  end  of  the  second  year.  The  belligerent  forces  occupied  almost  the 
same  relative  position  which  they  did  in  the  autumn  of  177G,  while  the  Amer- 
icans had  gained  strength  by  a  knowledge  of  military  tactics,0  naval  operations. 

1  The  Indians  were  led  by  Gi-en-gwa-tah  (he  who  goes  in  the  smoke),  a  celebrated  Seneca 
chief.  2  Page  278.  3  Note  2,  page  278. 

4  He  was  a  son  of  Colonel  John  Butler,  and  one  of  the  most  brutal  of  the  Tory  leaders.  In  the 
attack  upon  the  defenseless  people  at  Cherry  Valley,  on  the  10th  of  November.  1778,  he  was  the 
most  conspicuous  for  cruelty ;  in  fact,  he  was  the  head  and  front  of  all  the  villainy  perpetrated 
there.  Thirty-two  of  the  inhabitants,  mostly  women  and  children,  and  sixteen  soldiers  of  the  little 
garrison  there,  were  killed.  The  whole  settlement  was  then  plun- 
dered, and  every  building  in  the  village  was  fired.  Among  the  pris- 
oners carried  into  captivity,  were  the  wife  and  children  of  Colonel 
Campbell,  who  was  then  absent.  One  of  the  children  (Judge  James 
S.  Campbell  of  Cherry  Valley),  then  six  years  of  age,  still  [1856]  sur- 
vives, and  during  the  summer  of  1855,  after  an  absence  of  seventy- 
five  years,  he  visited  the  Indian  village  of  Caughnawaga,  twelve  miles 
from  Montreal,  where  he  resided  some  time  with  his  captors.  "Walter 
Butler  was  shot  by  an  Oneida  Indian,  in  West  Canada  Creek,  and  his 
body  was  left  to  be  eaten  by  wild  beasts. 

6  See  Campbell's  Annals  of  Tryon  County,  Simm's  History  of  Scho- 
harie  County,  Stone's  Life  of  Brant,  etc. 

6  Among  the  foreign  officers  who  came  to  America  in  1777,  was 
the  Baron  Steuben,  who  joined  the  Continental  army  at  Valley  Forge 
[page  285].  He  was  a  veteran  from  the  armies  of  Frederic  the  BARON  STEUBEN. 

Great  of  Prussia,  and  a  skillful  disciplinarian.   He  was  made  Inspector- 
General  of  the  army ;  and  the  vast  advantages  of  his  military  instruction  were  seen  on  the  field 
of  Monmouth  [page  287],  and  in  subsequent  conflicts.     Steuben  died  at  Steubenville,  in  the  interior 


292  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1778. 

and  the  art  of  civil  government ;  and  they  had  secured  the  alliance  of  France, 
the  powerful  European  rival  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  sympathies  of  Spain  and 
Holland.  The  British  forces  occupied  the  real  position  of  prisoners,  for  they 
were  hemmed  in  upon  only  two  islands,1  almost  two  hundred  miles  apart,  and 
each  about  fourteen  miles  in  length ;  while  the  Americans  possessed  every 
other  stronghold  of  the  country,  and,  unlike  the  invaders,  were  warring  for  the 
dearest  rights  of  common  humanity. 

The  scene  of  the  most  active  military  operations  now  changed.  In  the 
autumn  [Nov.  3,  1778],  D'Estaing  sailed  for  the  West  Indies,  to  attack  the 
British  possessions  there.  To  defend  these,  it  was  necessary  for  the  British 
fleet  on  our  coast  to  proceed  to  those  waters.2  This  movement  would  prevent 
any  co-operation  between  the  fleet  and  army  in  aggressive  movements  against 
the  populous  and  now  well-defended  North  ;  they  could  only  co-operate  in  act- 
ive operations  against  the  sparsely-settled  South.  These  considerations  caused 
a  change  in  the  plans  of  the  enemy ;  and  late  in  November  [Nov.  27],  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  dispatched  Colonel  Campbell,  with  about  two  thousand  troops, 
to  invade  Georgia,  then  the  weakest  member  of  the  Confederacy.  They  pro- 
ceeded by  wrater,  and  landed  at  Savannah,  the  capital  of  the  State,  on  the 
morning  of  the  29th  of  December.  General  Robert  Howe3  was  there,  with  only 
about  a  thousand  men,  and  these  were  dispirited  by  the  failure  of  a  recent  expe- 
dition against  Florida  in  which  they  had  been  engaged.4  They  defended*  the 
city  nobly,  however,  until  an  overwhelming  force,  by  power  and  stratagem,  com- 
pelled them  to  retire.  They  then  fled,  in  confusion,  up  the  Savannah  River, 
and  took  shelter  in  the  bosom  of  South  Carolina.  The  capital  of  Georgia  be- 
came the  head-quarters  of  the  British  army  at  the  South  ;  and  the  enemy  re- 
tained it  until  near  the  close  of  the  contest  [1782],  even  when  every  foot  of  soil 
in  the  State,  outside  the  intrenchments  around  the  city,  was  possessed  by  the 
patriots. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

FIFTH  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.      [1779.] 

THICKLY  mottled  with  clouds  of  evil  forebodings  for  the  Republican  cause, 
was  the  political  firmament  at  the*  dawn  of  the  year  1779.     The  finances  of  the 

of  New  York,  hi  1795,  and  his  remains  rest  beneath  a  slab  in  the  town  of  Steuben,  about  seven 
miles  north-west  of  Trenton  Falls.  1  Manhattan,  or  York  Island,  and  Rhode  Island. 

2  Admiral  Hotham  sailed  for  the  West  Indies  on  the  3d  of  November ;  and  early  in  December, 
Admiral  Byron,  who  had  just  succeeded  Lord  Howe  in  chief  naval  command,  also  sailed  for  that 
destination.  3  Page  244. 

4  A  great  number  of  Tories  were  organized  in  Florida,  and  committed  so  many  depredations  upon 
the  settlers  on  the  Georgian  frontiers,  that  Howe,  during  the  summer  of  1778,  went  thither  to  dis- 
perse them.  He  penetrated  to  the  St.  Mary's  River,  in  June,  where  he  awaited  reinforcements, 
and  supplies,  by  wMer.  Want  of  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  governor  of  Georgia  and  the  naval 
commander,  produced  much  disunion ;  and  sickness  soon  reduced  the  number  of  effective  men  so 
much,  that  the  enterprise  was  abandoned. 


1779.]          FIFTH  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR   FOR   INDEPENDENCE.  293 

country  were  in  a  most  wretched  condition.  Already,  one  hundred  millions  of 
dollars  of  continental  money1  were  afloat  without  the  security  of  even  good 
public  credit  ;2  and  their  value  was  rapidly  depreciating.  While  the  amount 
of  the  issues  was  small,  the  credit  of  the  bills  was  good ;  but  when  new  emis- 
sions took  place,  and  no  adequate  measures  for  redemption  were  exhibited,  the 
people  became  suspicious  of  those  frail  representatives  of  money,  and  their  value 
began  to  depreciate.  This  effect  did  not  occur  until  eighteen  months  after 
the  time  of  the  first  emission.3  Twenty  millions  of  the  continental  bills  were 
then  in  circulation,  besides  a  large  amount  of  local  issues  by  the  several  States. 
It  was  perceived  that  depreciation  was  inevitable,  and  Congress  proposed,  as  a 
substitute  for  further  issues,  a  loan  of  five  millions,  at  an  interest  of  four  per 
cent.  A  lottery  had  been  early  authorized,  and  was  now  in  operation,  designed 
to  raise  a  like  sum,  on  loan,  the  prizes  being  payable  in  loan-office  certificates.4 
Although  these  offices  were  opened  in  all  the  States,  and  the  interest  raised  to 
six  per  cent.,  the  loans  came  in  slowly.  The  treasury  became  almost  exhausted, 
the  loan-offices  were  overdrawn  upon  by  the  commissioners'  drafts,  and  the  issue 
of  bills  was  reluctantly  recommenced. 

The  financial  embarrassments  were  increased  by  the  circulation  of  an 
immense  amount  of  counterfeits  of  the  continental  bills,  by  the  British 
and  the  loyalists,  which  rapidly  depreciated  the  currency.  They  were 
sent  out  from  New  York,  literally,  by  u  cart-loads."  Congress  felt  the  neces- 
sity of  making  some  extraordinary  efforts  for  redeeming  the  genuine  bills,  so  as 
to  sustain  their  credit.  The  several  States  were  taxed,  and  on  the  2d  of  Janu- 
ary^ 1779,  it  was,  by  Congress,  "  Resolved,  That  the  United  States  be  called 
on  to  pay  in  their  respective  quotas  of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars,  for  the  year 
1779,  and  of  six  millions  of  dollars  annually  for  eighteen  years,  from  and  after 
the  year  1779,  as  a  fund  for  sinking  the  emissions,"  &c.  ;  yet  all  was  in  vain: 
prices  rose  as  the  bills  sank  in  value,  and  every  kind  of  trade  was  embarrassed  and 

1  Pago  245. 

2  At  this  time,  when  Congress  could  not  borrow  a  dollar  upon  its  own  credit,  Robert  Morris 
[page  264]  found  no  difficulty  in  raising  millions  upon  his  own.     For  a  long  time  he,  alone,  furnished 
the  "hard  money1'  used  by  that  body.  3  Note  3,  page  245. 

4  On  the  first  of  November,  1776,  the  Continental  Congress  "Resolved,  That  a  sum  of  money 
be  raised  by  way  of  lottery,  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  next  campaign,  the  lottery  to  be 
drawn  in  Philadelphia."  A  committee  was  appointed  to  arrange  the  same,  and  on  the  18th. 
reported  a  scheme.  The  drawer  of  more  than  the  minimum  prize  in  each  class,  was  to  receive 
either  a  treasury  bank  note,  payable  in  five  years,  with  an  annual  interest  at  four  per  cent.,  or  the 
preemption  of  such  billets  in  the  next  succeeding  class ;  this  was  optional  with  the  adventurers. 
Those  who  should  not  call  for  their  prizes  within  six  weeks  after  the  end  of  the  drawing,  were 
considered  adventurers  in  the  next  succeeding  class.  Seven  managers  were  appointed,  who  were 
authorized  to  employ  agents  in  different  States  to  sell  the  tickets.  The  first  drawing  was  decided  to 
be  made  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  first  of  March,  1777;  but  purchasers  were  comparatively  few  and 
tardy,  and  the  drawing  was  postponed  from  time  to  time.  Yarious  impediments  continually  presented 
themselves,  and  the  plan,  which  promised  such  success  at  the  beginning,  appears  to  have  been  a 
failure.  ^  Many  purchasers  of  tickets  were  losers;  and  this,  like  some  other  financial  schemes  of  the 
Revolution,  was  productive  of  much  hard  feeling  toward  the  Federal  Government. 

6  It  \vas  no  secret  at  the  time,  as  appears  by  the  following  advertisement  in  Games'  New  York 
Mercury :  "  ADVERTISEMENT.  Persons  going  into  other  colonies,  may  be  supplied  with  any  number 
of  counterfeited  Congress  notes,  for  the  price  of  the  paper  per  ream.  They  are  so  neatly  and  exactly 
executed,  that  there  is  no  risk  in  getting  them  off,  it  being  almost  impossible  to  discover  that  they 
are  not  genuine.  This  has  been  proven  by  bills  to  a  very  large  amount,  which  have  already  been 
successfully  circulated.  Inquire  of  Q.  E.  D.,  at  the  Coffee-house,  from  11  A.  M.,  to  4  P.  M.,  during 
the  present  month. 


294  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1779. 

deranged.  The  federal  government  was  thoroughly  perplexed.  Only  about 
four  millions  of  dollars  had  been  obtained,  by  loan,  from  Europe,  and  present 
negotiations  appeared  futile.  No  French  army  was  yet  upon  our  soil,  to  aid 
us,  nor  had  French  coin  yet  gladdened  the  hearts  of  unpaid  soldiers.  A  French 
fleet  had  indeed  been  upon  our  coasts, l  but  had  now  gone  to  fight  battles  for 
France  in  the  West  Indies,  after  mocking  our  hopes  with  broken  promises  of 
aid.2  Gloomy,  indeed,  appeared  the  firmament  at  the  dawn  of  1779,  the  fifth 
year  of  the  War  for  Independence. 

In  the  autumn  of  1778,  a  plan  for  invading  Canada  and  the  eastern  British 
provinces,  and  for  seizing  the  British  posts  on  the  western  lakes,  had  been 
matured  by  Congress  and  the  Board  of  War,3  but  when  it  was  submitted  to 
Washington,  his  sagacious  mind  perceived  its  folly,  and  the  influence  of  his 
opinions,  and  the  discovery,  by  true  patriots,  that  it  was  a  part  of  the  secret 
plan,  entered  into  by  Gates  and  others,  to  deprive  Washington  of  chief  com- 
mand, caused  an  abandonment  of  the  scheme.  Others,  more  feasible,  occu- 
pied the  attention  of  the  Federal  Legislature  ;  and  for  several  weeks  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  co-operated  with  Congress  [January,  1779],  in  person,  in 
preparing  a  plan  for  the  campaign  of  1779.  It  was  finally  resolved  to  act  on 
the  defensive,  except  in  retaliatory  expeditions  against  the  Indians  and  Tories 
in  the  interior.4  This  scheme  promised  the  most  beneficial  results,  for  it  would 
be  safer  and  less  expensive,  than  offensive  warfare.  During  the  entire  year, 
the  principal  military  operations  were  carried  on  in  the  two  extreme  sections  of 
the  confederacy.  The  chief  efforts  of  the  Americans  were  directed  to  the  con- 
finement of  the  British  army  to  the  seaboard,  and  chastising  the  Indian  tribes. 
The  winter  campaign  opened  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Campbell5  [December  29, 
1778],  continued  until  June,  and  resulted,  as  we  have  mentioned  [page  292], 
in  the  complete  subjugation  of  Georgia  to  British  rule. 

When  Campbell  had  garrisoned  Savannah,  and  arranged  for  its  defense,  he 
prepared  to  march  against  Sunbury,  twenty-eight  miles  further  south,  the  only 
post  of  any  consequence  now  left  to  the  Americans  on  the  Georgia  seaboard. 
He  treated  the  people  leniently,  and,  by  proclamation,  invited  them  to  join  the 
British  standard.   These  measures  had  their  desired  effect, 
and  timid  hundreds,  seeing  the  State  under  the  heel  of 
British  power,  proclaimed  their  loyalty,  and  rallied  be- 
neath the  standard  of  King  George.     At  the  same  time, 
General  Provost,  who  was  in  command  of  the  British  and 
Indians  in*  east  Florida,  marched  northward,  captured 
Sunbury  [January  9,  1779],  and  assumed  the  chief  com- 
mand of  the  British  forces  in  the  South.     With  this  post 
GENERAL  LINCOLN.        fen  the  hopes  of  the  Republicans  in  east  Georgia.     In  the 

1  Page  289.  2  Page  289. 

3  On  the  12th- of  June,  1776,  Congress  appointed  a  committee,  to  be  styled  the  "Board  of  "War 
and  Ordnance,", to  have  the  general  supervision  of  military  affairs.  John  Adams  was  the  chairman, 
and  Richard  Peters  was  secretary.  Peters  was  the  real  "  Secretary  of  "War"  under  the  old  Confed- 
eration, until  1781,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  General  Lincoln.  General  Gates  was  chairman  in 
.1778.  4  Page  291.  5  Page  293 


1779.]          FIFTH  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.          295 

mean  while,  General  Benjamin  Lincoln,  of  Massachusetts,  had  been  appointed 
[September,  1778],  commander-in-chief  of  the  southern  army  of  patriots.1  He 
made  his  head-quarters  at  Purysburg  [January  6],  twenty-five  miles  above 
Savannah,  and  there  commenced  the  formation  of  an  army,  composed  of  some  con- 
tinental regiments,  new  recruits,  and  the  broken  forces  of  General  Howe.2  While 
Lincoln  was  collecting  his  army  on  the  Carolina  bank  of  the  Savannah,  Camp- 
bell marched  up  the  Georgia  side  to  Augusta,3  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging 
the  Tories,  opening  a  communication  with  the  Creek  Indians4  in  the  West  (among 
whom  the  British  had  active  emissaries),  and  to  awe  the  Whigs.  At  the  samo 
time  a  band  of  Tories,  under  Colonel  Boyd,  was  desolating  the  Carolina  fron- 
tiers, while  on  their  march  to  join  the  royal  troops.  When  within  two  days' 
march  of  Augusta,  they  were  attacked5  [February  14,  1779]  and  utterly  defeated 
by  Colonel  Pickens,  at  the  head  of  the  militia  of  Ninety-six.6  Boyd  and 
seventy  of  his  men  were  killed,  and  seventy-five  were  made  prisoners.7  Pick- 
ens  lost  thirty-eight  of  his  men. 

This  defeat  of  Boyd  alarmed  Campbell  and  encouraged  Lincoln.  The  latter 
immediately  sent  General  Ashe,  of  North  Carolina,  with  about  two  thousand 
men,8  to  drive  Campbell  from  Augusta,  and  to  confine  the  invaders  to  the  low, 
sickly  sections  near  the  sea,  hoping  for  aid  from  the  deadly  malaria  of  the 
swamps,  when  the  heats  of  summer  should  prevail.  The  British  fled  [February 
13,  1779]  at  the  approach  of  Ashe,  and  were  pursued  by  him  [February  16] 
as  far  as  Brier  Creek,  about  forty  miles  below  Augusta,  where  he  halted  to 
establish  a  camp.  There  Ashe  was  surprised  and  defeated  [March  3]  by  Gen- 
eral Prevost,  who,  with  quits  a  largo  force,  WAS  marching  up  the  Savannah  to 
the  relief  of  Campbell.  Ashe  lost  almost  his  entire  army  by  death,  captivity,  and 
dispersion.  Some  were  killed,  others  perished  in  the  morasses,  and  many  were 
drowned  in  attempting  to  escape  across  the  Savannah.0  This  blow  deprived 
Lincoln  of  one  fourth  of  his  army,  and  led  to  the  temporary  re-establishment  of 
royal  government  in  Georgia.10 

1  Benjamin  Lincoln  was  born  in  Hingham,  Massachusetts,  in  1733.  He  was  a  farmer,  yet  took 
an  active  part  in  public  affairs.  He  joined  the  continental  army  in  1777,  and  rose  rapidly  to  the 
station  of  major-general.  He  commanded  the  militia  against  Shay's  insurgents  [See  5,  page  353.] 
in  1786.  He  was  also  a  useful  public  officer  in  civil  anairs,  and  died  in  1810.  "  a  Page  292. 

3  When  Campbell  departed  for  Augusta,  Prevost  sent  Colonel  Gardiner  with  some  troops,  to  take 
possession  of  Port  Royal  Island,  pome  sixty  miles  below  Charleston,  preparatory  to  a  march  upon 
that  city.  Gardiner  was  attacked  by  General  Moultrio  [page  249],  with  Charleston  militia,  on  the 
morning  of  the  3d  of  February.  Almost  every  British  officer  (except  the  commander),  and  many 
privates,  were  killed.  Gardiner  and  a  few  men  escaped  in  boats,  and  Moultrie,  whose  loss  was 
trifling,  joined  Lincoln  at  Purysburg.  4  Page  30. 

5  The  place  of  the  skirmish  was  upon  Kettle  Creek,  in  Oglethorpe  county,  Georgia. 

0  Page  336. 

7  Seventy  of  them  were  tried  and  found  guilty  of  treason,  and  sentenced  to  bo  hung.     Only  five 
were  executed. 

8  Lincoln  was  joined  by  Generals  Ashe  and  Rutherford,  with  North  Carolina  regiments,  about 
the  first  of  February,  and  his  army  now  amounted  to  little  more  than  three  thousand  men.     John 
Ashe  was  born  in  England  in  1721,  and  came  to  America  when  a  child.     He  was  engaged  in  the 
Regulator  War  [page  223],  and  was  one  of  the  most  active  of  the  North  Carolina  patriots.     He  died 
of  small-pox  in  1781. 

9  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  killed  and  drowned,  eighty-nine  were  made  prisoners,  and 
a  large  number,  who  were  dispersed,  did  not  take  up  arms  again  for  several  months. 

10  At  the  beginning  of  1776,  the  bold  Whigs  of  Savannah  had  made  the  royal  governor,  Sir 
James  Wright,  a  prisoner  in  his  own  house ;  and  the  provincial  Assembly,  assuming  governmental 


296  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1779. 

Prevost  now  prepared  for  an  invasion  of  South  Carolina.  Toward  the  last 
of  April,  he  crossed  the  Savannah  [April  27]  with  two  thousand  regulars,  and 
a  large  body  of  Tories  and  Creek  Indians,  and  marched  for  Charleston.  Lin- 
coln had  recruited,  and  was  now  in  the  field  with  about  five  thousand  men, 
preparing  to  recover  lost  Georgia,  by  entering  the  State  at  Augusta,  and  sweep- 
ing the  country  to  the- sea.  But  when  he  discovered  the  progress  of  Prevost, 
and  that  even  the  danger  of  losing  Savannah  did  not  deter  that  active  general 
from  his  attempts  upon  Charleston,  Lincoln  hastened  to  the  relief  of  the  men- 
aced city.  The  people  on  the  line  of  his  march  hailed  him  as  a  deliverer,  for 
Prevost  had  marked  his  progress  by  plunder,  conflagration,  and  cruelty.  For- 
tunately for  the  Republicans,  the  invader's  march  was  so  slow,  that  when  he 
arrived  [May  11]  before  the  city,  the  people  were  prepared  for  resistance. 

Prevost,  on  the  morning  of  the  llth  of  May,  approached  the  American 
intrenchments  thrown  across  Charleston  Neck,1  and  demanded  an  immediate 
surrender  of  the  city.  He  was  answered  by  a  prompt  refusal,  and  the  remain- 
der of  the  day  was  spent  by  both  parties,  in  preparations  for  an  assault.  That 
night  was  a  fearful  one  for  the  citizens,  for  they  expected  to  be  greeted  at  dawn 
with  bursting  bomb-shells,2  and  red-hot  cannon-balls.  When  morning  came 
[May  12,  1779],  the  scarlet  uniforms  of  the  enemy  were  seen  across  the  waters 
upon  John's  Island,  and  not  a  hostile  foot  was  upon  the  Charleston  peninsula. 
The  cause  of  this  was  soon  made  manifest.  Prevost  had  been  informed  of  the 
approach  of  Lincoln,  and  fearing  his  connection  with  Savannah  might  be  cut 
off,  he  commenced  a  retreat  toward  that  city,  at  midnight,  by  way  of  the  islands 
along  the  coast.  For  more  than  a  month  some  British  detachments  lingered 
upon  John's  Island.  Then  they  wrere  attacked  at  Stono  Ferry,  ten  miles  below 
Charleston  [June  20]  by  a  party  of  Lincoln's  army,  but  after  a  severe  engage- 
ment, and  the  loss  of  almost  three  hundred  men  in  killed  and  wounded,  they 
repulsed  the  Americans  whose  loss  was  greater.  Prevost  soon  afterward 
established  a  military  post  at  Beaufort,  on  Port  Royal  Island,3  and  then  retreated 
to  Savannah.  The  hot  season  produced  a  suspension  of  hostilities  in  the  South, 
and  that  region  enjoyed  comparative  repose  for  several  months. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  not  idle  while  these  events  wTere  in  progress  at  the 
South.  He  was  sending  out  marauding  expeditions  from  New  York,  to  plunder 
and  harass  the  people  on  the  sea-coast.  Governor  Tryon4  went  from  Kings- 
bridge5  on  the  25th  of  March  [1779],  with  fifteen  hundred  British  regulars  and 

powers,  made  provisions  for  military  defences  [February,  177G].  issued  bills  of  credit,  &c.  Wright 
escaped  and  went  to  England.  lie  returned  in  July,  1779,  and  resumed  his  office  as  governor  of 
the  "colony." 

1  Charleston,  like  Boston  [note  3,  page  229],  is  situated  upon  a  peninsula,  the  neck  of  which  is 
made  quite  narrow  by  the  Ashley  and  Cooper  Rivers,  and  the  marshes.     Across  this  the  Americans 
had  hastily  cast  up  embankments.     They  served  a  present  purpose,  and  being  strengthened,  were 
of  great  value  to  the  Americans  the  following  year.     See  page  310. 

2  Hollow  balls  or  shells  of  cast  iron,  filled  with  gunpowder,  slugs,  &c.     In  an  orifice  communi- 
cating with  the  powder,  is  a  slow  match.     This  is  ignited,  and  the  shell  is  hurled  from  a  mortar  (a 
short  cannon)  into  the  midst  of  a  town  or  an  army.     When  the  powder  ignites,  the  shell  is  bursted 
into  fragments,  and  these  with  the  slugs  make  terrible  havoc.     They  are  sometimes  the  size  of  a 
man's  head.  *  Note  5,  page  166.  4  Page  248. 

5  The  passage  across  the  Harlem  River  (or  as  it  is  sometimes  there  called,  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek), 
at  the  upper  end  of  York  or  Manhattan  Island. 


1779.]          FIFTH  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.  997 

Hessians,1  to  destroy  some  salt-works  at  Horseneck,  and  attack  an  American 
detachment  under  General  Putnam,  at  Greenwich,  in  Connecticut.  The  Amer- 
icans were  dispersed  [March  26],  and  Putnam  barely  escaped  capture  by  some 
dragoons.2  He  rallied  his  troops  at  Stamford,  pursued  the  British  on  their 
return  toward  New  York  the  same  evening,  recaptured  a  quantity  of  plunder  in 
their  possession,  and  took  thirty-eight  of  them  prisoners. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  Sir  George  Collier  entered  Hampton  Roads,3  with  a 
small  fleet,  bearing  General  Mathews,  with  land  troops,  destined  to  ravage  the 
country  in  that  vicinity.  They  spread  desolation  on  both  sides  of  the  Elizabeth 
River,  from  the  Roads  to  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth.  After  destroying  a  vast 
amount  of  property,  they  withdrew  ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  month,  the  same 
vessels  and  the  same  troops  were  up  the  Hudson  River,  assisting  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  in  the  capture  of  the  fortress  at  Stony  Point,  and  also  the  small  fort  on 
Verplanck's  Point,  opposite.  Both  of  these  posts  fell  into  the  power  of  the 
British,  after  a  spirited  resistance ;  the  first  on  the  31st  of  May,  and  the  latter 
on  the  1st  of  June.  These  achievements  accomplished,  Collier,  with  a  band 
of  twenty-five  hundred  marauders,  under  Governor  Tryon,  sailed  on  the  night 
of  the  4th  of  July  [1779],  for  the  shores  of  Connecticut,  to  plunder  and  destroy 
the  towns  on  the  coast.  They  plundered  New  Haven  on  the  5th,  laid  East 
Haven  in  ashes  on  the  6th,  destroyed  Fairfield  in  the  same  way  on  the  8th,  and 
burned  and  plundered  Norwalk  on  the  12th.  Not  content  with  this  wanton 
destruction  of  property,  the  invaders  insulted  and  cruelly  abused  the  defense- 
less inhabitants.  While  Norwalk  was  burning,  Tryon  sat  in  a  rocking-chair, 
upon  an  eminence  near  by,  and  viewed  the  scene  with  great  complacency,  and 
apparent  pleasure — a  puny  imitation  of  Nero,  who  fiddled  while  Rome  was 
blazing.4  The  Hessian  mercenaries  generally  accompanied  these  expeditions,  for, 
unlike  the  British  soldiers,  they  were  ever  eager  to  apply  the  torch  and  abuse 
the  inhabitants.  They  were  the  fit  instruments  for  such  a  warfare.  When 
Tryon  (whom  the  English  people  abhorred  for  his  wrong-doings  in  America), 
had  completed  the  destruction  of  these  pleasant  villages,  he  boasted  of  his  ex- 

1  Page  246. 

2  On  this  occasion  he  performed  the  feat,  so  often  related,  of  descending  a  steep  hill  on  horse- 
back, making  his  way,  as  common  history  asserts,  down  a  flight  of  stone  steps,  which  had  been 
constructed  for  the  convenience  of  people  who  had  to  ascend  this  hill  to  a  church  on  its  summit. 
The  whole  matter  is  an  exaggeration.     An  eye-witness  of  the  event  says  that  Putnam  pursued  a 
zig-zag  course  down  the  hill,  and  only  descended  four  or  five  of  the  steps  near  the  bottom.     The 
feat  was  not  at  all  extraordinary  when  wo  consider  that  a  troop  of  dragoons,  with  loaded  pistols, 
were  at  his  heels.     Thes3,  however,  dared  not  follow  the  general.     In  1825,  when  a  company  of 
horsemen  were  escorting  La  Fayette — the  "Nation's  Guest" — along  the  road  at  that  place,  some  of 
them  went  down  the  same  declivity  on  horseback.     The  stone  steps  are  now  [1856]  visible  in  some 
places,  among  the  shrubbery  and  overlying  sod. 

3  Pago  69.     This  is  a  body  of  water  at  the  conjunction  of  the  James  and  Elizabeth  Rivers,  and 
communicating  with  the  sea.     It  is  one  of  the  most  spacious  harbors  in  the  world.     The  village  of 
Hampton  lies  upon  its  northern  border.     See  page  243. 

4  Alluding  to  these  outrages  of  Tryon,  and  the  burning  of  Kingston  [page  283]  by  Yaughan, 
Trambull,  in  his  JWFingal,  says : 

"  Behold,  like  whelps  of  British  lion, 
Our  warriors,  Clinton,  Yaughan,  and  Tryon, 
March  forth,  with  patriotic  joy. 
To  ravish,  plunder,  and  destroy. 
Great  generals !     Foremost  in  their  nation — 
The  journeymen  of  desolation !" 


298 


THE     REVOLUTION. 


[1779. 


STONY  POINT. 


treme  clemency  in  leaving   a   single    house  standing   on    the  New  England 
coast. 

While  these  marauding  forays  were  in  progress, 
the  Americans  were  not  idle.  They  were  preparing  to 
strike  the  enemy  heavy  and  unexpected  blows.  Only 
three  days  after  the  destruction  of  Norwalk  [July  15], 
General  Anthony  Wayne  was  marching  secretly  to 
attempt  the  re-capture  of  Stony  Point,  on  the  Hud- 
son. The  fort  stood  upon  a  rocky  promontory,  sur- 
rounded by  water  and  a  marsh,  and  was  very  strong 
in  its  position.  So  secretly  was  the  whole  movement 
conducted,  that  the  British  garrison  were  unsuspicious 
of  danger.  At  midnight,  the  little  army  of  patriots 

crossed  the  morass  in  the  rear,  and  attacked  the  fort 
with  ball  and  bayonet,  at  two  separate  points,  in  the 
face  of  a  heavy  cannonade  from  the  aroused  garrison. 
At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  [July  16,  1779],  Wayne, 
though  so  badly  wounded  in  the  head  by  a  glancing 
blow  of  a  bullet,  as  to  fall  senseless,  wrote  to  Washing- 
ton, "  The  fort  and  garrison,  with  Colonel  Johnson,  are 
ours.  Our  officers  and  men  behaved  like  men  who  are 
determined  to  be  free."  This  was  considered  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  events  of  the  war.1  The  British  lost, 
in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  about  six  hundred 
men  ;  the  loss  of  the  Americans  was  fifteen  killed,  and  eighty-three  wounded. 
The  spoils  were  a  large  amount  of  military  stores.  The  post  was  abandoned  by 
the  Americans,  for,  at  that  time,  troops  sufficient  to  garrison  it  could  not  be 
spared.2 

The  capture  of  Stony  Point  was  followed  by  another  brilliant  achievement, 
three  days  later  [July  19],  when  Major  Henry  Lee,3  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  surprised  a  British  garrison  at  Paulus'  Hook  (now  Jersey  City),4  op- 
posite New  York,  killed  thirty  soldiers,  and  took  one  hundred  and  sixty  pris- 

1  Wayne  was  highly  complimented  by  all.     General  Charles  Lee  [page  248],  who  was  not  on 
the  most  friendly  terms  with  Wayne,  wrote  to  him,  saying,  "  I  do  most  seriously  declare  that  your 
assault  of  Stony  Point  is  not  only  the  most  brilliant,  in  my  opinion,  throughout  the  whole  course  of 
the  war,  on  either  side,  but  that  it  is  the  most  brilliant  I  am  acquainted  with  in  history.     The  as- 
sault of  Schiveidnitz,  by  Marshal  Laudon,,  I  think  inferior  to  it."     Dr.  Rush  wrote,  saying,  "Our 
streets  rang  for  many  days  with  nothing  but  the  name  of  General  Wayne.     You  are  remembered 
constantly  next  to  our  good  and  great  Washington,  over  our  claret  and  Madeira.     You  have  estab- 
lished the  national  character  of  our  country ;  you  have  taught  our  enemies  that  bravery,  humanity, 
and  magnanimity  are  the  national  virtues  of  the  Americans."     Congress  gave  him  thanks,  and  a 
gold  medal ;  and  silver  medals  were  awarded  to  Colonels  Stewart  and  De  Fleury,  for  their  gallantry 
on  the  occasion,     Anthony  Wayne  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1745.     He  was  a  professional  sur- 
veyor, then  a  provincial  legislator,  and  became  a  soldier  in  1775.     He  was  very  active  during  the 
whole  war;  and  was  efficient  in  subduing  the  Indians  in  the  Ohio  country,  in  1795  [see  page  374]. 
He  died  at  Erie,  on  his  way  home,  near  the  close  of  1796. 

2  After  the  Americans  had  captured  Stony  Point,  they  turned  the  cannons  upon  Fort  La  Fay- 
ette,  upon  Verplanck's  Point,  opposite.     General  Robert  Howe  [page  292]  was  directed  to  attack 
that  post,  but  on  account  of  some  delays,  he  did  not  reach  there  before  Sir  Henry  Clinton  sent  up 
relief  for  the  garrison.  8  Note  2,  page  133.  *  Note  1,  page  94. 


GENERAL   WAYNE. 


1779.] 


FIFTH  YEAR  OF  THE   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


299 


oners.  This  gallant  act  was  greatly  applauded  in  the  camp,  in  Congress,  and 
throughout  the  country,  and  made  the  enemy  more  cautious  and  circumspect. 
The  hero  was  honored  by  Congress  with  thanks  and  a  gold  medal.  These  and 
some  smaller  successes  at  about  this  time,  elated  the  Americans  ;  but  their  joy 
was  soon  turned  into  sorrow,  because  of  disasters  in  tjie  extreme  East.  Massa- 
chusetts had  fitted  out  almost  forty  vessels  to  attempt  the  seizure  of  a  British 
post  on  the  Penobscot  River.  The  assailants  delayed  more  than  a  fortnight 
after  their  arrival  [July  25]  before  determining  to  carry  the  place  by  storm. 
Just  as  the  troops  were  about  to  land  for  the  purpose,  a  British  fleet  arrived, 
destroyed  the  flotilla,  took  many  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  prisoners,  and  drove 
the  remainder  into  the  wilderness  [Aug.  13].  These,  after  great  hardships  in 
the  forests,  reached  Boston  toward  the  close  of  September. 


The  storm  of  war  was  not  confined  to  the  Atlantic  settlements.  It  burst 
over  the  lofty  Alleghanies,  and  at  an  early  period,  even  while  it  was  gathering, 
a  low,  muttering  peal  of  thunder  came  from  clouds  that  brooded  over  the  far- 
off  wilderness  of  the  great  valleys  of  the  West.  Pioneers  from  the  sea-board 
colonies  were  there,  and  they  were  compelled,  almost  at  the  moment  of  arrival, 
to  wage  war  with  the  Indian,  and  hunt  savage  men  as  well  as  savage  beasts. 
Among  the  earliest  and  most  renowned  of  these  pioneers,  was  Daniel  Boone. 
the  great  "  Hunter  of  Kentucky,"  of  whom  Byron  wrote, 

"  Of  all  men,  saving  Sylla,  the  man-slayer, 

Who  passes  for,  in  life  and  death,  most  lucky, 


300  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1779. 

Of  the  great  names  which  in  our  faces  stare, 

The  General  Boone,  backwoodsman  of  Kentucky. 
Was  happiest  among  mortals  anywhere."  J 

He  went  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  as  early  as  1769,  and  in  1773.  his  own 
and  a  few  other  families  .accompanied  him  to  the  paradise  lying  among  the 
rich  valleys  south  of  the  Ohio  River.2  From  that  period  until  the  power  of  the 
western  Indians  (who  were  continually  incited  to  hostilities  by  the  British  and 


Tories)  was  broken  by  George  Rogers  Clarke,  Boone's  life  was  one  of  almost 
continual  warfare  with  the  children  of  the  forest. 

Nor  did  Boone  and  his  companions  measure  strength  with  the  Indians  alone  ; 


1  Don  Juan,  VIII.,  Ixi. 

2  The  wife  and  daughters  of  Boone  were  the  first  white  females  that  set  foot  in  the  valleys  west 
of  the  Alleghanies.     Daniel  Boone  was  born  in  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1734.     "While  he 
was  a  small  boy,  his  parents  settled  on  the  Yadkin,  in  North  Carolina.      When  in  the  prime  of  life, 
he  went  over  the  mountains,  and  became  a  famous  hunter.     He  planted  the  first  settlement  on  the 
Kain-tuck-ee  Eiver,  yet  known  as  Boonsborough.     During  the  Devolution  he  fought  the  Indians 
bravely,  and  was  a  prisoner  among  them  for  some  time,  but  escaped.     He  was  active  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  settlement  of  Kentucky,  until  it  became  an  independent  State.     Yet  he  was,  by 
the  technicalities  of  law,  doomed  to  be  disinherited  of  every  foot  of  the  soil  he  had  helped  to 
redeem  from  the  wilderness,  and,  at  almost  eighty  years  of  age,  he  was  trapping  beaver  upon  the 
Little  Osage  River,  beyond  the  Mississippi.     He  died  in  Missouri,  when  almost  ninety  years  of 
age,  in  September.  1820. 


CLARK'S  EXPEDITION  ACROSS  THE  DROWNED  LANDS. 


177V.J  FIFTH  YEAR  OF  THK  WAtt  FOE  IN  D  Kl'KS  DK.VC  K. 

but  in  tiroe  they  confront!  white  leader*  and  white  followers.  These  conflict*. 
however,  were  only  a  »eri<;H  of  border  forays,  until  1778,  when  Major  George 
Ilojrera  Clarke'  led  a  regular  expedition  against  the  frontier  posts  of  the  enemy. 
in  the  wilderness  in  tlie  far  north-west,  now  the  BtaUrs  of  Indiana  and  Illinois. 
I  lii)  little  army  rendezvoused  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  where  Louisville  now 
Btanda.  wtierc  he  wan  joined  by  Simon  Ken  ton,  and  other  pioneer**.  From 
thence  they  penetrated  the  country  northward,  and  on  the  4th  of  July  [1778J. 
they  captured  Kaakaakia.'  On  the  iJth,  they  t/x>k  the  village  of  Cahokia. 
gixty  mileH  further  up  the  river;  and  finally,  in  August,  the  stronger  .British 
post  of  Vincennen,  on  the  Wabash,  fell  into  their  hand-*. 

Acting  in  the  capacity  of  a  pea-ce-maker,  Clarke  was  working  guccew$fully 
toward  the  pacification  of  the  western  tribes,  when,  in  the  month  of  January, 
1779,  the  commander  of  the  British  fort  at  Detroit  ret/>ok  Vincennes.  With 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  men,  Clarke  jx,-netrated  the  dreadful  wilderness 
a  hundred  mi  let*  from  the  Ohio.  For  a  whole  week  they  traversed  the 
"drowned  lands"  of  Illinois,  buffering  every  privation  from  wet,  cold,  and 
hunger.  When  they  arrived  at  the  Little  Wabaah,  at  a  point  where  the  fork)* 
of  the  Htream  are  three  mileH  apart,  they  found  the  intervening  Kj/acc  covered 
with  water  to  the  depth  of  three  feet.  The  point*  of  dry  land  were  five  miles 
apart,  and  all  that  distance  those  hardy  soldiers,  in  the  month  of  February. 
waded  the  cold  Know-flood*  in  the  forest,  sometimes  arm-pit  deep!  They 
arrived  in  Hight  of  VinccnneH  on  the  18th  [February,  177(J|,  and  the  next 
morning  at  dawn,  with  their  fac<;H  blackened  with  gunpowder,  to  make  thern- 
BelveK  ap[Xjar  hidermH,  th(;y  crow*c<l  the  river  in  a  boat,  and  pushed  t/>ward  th<,- 
town.  On  the  20th,  the  Htrijx?H  and  Htarn  w<;re  again  unfurled*over  the  fort  at 
VincenneH  and  a  captured  garrJKon.  Jla/1  armed  men  drop  jx^l  from  the  clouds. 
the  people  and  Boldicn*  at  VinccnncH  r^uld  not  have  lx,-en  more  astonished.  t!j;irj 
at  the  apparition  of  the-*  )  troopH,  for  it  W-"MH-  \  im;x>;s;siMe  for  them  to  have 
trav(;rw^l  the  deluged  country. 

The  indignation  of  the  people  wan  fiercely  arouacd  by  the  atrocities  at 
Wyoming  and  upon  the  head  waters  of  the  BuMjuehanria  ;  and  in  the  summer  of 
177(J,  General  Sullivan*  was  sent  into  the  heart  of  the  country  of  the  Six  XA- 
TIONH,*  fa  chastwe  and  humble  them.  IJe  collected  troops  in  the  Wyoming 


Clarke,  w;i«  born  in  AHxrrnarl';  o/;iinty,  Virjnnw,  In  J752,  an'l  firxt  apf/.-an*  in 
an  an  adv*titur&r  ^'yorid  th'?  Alk^tuink%  twrr/ty  yoarx  afterward.     H<:  h;vi  \^-^M  a  lan'J- 
mrv^yor,  and  HrHt  wc-nt  to  Ui<>  Oliio  r^vm  in  1772.     H<;  wa«  a  r^ipUiin  in  J)unmor<:rH  army  fnot/;  4, 


PJV/'J  237]  in  1774,  an'l  in  1775,  \m  svuvfinimn'vA  wtw,  '.-rni^rantH  V>  K';t<tu'.-ky.  \'V-MW-A  with  lift 
c^ntry,  nc  determined  U>  rnako  it  hut  horn*:;  and  during  th<;  war  for  I  ndq>"rid<,'nrx',  h';  labor<:<l 
curo  th'j  va«t  r«;j^iori  of  th«?  w-«t  and  nortli-w<f«tf  a«  a  horn<;  for  tho  fr'r'f.  Und^r  hU 
what  afterward  U^wii'j  tlx?  North-  w?Kt  T'-rrit/>ry,  w;^t  din'-nthrall'^l,  arjd  h';  l^iH  JXAII 
•ppropriately  Ktyl'^1  th«j  Father  of  tliat  rojHon.  Jf';  wa*.  prornoU;d  t/>  tho  rank  of  brijra/Ik'r.  afu-r 
nerving  und^r  th«  liaron  KU;ulx;n  a^air^t  Arnold,  in  Virginia,  in  1781,  and  at  Ui'j  clow;  of  tiKi  war 
be  remained  in  K<;ntacky.  J£y  diod  n<;ar  Ix^ilxville,  in  February,  1818,  at  tho  ajf^j  of  w'xty-»ix 
yeaw.  *  I'jj^  180.  *  Note  3,  j-^^;  241. 

*  John  Sullivan  wa«  lx>rn  in  Maine,  in  1740.     He  wa«  a  df;U;^ato  in  tli/j  fin-.t  Contin/mtal  Con- 
Kre«H  [1774J,  and  wan  one  of  the  firat  eij^ht  bri^a/iient  in  the  Continental  Army.   AfV;r  lx;in^  in  a/,!- 
ive  Hervioe  alx^ut  four  yearw,  he  resigned  bw  <x>rnrniHHion  in  1771^.     He  wa>t  afterward  a  member  of 

,  and  governor  of  New  HarnpMhire,  and  died  in  17^5. 

*  Paj^e  25.     JJritixh  erniwKarieit  lia/i  gaine<i  over  to  the  royal  int^reKt  the  whole  of  the  HJX  NA- 
TIOSH  exwpt  the  Onei<Ja«.     TJa,*He  were  kept  loyal  to  the  republican^  chiefly  through  the  imtru- 


vv- 

GENERAL   SULLIVAN. 


304  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1779. 

Valley ;  and  on  the  last  day  of  July,  marched  up  the  Susquehanna,  with 
about  three  thousand  soldiers.  At  Tioga  Point,  he  met  General  James  Clinton,1 
on  the  22d  of  August,  who  came  from  the  Mohawk 
Valley,  with  about  sixteen  hundred  men.  On  the  29th, 
they  fell  upon  a  body,  of  Indian  and  Tory  savages, 
strongly  fortified,  at  Chemung  (now  Elmira),  and  dis- 
persed them.  Without  waiting  for  them  to  rally,  Sulli- 
van moved  forward,  and  penetrated  the  country  to  the 
Genesee  River.  In  the  course  of  three  weeks,  he  de- 
stroyed forty  Indian  villages,  and  a  vast  amount  of  food 
growing  in  fields  and  gardens.  One  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  bushels  of  corn  in  the  fields  and  in  granaries 
were  destroyed  ;  a  vast  number  of  the  finest  fruit-trees,  the  product  of  years  of 
tardy  growth,  were  cut  down  ;  hundreds  of  gardens  covered  with  edible  vegetables, 
were  desolated  ;  the  inhabitants  were  driven  into  the  forests  to  starve,  and  were 
hunted  like  wild  beasts ;  their  altars  were  overturned,  and  their  graves  trampled 
upon  by  strangers  ;  and  a  beautiful,  well-watered  country,  teeming  with  a 
prosperous  people,  and  just  rising  from  a  wilderness  state,  by  the  aid  of  culti- 
vation, to  a  level  w^ith  the  productive  regions  of  civilization,  was  desolated  and 
cast  back  a  century  in  the  space  of  a  fortnight.2  To  us,  looking  upon  the  scene 
from  a  point  so  remote,  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  the  necessity  that  called  for  a 
chastisement  so  cruel  and  terrible.  But  that  such  necessity  seemed  to  exist  we 
should  not  doubt,  for  it  was  the  judicious  and  benevolent  mind  of  Washington 
that  conceived  and  planned  the  campaign,  and  ordered  its  rigid  execution  in  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  accomplished.  It  awed  the  Indians  for  the  moment, 
but  it  did  not  crush  them.  In  the  reaction  they  had  greater  strength.  It 
kindled  the  fires  of  deep  hatred,  which  spread  far  among  the  tribes  upon  the 
lakes  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  Washington,  like  Demetrius,  the  son  of 
Antigonus,  received  from  the  savages  the  name  of  An-na-ta-kau-les,  which  sig- 
nifies a  taker  of  towns,  or  Towx  DESTROYER.3 

mentality  of  one  or  two  Christian  missionaries.  After  the  war,  those  of  the  Six  Nations  who  joined 
the  British,  pleaded,  as  an  excuse,  the  noble  sentiment  of  loyalty.  They  were  the  friends  of  the  En- 
glish, and  regarded  the  parent  country  as  their  ally.  When  they  saw  the  children  of  their  great 
father,  the  king,  rebelling  against  him,  they  felt  it  to  be  their  duty,  in  accordance  with  stipulations 
of  solemn  treaties,  to  aid  him. 

1  General  James  Clinton  was  born  in  Ulster  county,  New  York,  in  1736.  He  was  a  captain  in 
the  French  and  Indian  War,  and  an  active  officer  during  the  Revolution.  He  died  in  1812. 

3  The  Seneca  Indians  were  beginning  »to  cultivate  rich  openings  in  the  forests,  known  as  the 
"  Genesee  Flats,"  quite  extensively.  They  raised  large  quantities  of  corn,  and  cultivated  gardens 
and  orchards.  Their  dwellings,  however,  were  of  the  rudest  character,  and  their  villages  consisted 
of  a  small  collection  of  these  miserable  huts,  of  no  value  except  for  winter  shelter. 

3  At  a  council  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1792,  Corn  Planter,  the  distinguished  Seneca  chief,  thus 
addressed  Washington,  then  President  of  the  United  States:  "FATHER — The  voice  of  the  Seneca 
nation  speaks  to  you,  the  great  counselor,  in  whose  heart  the  wise  men  of  all  the  thirteen  fires  have 
placed  their  wisdom.  It  may  be  very  small  in  your  ears,  and,  therefore,  we  entreat  you  to  hearken 
with  attention,  for  we  are  about  to  speak  to  you  of  things  which  to  us  are  very  great.  When  your 
army  entered  the  country  of  the  Six  Nations,  we  called  you  The  Town  Destroyer ;  and  to  this  day, 
when  that  name  is  heard,  our  women  look  behind  them  and  turn  pale,  and  our  children  cling  close 
to  the  necks  of  their  mothers.  Our  counselors  and  warriors  are  men,  and  can  not  be  afraid ;  but 
their  hearts  are  grieved  with  the  fears  of  our  women  and  children,  and  desire  that  it  may  be  buried 
so  deep  that  it  may  be  heard  no  more." 

' 


1779.] 


FIFTH  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


305 


While  these  events  were  in  progress  at  the  North,  the  Southern  army, 
under  Lincoln/  was  preparing  to  attack  Savannah,  in  concert  with  the  French 
fleet,  then  in  the  West  Indies.  During  that  sum- 
Count  D'Estaing  had  battled  successfully 


SIEGE   OF    SAVANNAH.       1779. 


mer, 


with  Admiral  Byron  there,  and  early  in  Septem- 
ber, he  appeared  off  the  coast  of  Georgia  with  a 
powerful  fleet,  prepared  to  co-operate  with  Lincoln. 
D'Estaing  landed  troops  and  heavy  battery  cannon 
a,  few  miles  below  Savannah  ;  and  on  the  23d  of 
September,  the  combined  armies  commenced  the 
siege.  It  was  soon  perceived  that  the  town  must 
be  taken  by  regular  approaches,  and  to  that  end 
all  energy  was  directed.  On  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  October,  a  heavy  can- 
nonade and  bombardment  was  opened  upon  the  Britsh  works.  It  continued  for 
five  days,  but  with  very  little  effect  upon  the  strong  British  intrenchments. 
D'Estaing  became  impatient  of  delay,2  and  proposed  an  attempt  to  take  the 
place  by  storm.  It  was  reluctantly  agreed  to,  for  there  seemed  a  certainty  of 
final  victory  if  the  siege  should  continue.  D'Estaing  would  listen  to  no  re- 
monstrances, and  the  assault  commenced  on  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  October. 
After  five  hours  of  severe  conflict,  there  was  a  truce  for  the  purpose  of  burying 
the  dead.  Already,  nearly  a  thousand  of  the  French  and  Americans  had  been 
killed  and  wounded.3  The  standards  of  France  and  Carolina,  which  gallant  men 
had  planted  upon  the  parapet,  had  been  torn  down.  Yet  important  breaches  were 
made,  and  another  assault  promised  a  sure  triumph.  But  D'Estaing,  strangely 
perverse,  was  unwilling  to  renew  the  assault,  and  made  preparations  to  withdraw. 
Lincoln  yielded  a  reluctant  assent  to  the  movement,  and  the  enterprise  was 
abandoned  at  the  moment  when  the  American  commander  felt  certain  of  victory.4 
Tt  a  days  afterward,  the  French  fleet  had  left  the  coast,  and  Lincoln  was  re- 
treating toward  Charleston.  Thus  closed  the  campaign  for  1779,  at  the  South. 
The  repulse  at  Savannah  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  hopes  of  the  patriots  of 
Georgia,  and  spread  a  gloom  over  the  whole  South.  Toward  the  Georgia  sea- 
board, every  semblance  of  opposition  to  royal  power  was  crushed,  and  only  in 
the  interior  did  armed  resistance  appear. 

1  Page  294. 

a  D'Estaing  expressed  his  fears,  not  only  of  the  arrival  of  a  British  fleet,  to  blockade  his  own  in- 
the  Savannah  River,  but  of  the  autumn  storms,  which  might  damage  his  vessels  before  he  could  get 
to  sea. 

3  Among  the  mortally  wounded,  was  Count  Pulaski,  the  brave  Pole 
whom  we  first  met  in  the  battle  on  the  Brandywine  [note  5,  page  273]. 
He  died  on  board  a  vessel  bound  for  Charleston,  a  few  day&.  after  the 
siege.  Serjeant  Jasper,  whose  bravery  at  Fort  Moultrie  we  have  not- 
iced [note  5,  page  249].  was  also  killed,  while  nobly  holding  aloft,  upon 
a  bastion  of  the  British  works  which  he  had  mounted,  one  of  the  beauti- 
ful colors  [note  5,  page  249]  presented  to  Moultrie's  regiment  by  ladies 
of  Charleston.  The  colors  were  beautifully  embroidered,,  and  given  to 
the  regiment,  in  the  name  of  the  ladies  of  Charleston,  by  Mrs.  Su- 
sanna Elliott.  Just  before  he  died,  Jasper  said,  "  Tell  Mrs.  Elliott  I 
lost  my  life  supporting  the  colors  she  presented  to  our  regiment."  These 
colors,  captured  during  this  siege,  are  among  British  trophies  in  the 
tower  of  London.  Savannah  honors  both  these  heroes  by  having  finely- 
shaded  parks  bearing  their  respective  names.  4  Page  289. 
20 


COUNT   PULASKI. 


306    •  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1779. 

After  the  close  of  Sullivan's  campaign  against  the  Senecas,  very  little  of 
general  interest  transpired  at  the  North,  except  the  withdrawal  of  the  British 
troops  from  Rhode  Island,  on  the  25th  of  October,  1779.  La  Fayettc  had 
been  in  France  during  the  summer,  and  chiefly  through  his  efforts,  the  French 
government  had  consented  to  send  another  powerful  fleet,1  and  several  thousand 
troops,  to  aid  the  Americans.  When  informed  of  this  intended  expedition,  the 
British  ministry  ordered  Clinton  to  cause  the  evacuation  of  Rhode  Island,  and 
to  concentrate,  at  New  York,  all  his  troops  at  the  North.  This  was  accom- 
plished with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  for  rumors  had  reached  Rhode  Island 
that  the  new  French  armament  was  approaching  the  coast.  So  rapid  was  the 
retreat  of  the  British,  caused  by  their  fears,  that  they  left  behind  them  all  their 
heavy  artillery,  and  a  large  quantity  of  stores.  Clinton  sailed  for  the  South  at 
the  close  of  the  year  [December  25],  with  about  five  thousand  troops,  to  open  a 
vigorous  campaign  in  the  Carolinas.  Washington,  in  the  mean  while,  had  gone 
into  winter  quarters  at  Morristown,2  where  his  troops  suffered  terribly  from  the 
severity  of  the  cold,  and  the  lack  of  provisions,  clothing,  and  shelter.3  Strong 
detachments  were  also  stationed  among  the  Hudson  Highlands,  and  the  cavalry 
were  cantoned  in  Connecticut. 

During  this  fifth  year  [1779]  of  the  war  for  Independence,  difficulties  had 
gathered  thick  and  fast  around  Great  Britain.  Spain  had  declared  war  against 
her4  on  the  16th  of  June,  and  a  powerful  French  and  Spanish  naval  armament 
had  attempted  to  effect  an  invasion  of  England  in  August.  American  and 
French  cruisers  now  became  numerous  and  quite  powerful,  and  were  hovering 
around  her  coasts  ;  and  in  September,  the  intrepid  John  Paul  Jones5  had 
conquered  two  of  her  proud  ships  of  war,  after  one  of  the  most  desperate 


1  Pago  286.  2  Pago  269. 

3  Dr.  Thaelicr,  in  his  Military  Journal,  says,  "  The  sufferings  of  the  poor  soldiers  can  scarcely  bo 
described;  while  on  duty  they  are  unavoidably  exposed  to  all  the  inclemency  of  storms  and  severe 
cold ;  at  night,  they  now  have  a  bed  of  straw  upon  the  ground,  and  a  single  blanket  to  each  man ; 
they  are  badly  clad,  and  some  are  destitute  of  shoes.     We  have  contrived  a  kind  of  stone  chimney 
outside,  and  an  opening  at  one  end  of  our  tents  gives  us  the  benefit  of  the  fire  within.     The  snow 
is  now  [January  6th,  1780]  from  four  to  six  feet  deep,  which  so  obstructs  the  roads  as  to  prevent 
our  receiving  a  supply  of  provisions.     For  the  last  ten  days  we  have  received  but  two  pounds  of 
meat  a  man,  and  we  are  frequently  for  six  or  eight  days  entirely  destitute  of  meat,  and  then  as  long 
without  bread.     The  consequence  is,  the  soldiers  are  so  enfeebled  from  hunger  and  cold  as  to  bo 
almost  unable  to  perform  their  military  duty,  or  labor  in  constructing  their  huts.     It  is  well  known 
that   General  Washington  experiences  the  greatest  solicitude  for  the  suffering  of  his  army,  and 
is  sensible  that  they,   in  general,   conduct  with   heroic  patience  and  fortitude."      In   a   private 
letter  to  a  friend,  Washington  said,  "  Wo  have  had  the  virtue  and  patience  of  the  army  put  to  the 
severest  trial.     Sometimes  it  has  been  five  or  six  days  together  without  bread,  at  other  times  as 
many  without  meat,  and  once  for  two  or  three  days  at  a  time  without  either.     *     *     *     At  one 
time  the  soldiers  ate  every  kind  of  horse  food  but  hay.     Buckwheat,  common  wheat,  rye,  and  Indian 
corn  composed  the  meal  which  made  their  bread.     As  an  army,  they  bore  it  with  the  most  heroic 
patience  ;  but  sufferings  like  these,  accompanied  by  the  want  of  clothes,  blankets,  £c.,  will  produce 
frequent  desertions  in  all  armies ;  and  so  it  happened  with  us,  though  it  did  not  excite  a  single 
mutiny." 

4  Hoping  to  regain  Gibraltar,  Jamaica,  and  the  two  Floridas,  which  Great  Britain  had  taken 
.from  her,  Spain  made  a  secret  treaty  of  peace  with  France  in  April,  1779,  and  in  June  declared  war 
against  Great  Britain.     This  event  was  regarded  as  highly  favorable  to  the  Americans,  because  any 
thing  that  should  cripple  England,  would  aid  them. 


5  John.  Paul  Jones  was  born  in  Se>otland  in  1747,  and  came  to  Virginia  in  boyhood.     He  entered 
the  American  naval  service  in  1775,  and  was  active  during  the  whole  war.     He  was  afterward 

vprv   ur'tivfi  in   tlir>  "Rnccinn   sprvir>«     no-ainst  thp»  Turks     in   thf>  "Rlflflr  Rftfl,    flnfl   wfIS  Prpatpd   rear-adffli' 


very  active  in  the  Russian  service,  against  the  Turks,  in  the  Black  Sea,  and  was  created  rear-admi- 
.ral  in  the  .Russian  navv.     He  died  in  Paris  in  1782. 


1779.] 


FIFTH  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR   FOR    INDEPENDENCE. 


307 


naval  fights  ever  known.  These  were  the  Serapis  and  Countess  of  Scar- 
borough. The  conflict  occurred  in  the  evening,  off  Flamborough  Head,  on  the 
east  coast  of  Scotland.  Jones's  ship  was  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  which  had 
been  fitted  out  in  France.  After  much  maneuvering,  the  Serapis  and 


Richard  came  alongside  of  each  other,  their  rigging  intermingling,  and  in  this 
position  they  poured  heavy  broadsides  from  their  respective  guns.  Three  times 
both  ships  were  on  fire,  and  their  destruction  appeared  inevitable.  A  part  of 
the  time  the  belligerents  were  fighting  hand  to  hand  upon  the  decks.  Finally. 
the  commander  of  the  Sera  iis  was  obliged  to  yield,  and  ten  minutes  afterward. 
the  Countess  of  Scarborough,  which  had  been  fighting  with  another  vessel  of 
Jones's  little  fleet,  struck  her  colors.  The  Richard  was  a  perfect  wreck,  and 
was  fast  sinking  whan  the  conflict  ended  ;  and  sixte3ii  hours  afterward,  she  went 
down  into  the  deep  waters  of  tho  North  Sea,  off  Bridlington  Bay.  Jones,  with 
his  prizes,  sailed  for  Holhnd,  having,  during  that  single  cruise,  capturocl  prop- 
erty to  the  value  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.1 

1  The  naval  operations  during  the  war  for  Independence,  do 
not  occupy  a  conspicuous  place  in  history,  yet  they  were  by  no 
means  insignificant.  The  Continental  Congress  took  action  on  the 
subject  of  an  armed  marine,  in  the  autumn  of  1775.  Already 
Washington  had  fitted  out  some  armed  vessels  at  Boston,  and 
constructed  some  gun-boats  for  use  in  the  waters  around  that  city.  A  GUX-BOAT  AT  BOSTON. 
These  were  propelled  by  oars,  and  covered.  In  November,  the 

government  of  Massachusetts  established  a  Board  of  Admiralty.  A  committee  on  naval  affairs,  of 
which  Silas  Deane  [page  266]  was  chairman,  was  appointed  by  the  Continental  Congress  in  Octo- 


308  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1779. 

On  the  land,  in  America,  there  had  been  very  little  success  for  the  British 
arms ;  and  sympathy  for  the  patriots  was  becoming  more  and  more  manifest  in 
Europe.  Even  a  great  portion  of  the  intelligent  English  people  began  to 
regard  the  war  as  not  only  useless,  but  unjust.  Yet  in  the  midst  of  all  these 
difficulties,  the  government  put  forth  mighty  energies — energies  which  might 
have  terminated  the  war  during  the  first  campaign,  if  they  had  been  then 
executed.  Parliament  voted  eighty-five  thousand  seamen  and  thirty-five  thou- 
sand troops  for  general  service,  in  1780,  and  appropriated  one  hundred  millions 
of  dollars  to  defray  the  expenses.  This  formidable  armament  in  prospective, 
was  placed  before  the  Americans,  at  this,  the  gloomiest  period  of  the  war,  yet 
they  neither  quailed  nor  faltered.  Relying  upon  the  justice  of  their  cause,  and 
the  favor  of  a  righteous  God,  they  felt  prepared  to  meet  any  force  that  Great 
Britain  might  send  to  enslave  them 

her,  1775.  Before  the  close  of  the  year,  the  construction  of  almost  twenty  vessels  had  been  ordered 
by  Congress;  and  the  Marine  Committee  was  so  re-organized  as  to  have  in  it  a  representative  from 
each  colony.  In  November,  1776,  a  Continental  Navy  Hoard,  to  assist  the  Marine  Committee,  was 
appointed;*  and  in  October,  1779,  a  Board  of  Admiralty  was  installed.  Its  Secretary  (equivalent  to 
our  Secretary  of  the  Navy)  [page  382]  was  John  Brown,  until  1781,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
General  McDougal.  Robert  Morris  also  acted  as  authorized  Agent  of  Marine ;  and  many  privateers 
were  fitted  out  by  him  on  his  own  account.  In  November,  1776, 
Congress  determined  the  relative  rank  of  the  naval  commanders,  such 
as  admiral  to  be  equal  to  a  major-general  on  land :  a  commodore  equal 
to  a  brigadier-general,  &c.  The  first  commander-in-chief  of  the  navy, 
or  high  admiral,  was  Esek  Hopkins,  of  Rhode  Island,  whom  Congress 
commissioned  as  such  in  December,  1775.  He  first  went  against 
Dunmore  [page  244]  on  the  coast  of  Virginia.  He  also  went  to  the 
Bahamas,  and  captured  the  town  of  New  Providence  and  its  governor. 
Sailing  for  home,  he  captured  some  British  vessels  off"  the  east  end  of 
J  ^  Long  Island,  and  with  these  prizes,  he  went  into  Narraganset  Bay. 
In  the  mean  while,  Paul  Jones  and  Captain  Barry  were  doing 
good  service,  and  New  England  cruisers  were  greatly  annoying 
English  shipping  on  our  coast.  In  1777,  Dr.  Franklin,  under  the 
authority  of  Congress,  issued  commissions  to  naval  officers  in  Europe. 
Expeditions  were  fitted  out  in  French  sea-ports,  and  these  produced 
ADMIRAL  HOPKINS.  great  alarm  on  the  British  coasts. 

While  these  things  were  occurring  in  European  waters,  Captains 

Biddle,  Manly,  M'Neil,  Hinman,  Barry,  and  others,  were  making  many  prizes  on  the  American 
coasts.  Finally,  in  the  spring  of  1779,  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  at  L'Orient,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  French  and  American  governments.  It  consisted  of  five  vessels  under  the  command  of  John 
Paul  Jones.  They  sailed  first,  in  June,  for  the  British  waters,  took  a  few  prizes,  and  returned. 
They  sailed  again  in  August,  and  on  the  23d  of  September,  while  off  the  coast  of  Scotland,  not  far 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Humber,  Jones,  with  his  flag-ship  (the  Bonhomme  Richard),  and  two  others, 
fell  in  with  and  encountered  a  small  British  fleet,  which  was  convoying  a  number  of  merchant  ves- 
sels to  the  Baltic  Sea,  when  the  engagement  took  place  which  is  described  in  the  text.  Congress 
gave  Jones  a  gold  medal  for  his  bravery.  Many  other  gallant  acts  were  performed  by  American 
seamen,  in  the  regular  service  and  as  privateers,  during  the  remainder  of  the  war.  The  "  whale- 
boat  warfare"  on  the  coast,  was  also  very  interesting,  and  exhibited  many  a  brave  deed  by  thoso 
whose  names  are  not  recorded  in  history — men  who  belong  to  the  great  host  of  "  unnamed  demi- 
gods," who,  in  all  ages,  have  given  their  services  to  swell  the  triumphs  of  leaders  who,  in  real 
merit,  have  often  been  less  deserving  than  themselves. 

For  a  condensed  account  of  the  whole  naval  operations  of  the  Revolution,  on  the  coast,  see  sup- 
plement to  Lossing's  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution. 


,Y30.]  SIXTH  YEAR   OP   THE   WAR   FOR  INDEPENDENCE.  3Q9 

CHAPTER    VII. 

SIXTH  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.      [1780.] 

WHEN,  on  Christmas  day,  1779,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  sailed  for  the  South, 
with  the  main  body  of  his  army,  he  left  the  Hessian  general,  Knyphausen,1  in 
command  at  New  York.  To  aid  the  southern  patriots,  Washington  sent  thither 
the  Baron  De  Kalb2  and  others  the  following  spring  [1780],  and  thus  the 
two  armies  were  so  much  weakened  at  head-quarters,  that  military  operations  at 
the  North  almost  ceased  during  that  year.  The  Carolinas  became  the  chief 
theater  of  war,  and  many  and  bloody  were  the  acts  upon  that  stage.  Invasions 
from  without,  and  the  cruelties  of  Tories3  in  their  midst,  made  1780  a  year  of 
great  woe  for  the  patriots  arid  their  families  below  the  Roanoke,  for  they  also 
suffered  all  the  horrors  of  civil  war.  At  no  time,  during  the 
whole  conflict,  were  the  Tories,  or  adherents  of  the  crown,  more 
active  throughout  the  whole  country,  than  in  1780.  They 
were  the  most  inveterate  enemies  of  the  patriots,  and  the  lead  - 
ers  were  in  continual  correspondence  with  each  other,  with  the  ^1  ^///  u^ 
British  government,  and  with  the  royal  commanders  in  Amer-  j^ 
ica.  Their  correspondence  was  carried  on  chiefly  in  cipher  -\- 
writing,  understood  only  by  themselves,  so  that  in  the  event  of  ^J 
their  letters  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Whigs,  their  contents  * 
would  remain  a  secret.  These  characters  sometimes  varied,  and  JL^ 
it  was  a  frequent  occurrence  for  two  persons  to  invent  a  cipher  Si/ 

** 


alphabet,  for  their  own  exclusive  use.     The  engraving  shows 
the  alphabet  of  the  cipher  writing  of  somo  New  York  Tories. 

A  fleet,  under  Admiral  Arbuthnot,  with  two  thousand  ma-      '      ^^   ^ 
rines,  bore  the  forces  of  Sir   Henry  Clinton  to  the  southern    / 
waters.     After  encountering  heavy  storms,  4  they  arrived  on  the 
coast  of  Georgia  in  January  ;  and  early  in  February  [Feb.  10],  turned  north- 
ward, and  proceeded  to  invest  Charleston.      Clinton's  troops  were  landed  [Feb. 
11]  upon  the  islands  below  the  city,  on  the  shores  of  the  Edisto  Inlet,  thirty 
miles  distant  ;  but  instead  of  inarching  at  once  to  make  an  assault  upon  the 
town,  the  British  commander  prepared  for  a  regular  siege.     General  Lincoln 
was  in  Charleston  with  a  feeble  force5  when  Clinton  landed  ;  and  he  was  about 
to  evacuate  the  city  and  flee  to  the  interior,  when  intelligence  of  the  tardy  plans 
of  the  British  reached  him.     He  then  resolved  to  remain,  and  prepare  for  de- 

1  Page  259.  2  Page  316.  3  Noto  4,  page  226. 

4  During  a  severe  storm  off  Cape  Hatteras,  one  vessel,  carrying  heavy  battery  cannons,  was  lost, 
and  almost  all  the  cavalry  horses  of  Tarleton's  legion,  perished  at  sea.  Tarleton  supplied  himself 
with  others,  soon  after  landing,  by  plundering  the  plantations  near  the  coast. 

6  During  the  preceding  winter,  Lincoln's  army  had  dwindled  to  a  mere  handful.  The  repulse  at 
Savannah  had  so  disheartened  the  people,  that  very  few  recruits  could  be  obtained,  and  when  Clin- 
ton arrived,  Lincoln's  army  did  not  exceed  fourteen  hundred  men  in  number.  The  finances  of  the 
State  were  in  a  wretched  condition,  and  the  Tories  were  everywhere  active  and  hopeful. 


310 


THE     REVOLUTION. 


[1780. 


fense.  John  Rutledge, 1  the  governor  of  South  Carolina,  was  clothed  with  all 
the  powers  of  an  absolute  dictator ;  and  so  nobly  did  the 
civil  and  military  authorities  labor  for  the  public  good, 
that  when  the  invaders  crossed  the  Ashley  [March  29, 
1780],  and  sat  down  before  the  American  works  on 
Charleston  Neck,2  the  besieged  felt  strong  enough  to 
resist  them.  In  the  mean  while,  the  intrenchments  had 
been  greatly  strengthened,  and  works  of  defense  had 
been  cast  up  along  the  wharves,  and  at  various  points 
around  the  harbor.  Fort  Moultrie3  was  strongly  gar- 
risoned, and  Commodore  Whipple4  was  in  command  of 

a  flotilla  of  small  armed  ships  in  the  harbor. 


GOVERNOR   RUTLEDGE. 


On  the  25th  of  March,  Admiral  Arbuthnot  crossed  Charleston  bar,  drove 
Whipple' s  little  fleet  to  the  waters  near  the  town,  and  cast  anchor  in  Five 

1  John  Rutledge  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  came  to  South  Carolina  when  a  child.     He  was  one 
of  the  most  active  patriots  of  the  South.     After  the  war  he  was  made  a  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  and  also  chief  justice  of  South  Carolina.     He  died  in  the  year  1800. 

2  Note  1,  page  296.  3  Note  5,  page  249. 

4  Abraham  Whipple  was  bora  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  in  1733.  His  early  life  \vas  spent 
chiefly  upon  the  ocean,  and,  in  later  years,  he  was  long  engaged  in  the  merchant  service.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-seven,  he  was  commander  of  a  privateer,  and  during  a  single  cruise,  in  1760,  he  took 
twenty-three  French  prizes.  He  was  engaged  in  the  destruction  of  the  Gaspe,  in  1772  [page  223]. 
In  1775,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  vessels  to  drive  Sir  James  Wallace  from  Narragan- 
sett  Bay.  He  was  active  in  naval  service  until  the  fall  of  Charleston,  when  he  was  taken  prisoner. 


1780.] 


SIXTH  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR  FOR   INDEPENDENCE. 


311 


Fathom  Hole,  not  far  from  St.  John's  Island.  On  the  morning  of  the  9th  of 
April,  he  sailed  up  the  harbor,  and  sustaining  but  trifling  damage  from  the 
guns  of  Fort  Moultrie,  anchored  within  cannon-shot  of  the  city.  As  Whipple 
could  not  contend  with  the  strong  ships,  he  sunk  several  of  his  vessels  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Cooper  River,  and  formed  a  chevaux-de-frise^  to  prevent  the  en- 
emy's ships  passing  beyond  the  town,  so  as  to  enfilade  the  American  works  on  the 
Neck.  Clinton,  in  the  mean  while,  had  erected  batteries2  in  front  of  these 
works,  and  both  commanders  joined  in  a  summons  for  the  patriots  to  surrender. 
Expecting  reinforcements  from  the  interior,  the  people  of  the  beleagured  city 
refused  compliance,  and  for  more  than  a  month  the  siege  went  on.3  In  the 
mean  while,  American  detachments  sent  out  between  the  Cooper  and  Santee 
Rivers  to  keep  open  a  communication  with  the  interior,  were  attacked  and  de- 
feated by  parties  of  British  horsemen;4  and  at  the  close  of  the  month  [April, 
1780],  the  city  was  completely  environed  by  the  foe  Cornwallis  had  arrived 
[April  18],  from  New  York,  with  three  thousand  fresh  troops,  and  all  hopes 
for  the  patriots  faded. 

The  night  of  the  9th  of  May  was  a  terrible  one  for  Charleston.  That  day 
a  third  summons  to  surrender  had  been  refused,  and  late  in  the  evening  a  gen- 
eral cannonade  commenced.  Two  hundred  heavy  guns  shook  the  city  with 
their  thunders,  and  all  night  long  destructive  bombshells5  were  hailed  upon  it. 
At  one  time  ths  city  was  on  fire  in  five 
different  places.  Nor  did  morning 
bring  relief.  The  enemy  had  deter- 
mined to  take  the  city  by  storm.  The 
cannonade  continued  all  the  day,  and 
the  fleet  moved  toward  the  town  to  open 
a  bombardment.  Further  resistance 
would  have  been  sheer  madness,  for  the 
destruction  of  the  town  and  the  people 
seemed  inevitable.  At  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  12th,  a  proposition 
for  surrender  was  made  to  Clinton,  and  his  guns  were  all  silenced  before  day- 
light. At  about  noon  on  the  12th  [May,  1780],  the  continental  troops  inarched 
out,  and  laid  down  their  arms,  after  a  gallant  and  desperate  defense  for  forty 
days.  Lincoln  and  his  army,  with  a  large  number  of  citizens,  were  made  pris- 
oners of  war.  The  citizens,  and  a  great  number  of  soldiers,  were  paroled.6 

He  was  the  first  who  unfurled  the  American  flag  in  the  Thames,  at  London,  after  the  war.    Accom- 
panying settlers  to  Ohio,  he  became  a  resident  of  Marietta,  from  which  he  sailed,  in  1800,  down 
the  Ohio,  with  pork  and  flour,  for  Havana.     He  died  in  1819,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years. 
1  Note  6,  page  274. 

3  On  Saturday  morning,  the  first  of  April,  the  British  first  broke  ground  in  the  face  of  eighty 
cannons  and  mortars  on  the  American  works. 

8  General  Woodford  had  just  arrived  with  seven  hundred  Virginians,  and  others  from  North 
Carolina  were  reported  on  their  way. 

4  On  the  14th  of  April,  Tarleton  defeated  Colonel  Huger  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Cooper 
River,  and  killed  twenty-five  Americans.    On  the  6th  of  May,  a  party  under  Colonel  White,  of  New 
Jersey,  were  routed  at  a  ferry  on  the  Santee,  with  a  loss  of  about  thirty  in  killed,  wounded,  and 
prisoners.     These  British  detachments  overran  the  whole  country  below  the  Cooper  and  Santee,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  days.  B  Note  2,  page  236. 

A  prisoner  on  parole  is  one  who  is  left  free  to  go  anywhere  within  a  prescribed  space  of  coun- 


SIEGE    OF   CHARLESTON.       1780. 


312 


THE     REVOLUTION. 


[1780. 


Altogether,  the   captives  amounted  to  between  five  and  six  thousand  j1    and 
among  the  spoils  of  victory  were  four  hundred  pieces  of  cannon. 

The  fall  of  Charleston,  and  the  loss  of  this  southern  army,  was  a  severe 


blow  for  the  Republicans.  It  paralyzed  their  strength  ;  and  the  British  com- 
manders confidently  believed  that  the  finishing  stroke  of  the  war  had  been 
given.  It  was  followed  by  measures  which,  for  a  time  prostrated  South  Caro- 

try,  or  within  a  city,  under  certain  restrictions  relative  to  conduct.  Prisoners  taken  in  war  are  often 
paroled,  and  allowed  to  return  to  their  friends,  with  an  agreement  not  to  take  up  arms.  It  is  a 
point  of  honor,  with  a  soldier,  to  "keep  his  parole,"  and  when  such  a  one  is  again  taken  in  battle, 
during  the  period  of  his  parole,  he  is  treated  not  as  a  prisoner,  but  as  a  traitor. 

1  In  violation  of  the  solemn  agreement  for  surrender,  Clinton  caused  a  great  number  of  the  lead- 
ing men  in  Charleston  to  be  seized,  and  carried  on  board  prison-ships,  where  hundreds  suffered  ter- 
ribly. Many  were  taken  to  St.  Augustine,  and  immured  in  the  fortress  there.  Among  other 
prominent  citizens  thus  treated,  were  Lieutenant-Governor  Christopher  Gadsden,  and  David  Ram- 
say,  the  historian,  who,  with  about  twenty  others,  remained  in  prison  at  St.  Augustine  almost  eleven 
months,  before  they  were  paroled.  Both  06  these  men  were  exceedingly  active  patriots.  Ramsay 
was  a  native  of  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  born  in  1749.  He  was  educated  at 
Princeton ;  studied  medicine,  and  became  an  eminent  physician  at  Charleston.  He  was  an  efficient 
member  of  the  Council  of  Safety  when  the  Revolution  broke  out,  and  was  also  an  esteemed  legis- 
lator. He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress.  In  1790,  he  published  his  History  of 
the  American  Revolution  He  wrote  and  published  a  Life  of  Washington,  in  1801 ;  a  History  of 
South  Carolina,  in  1808 ;  and  when  he  died,  from  a  shot  by  a  maniac,  in  1815,  he  had  almost  com- 
pleted a  History  of  the  United  States.  Soon  after  the  assembling  of  the  first  Federal  Congress,  under 
the  new  Constituion,  in  1789,  Dr.  Ramsay  sent  in  a  petition,  asking  for  the  passage  of  a  law  for  se- 
curing to  him  and  his  heirs  the  exclusive  right  to  vend  and  dispose  of  his  books,  respectively  en- 
titled, History  of  the  Revolution  in  South  Carolina,  and  A  History  of  the  American  Revolution.  A  bill 
for  that  purpose  was  framed  and  discussed.  Finally,  in  August,  it  was  "  postponed  until  the  next 
Congress."  A  similar  bill  was  introduced  in  January,  1790,  and  on  the  30th  of  April  following,  the 
first  copyright  law  recorded  on  the  statute  books  of  Congress,  was  passed. 


1780.]  SIXTH  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.  313 

lina  at  the  feet  of  royal  power.  With  an  activity  hitherto  unusual  for  the 
British  officers,  Clinton  took  steps  to  extend  and  secure  his  conquest,  and  to 
re-establish  royal  power  in  the  South.  He  sent  out  three  strong  detachments  of 
his  army  to  overrun  the  country.  One  under  Cornwallis  inarched  up  the 
Santee  toward  Camden ;  another  under  Lieutenant-colonel  Cruger,  was  ordered 
to  penetrate  the -country  to  Ninety-six/  and  a  third,  under  Lieutenant-colonel 
Brown,  marched  to  Augusta,2  in  Georgia.  A  general  truce  was  proclaimed, 
and  a  pardon  to  all  who  should  accept  British  protection.  The  silence  of  fear 
overspread  the  whole  country ;  and  mistaking  this  lull  in  the  storm  of  war  for 
permanent  tranquillity,  Clinton  and  Arbuthnot,  with  a  large  body  of  troops, 
sailed,  on  the  5th  of  June  [1780],  for  New  York. 

The  last  and  most  cruel  blow  struck  by  the  British,  was  that  which  almost 
annihilated  an  American  detachment  under  Colonel  Abraham  Buford.  He  had 
hastened  toward  Charleston  for  the  relief  of  Lincoln ;  but  when  he  heard  of  the 
disasters  there,  he  commenced  retreating  toward  North  Carolina.  His  force 
consisted  of  nearly  four  hundred  Continental  infantry,  a  small  detachment 
oF  Colonel  Washington's  cavalry,  and  two  field-pieces.  He  had  evacuated 
Camden,  and,  in  fancied  security,  was  retreating  leisurely  toward  Charlotte,  in 
North  Carolina.  Cornwallis  resolved  to  strike  Buford,  if  possible,  and,  for 
that  purpose,  he  dispatched  Tarleton,  with  seven  hundred  men,  consisting  of  his 
cavalry  and  mounted  infantry.  That  officer  marched  one  hundred  and  five 
miles  in  fifty-four  hours,  and  came  up  with  Buford  upon  the  Waxhaw.  Impa- 
tient of  delay,  he  had  left  his  mounted  infantry  behind,  and  with  only  his 
-cavalry,  he  almost  surrounded  Buford  before  that  officer  was  aware  of  danger. 
Tarleton  demanded  an  immediate  surrender  upon  the  terms  granted  to  the 
Americans  at  Charleston.  These  terms  were  humiliating,  and  Buford  refused 
'jomplianca.  While  the  flags  for  conference  were  passing  and  re-passing,  Tarle- 
ton, contrary  to  military  rules,  was  making  preparations  for  an  assault,  and 
the  instant  he  received  Buford' s  reply,  his  cavalry  made  a  furious  charge  upon 
the  American  ranks.  Having  received  no  orders  to  defend  themselves,  and 
supposing  the  negotiations  were  yet  pending,  the  Continentals  were  utterly 
dismayed  by  this  charge.  All  was  confusion ;  and  while  some  fired  upon  their 
assailants,  others  threw  down  thoir  arms  and  begged  for  quarter.  None  was 
given ;  and  men  without  arms  were  hewn  in  pieces  by  Tarleton' s  cavalry.  One 
hundred  and  thirteen  were  slain ;  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  so  maimed  as  to 
be  unable  to  travel ;  and  fifty-three  were  made  prisoners,  to  grace  the  triumphal 
entry  of  the  conqueror  into  Clamden.  Only  five  of  the  British  were  killed,  and 
fifteen  wounded.  The  whole  of  Buford' s  artillery,  ammunition,  and  baggage, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  For  this  savage  feat,  Cornwallis  eulogized 
Tarleton,  and  commended  him  to  the  ministry  as  worthy  of  special  favor.  It 
was  nothing  less  than  a  cold-blooded  massacre ;  and  Tarleton1  s  quarter  became 
proverbial  as  a  synonym  to  cruelty.3  The  liberal  press,  and  all  right-minded 

1  Page  336.  2  Page  336. 

8  Stedman,  one  of  Cornwallis's  officers,  and  afterward  an  eminent  English  historian  of  the  war, 
says,  "On  this  occasion,  the  virtue  of  humanity  was  totally  forgot." 


314  THE    REVOLUTION".  [1780. 

men  in  England,  cried  Shame !  After  the  battle,  a  large  number  of  the 
wounded  were  taken  to  the  log  meeting-house  of  the  Waxhaw  Presbyterian 
Congregation,  where  they  were  tenderly  cared  for  by  those  who  had  courage 
to  remain.  This  blow,  however,  was  so  terrible,  that  fear  seized  the  people, 
and  women  and  children  fled  from  their  homes  in  dismay,  to  avoid  falling  in  the 
track  of  the  invader.1 

Brief  was  the  lull  of  the  storm.  De  Kalba  did  not  reach  the  borders  of 
South  Carolina  until  midsummer,  and  then  not  an 
American  was  in  arms  in  the  lower  country.  Although 
Congress  had  confidence  in  the  skill  of  De  Kalb  (who 
by  the  capture  of  Lincoln,  became  the  Commander-in- 
chief  at  the  South),  yet  it  was  thought  best  to  send 
General  Gates3  thither,  because  of  the  influence  of  his 
name.  The  prospect  before  him  was  far  from  flattering. 
An  army  without  strength ;  a  military  chest  without 
money ;  but  little  public  spirit  in  the  commissary 
department ;  a  climate  unfavorable  to  health  ;  the  spirit 
GENERAL  GATES.  of  the  Republicans  cast  down ;  loyalists  swarming  in 

every  direction ;  and  a   victorious  enemy   pressing  to 

spread  his  legions  over  the  territory  he  had  come  to  defend,  were  grave  obsta- 
cles in  the  way  of  success.  Yet  Gates  did  not  despond ;  and,  retaining  Do 
Kalb  in  command  of  his  division,  he  prepared  to  march  into  South  Carolina. 
When  it  was  known  that  he  was  approaching,  southern  hearts  beat  high  with 
hope,  for  they  expected  great  things  from  the  conqueror  of  Burgoyrie.4  Many 
patriots,  who,  in  their  extremity,  had  signed  "paroles"  and  "protections,"1 
G3eing  how  little  solemn  promises  wore  esteemed  by  the  conqueror,  disregarded 
both,  and  flocked  to  the  standard  of  those  brave  partisan  leaders,  Sumter, 
Marion,  Pickens,  and  Clarke,  who  now  called  them  to  the  field.  While  Gates 
and  his  army  were  approaching,  these  partisans  were  preparing  the  way  for 
conquest.  They  swept  over  the  country  in  small  bands,  striking  a  British 


1  Among  those  who  fled,  was  the  widowed  mother  of  Andrew  Jackson,  the  seventh  President 
of  the  United  States,  who,  with  her  two  sons,  Robert  and  Andrew,  took  refuge  in  the  vicinity  of 
Charlotte,  North  Carolina.  The  dreadful  scenes  of  that  massacre,  was  the  first  lesson  that  taught 
Andrew  to  hate  tyranny.  It  fired  his  patriotism ;  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  he  entered  the 
army,  with  his  brother  Robert,  under  Sumter.  They  were  both  made  prisoners ;  but  even  while  in 
the  power  of  the  British,  the  indomitable  courage  of  the  after  man  appeared  in  tlfc  boy.  When 
ordered  to  clean  the  muddy  boots  of  a  British  officer,  he  proudly  refused,  and  for  his  temerity 
received  a  sword-cut.  After  their  release,  Andrew  and  his  brother  returned  to  the  Waxhaw  set- 
tlement with  their  mother.  That  patriotic  matron  and  two  sons  perished  during  the  war.  Her  son 
Hugh  was  slain  in  battle,  and  Robert  died  of  a  wound  which  he  received  from  a  British  officer  while 
he  was  prisoner,  because,  like  Andrew,  he  refused  to  do  menial  service.  Th^  heroic  mother,  while 
on  her  way  home  from  Charleston,  whither  she  went  to  carry  some  necessaries  to  her  friends  and 
relations  on  board  a  prison-ship,  was  seized  with  prison-fever,  and  died.  Her  unknown  grave  is 
somewhere  between  what  was  then  called  the  Quarter  House  and  Charleston.  Andrew  was  left 
the  sole  survivor  of  the  family.  2  Page  316. 

3  Horatio  Gates  was  a  native  of  England,  and  was  educated  for  military  life.     He  was  the  first 
adjutant-general  of  the  Continental  army  [note  5,  page  238],  and  was  made  major-general  in  1776. 
He  retired  to  his  estate  in  Virginia  at  the  close  of  the  war.  and  finally  took  up  his  abode  in  New 
York,  where  he  died  in  1806,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years. 

4  Page  281.  6  Note  6,  page  311. 


1780.] 


SIXTH  YEAR   OF    THE   WAR   FOR   INDEPENDENCE. 


315 


GENERAL   SUMTER. 


detachment  here,  and  a  party  of  Tories  there  ;  and  soon,  they  so  effectually 
alarmed  the  enemy  in  the  interior,  as  to  check  the  onward  progress  of  invasion. 

General  Sumter1  first  appeared  in  power  on  the 
Catawba  River.  Already  Whigs,  between  that  and 
the  Broad  River,  led  by  local  officers,  had  assailed 
the  enemy  at  different  points.  In  the  mean  while 
Sumter  had  collected  a  considerable  force,  and  on 
the  30th  of  July,  he  attacked  a  British  post  at  Rocky 
Mount,  on  the  Catawba.  He  was  repulsed,  but  not 
disheartened.  He  immediately  crossed  the  river,  and 
at  Hanging-rock,  a  few  miles  eastward,  he  fell  upon 
and  dispersed  a  large  body  of  British  and  Tories,  on 
the  6th  of  August.  Through  the  folly  of  his  men, 
he  did  not  secure  a  victory.  They  commenced  plundering,  and  drinking  the 
liquors  found  in  the  camp,  after  they  had  secured  it,  and  becoming  intoxicated, 
were  unable  to  complete  the  triumph.  Yet  the  British  dared  not  follow  Sumter 
in  his  slow  retreat.  Marion,  at  the  same  time,  was  smiting  the  enemy,  with 
sudden  and  fierce  blows,  among  the  swamps  of  the  lower  country,  on  the 
borders  of  the  Pedee.  Pickens  was  annoying  Cruger  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Saluda  ;  and  Clarke  was  calling  for  the  patriots  along  the  Savannah,  Ogee- 
chee,  and  Alatamaha,  to  drive  Brown2  from  Augusta. 

General  Clinton  left  Earl  Cornwallis  in  the  chief  command  of  the  British 
army  at  the  South,  and  his  troops  on  the  Santee  were  intrusted  to  Lord  Raw- 
don,  an  active  and  meritorious  officer.  When  that  general  heard  of  the  approach 
of  Gates,  ho  gathered  all  his  available  forces  at  Camden,  where  he  was  soon  joined 
by  the  earl.  Rumor  had  greatly  magnified  the  number  of  the  army  under  Gates. 
The  loyalists  became  alarmed,  and  the  patriots  took  courage.  He  came  down 
from  the  hill  country,  through  Lancaster  district,  and  took  post  at  Clermont,  a 
few  miles  north  of  Camden.  Feeling  certain  of  victory,  lie  marched  from  his 
camp  on  the  night  of  the  15th  of  August,  to  surprise  the  British  at  Camden. 
Without  being  aware  of  this  movement,  Cornwallis  and  Rawdon  advanced  at 
the  same  hour  to  surprise  the  Americans.  A  little  after 
midnight  the  belligerents  met  [August  16,  1780],  near  San- 
ders' s  Creek,  about  seven  miles  north  of  Camden,  on  the  Lan- 
caster road.  The  sand  was  so  deep  that  the  footsteps  of  the 
approaching  armies  could  not  be  heard  by  each  other.  They 
came  together  in  the  dark,  almost  noiselessly,  and  both  were 
equally  surprised.  A  slight  skirmish  between  the  vanguards 
ensued,  and  early  in  the  morning  a  general  battle  began. 
After  a  desperate  struggle  with  an  overwhelming  force,  the 


i^^&JL^. 


Americans  were  compelled  to  yield  to  the  British  bayonets  in   SAXDEES'S 


CREEK. 


1  Thomas  Sumter  was  a  native  of  South  Carolinn,  and  was  early  in  the  field.  Ill  health  com- 
pelled him  to  leave  the  army  just  before  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1781.  He  was  afterward  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Federal  Congress,  and  died  on  the  High  Hills  of  Santee  [page  337],  in  1832,  at  the  ago 
of  ninety-eight  years.  2  page  336 


316 


THE     REVOLUTION. 


[1780. 


BARON  DE  KALB. 


front,  and  the  sabres  of  Tarleton's  dragoons  on  their  flanks.  The  rout 
became  general.  The  militia  fell  in  great  numbers,  under  the  heavy  blows 
from  the  British  cavalry ;  and  for  more  than  two  miles,  along  the  line  of 
their  retreat,  the  open  wood  was  strewn  with  the  dead  and  dying.  Arms,  artil- 
lery, horses,  and  baggage,  were  scattered  in  every  direction.  More  than  a  third 
of  the  continental  troops  were  killed ;  and  the  entire  loss  of 
the  Americans,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  was 
about  a  thousand  men,  besides  all  of  their  artillery  and 
ammunition,  and  a  greater  portion  of  their  baggage  and 
stores.1  The  British  loss  was  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
five.  Among  the  killed  was  the  brave  Baron  de  Kalb,2 
whose  remains  were  buried  at  Camden,  and  there  they 
yet  lie,  under  a  neat  monument,  the  corner-stone  of 
which  was  laid  by  La  Fayette  in  1825. 3 

Having  vainly  endeavored  to  rally  his  flying  troops, 
Gates  fled  to  Charlotte,4  eighty  miles  distant.  There  he  continued  to  be 
joined  by  officers  and  men,  and  he  began  to  hope  that  another  army  might  be 
speedily  collected.  But  when,  a  few  days  after  his  own  defeat,  he  received  intel- 
ligence that  Sumter's  force  had  been  nearly  annihilated  by  Tarleton"  near  the 
Catawba,  he  almost  despaired.  That  event  was  a  sad  one 
for  the  republicans.  Sumter  had  been  ordered,  by  Gates, 
to  intercept  a  British  detachment  which  was  conveying 
stores  for  the  main  army,  from  Ninety-Six.6  He  was 
joined  by  other  troops  sent  to  assist  him,  and  they  cap- 
tured forty-four  wagons  loaded  with  clothing,  and  made  a 
number  of  prisoners.  On  hearing  of  the  defeat  of  Gates, 
Sumter  continued  his  march  up  the  Catawba.  and  on  the 
18th  [August,  1780]  he  encamped  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Fishing  Creek.  There  he  was  surprised  by  Tarleton,  and  his  troops  were 
routed  with  great  slaughter.  More  than  fifty  were  killed,  and  three  hundred 
were  made  prisoners.  All  the  booty  captured  by  the  Americans  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Tarleton.  Sumter  escaped,  but  was  stripped  of  power. 

With  the  dispersion  of  Gates's  army,  and  Sumter's  brave  band,  the  victory 
of  the  British  was  again  complete ;  and  at  the  close  of  summer,  there  were  no 


COLONEL  TARLETON. 


1  General  Gates  had  felt  so  certain  of  victory,  that  he  had  made  no  provisions  for  a  retreat,  or 
the  salvation  of  his  stores  in  the  rear.     His  troops  were  scattered  in  all  directions,  and  he,  appar- 
ently panic-stricken  by  the  terrible  blow,  fled,  almost  alone,  to  Charlotte.     Even  now  [1856]  bul- 
lets" are  found  in  the  old  pine-trees  on  the  route  of  their  retreat.     Gates  did  indeed,  as  General 
Charles  Lee  predicted  he  would,  when  he  heard  of  his  appointment  to  the  command  of  the  south- 
ern army,  "exchange  his  northern  laurels  for  southern  willows." 

2  De  Kalb  was  a  native  of  Alsace,  a  German  province  ceded  to  France.    He  had  been  in  Amer- 
ica as  a  secret  French  agent,  about  fifteen  years  before.     He  came  to  America  with  La  Fayette  in 
1777,  and  Congress  commissioned  him  a  major-general.     He  died  of  his  wounds  at  Camden,  three 
days  after  the  battle.  3  Page  453.  4  Page  237. 

5  Tarleton  was  one  of  the  most  active  and  unscrupulous  officers  of  the  British  army.  He  was 
distinguishod  for  his  abilities  and  cruelties  during  the  southern  campaigns  of  1780-'81.  He  was 
born  in  Liverpool,  in  1754.  He  married  a  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Ancaster,  in  1798,  and  was 
afterward  made  a  major-general  6  Page  336. 


1780.] 


SIXTH  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR  FOR   INDEPENDENCE.  317 


republicans  in  arms  in  South  Carolina,  except  Marion  and  his  men.  Within 
three  months  [May  12  to  August  16],  two  American  armies  had  been  annihil- 
ated, and  one  of  the  most  formidable  partisan  corps  (Sumter's)  scattered  to  the 
winds. 


The  exploits  of  Marion1  and  his  men,  form  the  materials  of  one  of  the  most 
interesting  chapters  in  the  history  of  our  War  for  Independence.  He  was  in 
Charleston  during  the  long  siege,  but  having  been  disabled  by  an  accident,2  he 
had  retired  to  the  country,  and  was  not  among  the  prisoners  when  the  city 
passed  in  the  possession  of  the  British.3  He  was  therefore  untrammeled  by  any 
parole,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  able,  he  mounted  his  horse,  and  took  the  field. 
With  a  few  ragged  followers,  equal  in  grotesque  appearance  to  any  Falstaff 


1  Francis  Marion  was  a  descendant  of  a  Huguenot  [page  49]  settlor,  and  was  born  near  George- 
town, South  Carolina,  in  1732.  His  first  military  lessons  were  learned  in  the  war  with  the  Chero- 
kees  [page  204],  in  1761.  He  entered  the  army  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  and  was 
one  of  the  bravest  and  most  useful  of  all  the  partisan  officers  at  the  South.  He  was  also  a  member 
of  the  South  Carolina  Legislature,  during,  and  after  the  war.  He  died  at  his  home,  near  Eutaw 
Springs,  on  his  beloved  San  tee,  in  1795,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age. 

Marion  was  dining  with  some  friends  at  a  house  in  Tradd-streot,  Charleston,  when,  on  an  at- 
tempt being  made  to  cause  him  to  drink  wine,  contrary  to  his  practice  and  desire,  he  leaped  from  a 
window,  and  sprained  his  ankle.  The  Americans  yet  kept  the  country  toward  the  Santee,  open, 
and  Marion  was  coiiveyed  to  his  home.  3  Page  311. 


318  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1780. 

ever  saw,1  he  was  annoying  the  Tories  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Pedee,  when 
Gates  was  moving  southward;  and  just  before  the  battle  at  Camden,  he  ap- 
peared in  Gates' s  cainp.  The  proud  general  would  have  treated  him  with  con- 
tempt;  had  not  Governor  Rutledge,2  then  in  the  camp,  known  the  sterling 
worth  of  the  man  before  them.  While  Marion  was  there,  the  people  of  the 
Williamsburg  district,  who  had  arisen  in  arms,  sent  for  him  to  be  their  com- 
mander. Governor  Rutledge  gave  him  the  commission  of  a  brigadier  on  the 
spot ;  and  soon  afterward,  Marion  organized  that  noted  brigade,  which  per- 
formed such  wonderful  exploits  among  the  swamps,  the  broad  savannahs,  and 
by  the  water-courses  of  the  South.  It  was  this  motley  brigade,  only,  that 
appeared  in  the  field,  and  defied  British  power,  after  the  dispersion  of  Gates's 
army  at  Camden. 

Had  Cornwallis  been  governed  by  good  judgment  and  humanity,  the  con- 
quest of  South  Carolina  might  have  been  permanent, 
for  the  State  swarmed  with  Tories,  and  the  Republic- 
ans were  wearied  with  the  unequal  contest.  But  he 
was  governed  by  a  foolish  and  wicked  policy,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  establish  royal  authority  by  the  most  severe 
measures.  Instead  of  winning  the  respect  of  the  people 
by  wisdom  and  clemency,  he  thought  to  subdue  them 
by  cruelty.  Private  rights  were  trampled  under  foot, 
and  social  organization  was  superseded  by  the  iron  rule 
LORD  CORNWALLIS  of  military  despotism.3  His  measures  created  the  most 

bitter  hatred;    and  hundreds  of  patriots,    who  might 

have  been  conciliated,  were  goaded  into  active  warfare  by  the  lash  of  military 
power.  Everywhere  the  people  thirsted  for  vengeance,  and  only  awaited  the 
call  of  leaders,  to  rally  and  strike  again  for  homes  and  freedom. 

Now,  feeling  confident  of  his  power  in  South  Carolina,  Cornwallis4  prepared 
to  invade  the  North  State.  Eirly  in  September  ho  proceeded  with  his  army 
to  Charlotte,"  while  detachments  ware  s^nt  out  in.  various  directions  to  awe  the 
Republicans  and  encourage  tin  loyalists.  While  Tarleton,  with  his  legion, 


1  Colonel  Otho  II.  "Williams  said  of  his  appearance  then,  that  his  followers  were  "distinguished 
by  small  leathern  caps,  and  the  wretchedness  of  their  attire.  Their  number  did  not  exceed  twenty 
men  and  boys,  some  white,  some  black,  and  all  mounted,  but  most  of  them  miserably  equipped. 
Their  appearance  was,  in  fact,  so  burlesque,  that  it  was  with  much  difficulty  the  diversion  of  the 
regular  soldiery  was  restrained  by  the  officers ;  and  the  general  himself  [Gates]  was  glad  of  an  op- 
portunity of  detaching  Colonel  Marion,  at  his  own  instance,  toward  the  interior  of  South  Carolina, 
with  orders  to  watch  tlio  motions  of  the  enemy,  and  famish  intelligence1." 

3  Page  310. 

3  Ho  issued  cruel  orders  to  his  subalterns.     They  were  directed  to  hang  every  militia-man  who 
had  once  served  in  Loyalist  corps,  but  were  now  found  in  arms  against  the  king.     Many  who  had 
submitted  to  Clinton  [page  313],  and  accepted  protection,  and  had  remained  at  home  quietly  during 
the  recent  revolt,  were  imprisoned,  their  property  taken  from  them  or  destroyed,  and  their  families 
treated  with  the  utmost  rigor.     See  note  3,  paga  337. 

4  Charles,  Earl  Cornwallis,  was  born,  in  Suffolk,  England,  in  1738.     He  was  educated  for  mili- 
tary life,  and  commenced  his  career  in  1759.     After  the  Revolution  in  America,  he  was  made  gov- 
ernor-general of  India  [not?-  2,  page  224],  then  lord-liout^nant  of  Ireland,  and  again  governor  of 
India.     He  died  near  Benares,  East  Indies,  in  1805. 

5  His  advanced  corps  were  attacked  by  the  Americans  under  Colonel  Davie,  on  their  arrival  at 
Charlotte,  but  after  a  severe  skirmish,  the  patriots  were  repulsed. 


1780.]  SIXTH   YEAR   OF   THE  WAR   FOR   INDEPENDENCE.  319 

was  operating  on  the  east  side  of  the  Catawba,  Major  Patrick  Ferguson  was 
sent  to  embody  the  militia  who  favored  the  king,  among  the  mountains  west  of 
the  Broad  River.  Many  profligate  and  worthless  men  joined  his  standard,  and 
on  the  first  of  October,  1780,  he  crossed  the  Broad  River  at  the  Cherokee  ford, 
in  Yorkville  district,  and  encamped  among  the  hills  of  King's  Mountain,  with 
about  fifteen  hundred  men.  Several  corps  of  Whig  militia  united  to  oppose 
him,1  and  on  the  7th  of  October,  they  fell  upon  his  camp  on  King's  Mountain, 
there,  a  cluster  of  high,  wooded,  gravelly  hills,  about  two  miles  below  the 
southern  line  of  North  Carolina.  A  very  severe  engagement  ensued,  and  the 
British  were  totally  defeated.  Ferguson  was  slain,2  and  three  hundred  of  his 
men  were  killed  and  wounded.  The  spoils  of  victory,  which  cost  the  Americans 
only  twenty  men,  were  eight  hundred  prisoners,  and  fifteen  hundred  stand  of 
arms.  This  defeat  was  to  Cornwallis,  what  the  affair  at  Bennington3  was  to 
Burgoyne,  and  it  gave  the  Republicans  hope. 

Nearer  the  sea-board,  in  the  mean  while,  the  patriots  were  daily  gaining 
strength.  Marion  and  his  men4  were  striking  the  banding  Tories  here  and 
there,  and  annoying  British  outposts  continually ;  while  Colonel  Pickens  and 
Clarke  were  hourly  augmenting  their  forces  in  Georgia  and  south-western 
Carolina.  Sumter,  too,  undismayed  by  his  recent  defeat,  again  appeared  in  the 
field  ;5  and  other  leaders  were  coming  forth  between  the  Yadkin  and  Broad 
Rivers.  Alarmed  by  the  defeat  of  Ferguson,  and  these  demonstrations  on  flank 
and  rear,  Cornwallis  withdrew  [October  14]  to  South  Carolina,  and  toward  the 
close  of  October  [27th],  made  his  head  quarters  at  Winnsborough,  midway 
between  the  Broad  and  Catawba  Rivers,  in  Fairfield  district.  Here  he 
remained  until  called  to  the  pursuit  of  Greene,0  a  few  weeks  later. 

Victory  after  victory  was  achieved  by  Marion  and  his  brigade,  until  late  in 
October,  when  they  pushed  forward  to  assail  the  British  post  at  Georgetown, 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  necessary  supplies.  Hitherto  Marion  had  confined 
his  operations  to  forays  upon  British  and  Tories ;  now  he  undertook  a  more 

1  These  were  commanded  by  Colonels  William  Campbell,  Isaac  Shelby,  Benjamin  Cleveland, 
John  Sevier,    Joseph  Winston,    Charles  McDowell,   and  James  Williams.      Their  united  forces 
amounted  to  nearly  eighteen  hundred  men. 

2  On  the  spot  where  Ferguson  was  slain,  a  plain  stone  has  been  erected  to  the  memory  of  that 
officer,  and  of  Americans  who  were  killed.     The  following  inscriptions  upon  the  stone,  give  the 
names:  North  side. — "Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Major  WILLIAM  CHRONICLE,  Captain  JOHN  MAT- 
TOCKS, WILLIAM  Roi3B,  and  JOHN  BOYD,  whc  were  killed  here  fighting  in  defense  of  America,  on 
the  seventh  of  October,  1780."     South  side. — "  Colonel  FERGUSON,  an  officer  belonging  to  his  Britan- 
nic majesty,  was  here  defeated  and  killed."     Ferguson's  rank  is  incorrectly  given,  on  the  monument. 
He  was  only  a  major ;   but  his  good  conduct  was  placjng  him  in  the  way  of  speedy  promotion.     He 
was  a  son  of  the  eminent  Scotch  jurist,  James  Ferguson,  and  came  to  America  in  1777.     He  was 
in  the  battle  on  the  Brandywine,  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  [page  273],  and  accompanied  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  to  South  Carolina  [page  306]  at  the  close  of  1779.  3  Page  277.  4  Page  317. 

6  Sumter  collected  a  small  force  in  the  vicinity  of  Charlotte,  and  returned  to  South  Carolina, 
For  some  weeks  he  annoyed  the  British  and  Tories  very  much,  and  Lord  Cornwallis,  who  called  him 
The  Carolina  Game  Cock,  used  great  endeavors  to  crush  him.  On  the  night  of  the  12th  of  Novem- 
ber, Major  Wemyss,  at  the  head  of  a  British  detachment,  fell  upon  him  near  the  Broad  River,  but 
was  repulsed.  Eight  days  afterward  he  had  a  severe  engagement  with  Tarleton,  at  Blackstock's 
plantation,  on  the  Tyger  River,  in  Union  district.  He  had  now  been  joined  by  some  Georgians 
under  Colonels  Clarke  and  Twiggs.  The  British  were  repulsed,  with  a  loss,  in  killed  and  wounded, 
of  about  three  hundred.  The  Americans  lost  only  three  killed  and  five  wounded.  Sumter  was 
among  the  latter,  and  he  was  detained  from  the  field  several  months,  by  his  wounds. 

6  Page  332. 


320  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1780. 

serious  business.  The  garrison  was  on  the  alert,  and  in  a  severe  skirmish  with 
a  large  party  near  the  town,  the  Partisan  was  repulsed.  He  then  retired  to 
Snow's  Island,  at  the  confluence  of  Ljnch's  Creek  and  the  Pedee,  where  he 
fixed  his  camp,  and  secured  it  by  such  works  of  art  as  the  absence  of  natural 
defenses  required.  It  was  chiefly  high  river  swamp,  dry,  and  covered  with  a 
heavy  forest,  filled  with  game.  From  that  island  camp,  Marion  sent  out  and 
led  detachments  as  occasion  required ;  and  for  many  weeks,  expeditions  which 
accomplished  wonderful  results,  emanated  from  that  point.  Their  leader  seemed 
to  be  possessed  of  ubiquitous  powers,  for  he  struck  blows  at  different  points  in 
rapid  succession.  The  British  became  thoroughly  alarmed,  and  the  destruction 
of  his  camp  became,  with  them,  an  object  of  vital  importance.1  That  work  was 
accomplished  in  the  spring  of  1781,  when  a,  party  of  Tories  penetrated  to 
Marion's  camp,  during  his  absence,  dispersed  the  little  garrison,  destroyed  the  pro- 
visions and  stores  found  there,  and  then  fled.  The  Partisan  was  not  disheartened 
by  this  misfortune,  but  pursued  the  marauder  some  distance,  and  then  wheeling, 
he  hastened  through  the  then  overflowed  swamps  to  confront  Colonel  Watson, 
who  was  in  motion  with  a  body  of  fresh  troops,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Pedee. 

While  these  events  were  progressing  at  the  South,  others  of  great  import- 
ance were  transpiring  at  the  North.  As  we  have  observed,2  military  operations 
were  almost  suspended  in  this  region  during  the  year,  and  there  were  no  ofiens- 
ive  movements  worthy  of  notice,  except  an  invasion  of  New  Jersey,  in  June. 
On  the  6th  of  that  month  (before  the  arrival  of  Clinton  from  Charleston),  Knyp- 
hausen3  dispatched  General  Matthews  from  Staten  Island,  with  about  five 
thousand  men,  to  penetrate  New  Jersey.  They  took  possession  of  Elizabeth- 
town  [June  7],  and  burned  Connecticut  Farms  (then  a  hamlet,  and  now  tho 
village  of  Union),  on  the  road  from  Elizabethtown  to  Springfield.  When  the 
invaders  arrived  at  the  latter  place,  they  met  detachments  which  came  down 
from  Washington's  camp  at  Morristown,  and  by  them  were  driven  back  to  the 
coast,  where  they  remained  a  fortnight.  In  the  mean  while  Clinton  arrived, 
and  joining  Matthews  with  additional  troops  [June  22],  endeavored  to  draw 
Washington  into  a  general  battle,  or  to  capture  his  stores  at  Morristown. 
Feigning  an  expedition  to  the  Highlands,  Clinton  deceived  Washington,  who, 
with  a  considerable  force,  marched  in  that  direction,  leaving  General  Greene  in 
command  at  Springfield.  Perceiving  the  success  of  his  stratagem,  he,  with 
Knyphausen,  marched  upon  Greene,  witn  cJbout  five  thousand  infantry,  a  con- 
siderable body  of  cavalry  and  almost  twenty  pieces  of  artillery.  After  a  severe 

Ll . 

1  Hero  was  the  scone  of  the  interview  between  Marion  and  a  young  British  officer  from  George- 
town, so  well  remembered  by  tradition,  and  so  well  delineated  by  the  pen  of  Simms  and  the  pencil 
of  White.  The  officer  who  came  to  treat  respecting  prisoners,  was  led  blindfolded  to  the  camp  of 
Marion.  There  he  first  saw  the  diminutive  form  of  the  great  partisan  leader,  and  around  him,  in 
groups,  were  his  followers,  lounging  beneath  magnificent  trees  draped  with  moss.  When  their  business 
was  concluded,  Marion  invitod  the  young  Briton  to  dine  with  him.  He  remained,  and  to  his  utter 
astonishment  he  saw  some  roasted  potatoes  brought  forward  on  a  piece  of  bark,  of  which  the 
general  partook  freely,  and  invited  his  guest  to  do  the  same.  "Surely,  general,"  said  the  officer, 
"this  can  not  be  your  ordinary  fare  !"  "  Indeed  it  is,"  replied  Marion,  "and  we  are  fortunate  on 
this  occasion,  entertaining  company,  to  have  more  than  our  usual  allowance."  It  is  related  that 
the  young  officer  gave  up  his  commission  on  his  return,  declaring  that  such  a  people  could  not  be, 
and  ought  not  to  be  subdued.  2  Page  309.  3  Page  259. 


MARION'S  ENCAMPMENT  ox  THE  PEDEE. 


1780.] 


SIXTH  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


323 


skirmish  at  Springfield,  the  British  were  defeated  [June  23,  1780],  and  setting 
fire  to  the  village,  they  retreated,  and  passed  over  to  Staten  Island. 

Good  news  for  the  Americans  came  from  the  East,  a  few  days  after  this 
invasion.  It  was  that  of  the  arrival,  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  on  the  10th 
of  July  [1780],  of  a  powerful  French  fleet,  under  Admiral  Ternay,  bearing 
six  thousand  land  troops  under  the  Count  de  Rochambeau.  This  expedition 
had  been  expected  for  some  time,  it  having  sailed  from  Brest  early  in  April. 


The  whole  matter  had  been  arranged  with  the  French  government  by  La  Fay- 
ette,  who  had  returned  from  France  in  May,  and  brought  the  glad  tidings  to 
the  Americans.  With  wise  forethought,  the  relation  between  Washington  and 
Rochambeau  had  been  settled  by  the  French  government.  In  order  to  prevent 
any  difficulties  in  relation  to  command,  between  the  American  and  French  offi- 
cers, the  king  commissioned  Washington  a  lieutenant-general  of  the  empire. 
This  allowed  him  to  take  precedence  of  Rochambeau,  and  made  him  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  allied  armies.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  Rochambeau,  by  appoint- 
ment, met  Washington  at  Hartford,  in  Connecticut,  to  confer  upon  their  future 
movements.  The  season  being  so  far  advanced,  that  it  was  thought  imprudent 
for  the  French  army  to  enter  upon  active  duties  during  the  current  campaign,  it 


324  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1780. 

was  determined  to  have  the  main  body  of  it  remain  in  camp,  on  Rhode  Island, 
while  the  cavalry  should  be  cantoned  at  Lebanon,  in  Connecticut,  the  place  of 
residence  of  Jonathan  Trumbull,  governor  of  that  State.  That  eminent  man 
was  the  only  chief  magistrate  of  a  colony  who  retained  his  office  after  the  change 
from  royal  to  Republican  rule ;  and  throughout  the  war,  he  was  one  of  the 
most  efficient  of  the  civil  officers  among  the  patriots.1 

The  arrival  of  the  French  caused  Clinton  to  be  more  circumspect  in  his 
movements,  and  he  made  no  further  attempts  to  entice  Washington  to  figh't. 
Yet  he  was  endeavoring  to  accomplish  by  his  own  strategy,  and  the  treason  of  an 
American  officer,  what  he  could  not  achieve  by  force.  At  different  times  during 
the  war,  the  British  officials  in  America  had  tampered,  directly  or  indirectly, 
with  some  Americans,  supposed  to  be  possessed  of  easy  virtue,  but  it  was  late  in 
the  contest  before  one  could  be  found  who  was  wicked  enough  to  be  a  traitor. 
Finally,  a  recreant  to  the  claims  of  patriotism  appeared,  and  while  the  French 
army  were  landing  upon  Rhode  Island,  and  were  preparing  for  winter  quarters 
there,  Clinton  was  bargaining  with  Benedict  Arnold  for  the  strong  military 
post  of  West  Point,2  and  its  dependencies  among  the  Hudson  Highlands,  and 
with  it  the  liberties  of  America,  if  possible. 

Arnold  was  a  brave  soldier,  but  a  bad  man.3  He  fought  nobly  for  freedom, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  war,  until  1778,  when  his  passions  gained  the  mas- 
tery over  his  judgment  and  conscience.  Impulsive,  vindictive,  and  unscrupu- 
lous, he  was  personally  unpopular,  and  was  seldom  without  a  quarrel  with  some 
of  his  companions-in-arms.  Soon  after  his  appointment  to  the  command  at 
Philadelphia,4  he  was  married  to  the  beautiful  young  daughter  of  Edward 
Shippen,  one  of  the  leading  loyalists  of  that  city.  He  lived  in  splendor,  at  an 
expense  far  beyond  his  income.  To  meet  the  demands  of  increasing  creditors, 
he  engaged  in  fraudulent  acts  which  made  him  hated  by  the  public,  and  caused 
charges  of  dishonesty  and  malpractices  in  office  to  be  preferred  against  him, 
before  the  Continental  Congress.  A  court-martial,  appointed  to  try  him,  con- 


1  Jonathan  Trumbull  was  born  at  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  in  June,  1710,  and  was  educated  at 
Harvard  College.     He  prepared  for  the  ministry,  but  finally  became  a  merchant.     He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Connecticut  Assembly  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years.     He  was  chosen  governor  of 
Connecticut  in  1769,  and  for  fourteen  consecutive  years  he  was  elected  to  that  office.     He  died  at 
Lebanon,  in  August,  1785,  at  the  ago  of  seventy-five  years.     See  page  323. 

2  During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1778,  the  passes  of  the  Hudson  Highlands  were  much 
strengthened.     A  strong  redoubt  called  Fort  Clinton  (in  honor  of  George  Clinton,  then  governor  of 
New  York),  was  erected  on  the  extreme  end  of  the  promontory  of  West  Point.     Other  redoubts 
were  erected  in  the  rear ;  and  upon  Mounlj  Independence,  five  hundred  feet  above  the  Point,  the 
strong  fortress  of  Fort  Putnam  was  built,  whose  gray  ruins  are  yet  visible.     Besides  these,  an 
enormous  iron  chain,  each  link  weighing  more  than  one  hundred  pounds,  was  stretched  across  the 
Hudson  at  West  Point,  to  keep  British  ships  from  ascending  the  river.     It  was  floated  upon  timbers, 
linked  together  with  iron,  and  made  a  very  strong  obstruction.     Two  of  these  floats,  with  the  con- 
necting links,  are  preserved  at  Washington's  Head  Quarters,  at  Newburgh;  and  several  links  of  the 
great  chain  may  be  seen  at  the  Laboratory,  at  West  Point. 

3  While  yet  a  mere  youth,   he  attempted  murder.     A  young  Frenchman  was  an  accepted 
suitor  of  Arnold's  sister.     The  young  tyrant  (for  Arnold  was  always  a  despot  among  his  play-fellows) 
disliked  him,  and  when  he  could  not  persuade  his  sister  to  discard  him,  he  declared  he  would  shoot 
the  Frenchman  if  he  ever  entered  the  house  again.     The  opportunity  soon  occurred,  and  Arnold 
discharged  a  loaded  pistol  at  him,  as  he  escaped  through  a  window.     The  young  man  left  the  place 
forever,  and  Hannah  Arnold  lived  the  life  of  a  maiden.     Arnold  and  the  Frenchman  afterward  met 
at  Honduras,  and  fought  a  duel,  in  which  the  Frenchman  was  severely  wounded. 

4  Note  3,  page  287. 


1780.] 


SIXTH   YEAR   OF  THE   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


325 


victed  him,  but  sentenced  him  to  a  reprimand  only.  Although  Washington 
performed  that  duty  with  the  utmost  delicacy,  Arnold  felt  the  disgrace.  It 
awakened  vengeful  feelings  which,  operating  with  the  pressure  of  debt,  made  him 
listen  with  complacency  to  the  suggestions  of  a  bad  nature.  He  made  treason- 
able overtures  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  by  a  correspondence  of  several  months 
(under  an  assumed  name,  and  with  propositions  couched  in  commercial  phrases) 
with  the  accomplished  Major  Andre,1  Clinton's  adjutant-general,  he  bargained 
with  the  British  commander  to  betray  West  Point  and  its  dependencies  into  his 
hands.  For  this  service  he  was  to  receive  a  brigadier's  commission,  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  in  cash. 


The  traitor  managed  the  affair  very  adroitly.  For  a  long  time,  Washington 
had  been  suspicious  of  Arnold's  integrity,  but  was  unwilling  to  believe  him 
capable  of  treason.  Under  pretense  of  having  private  business  in  Connecticut, 
Arnold  left  Philadelphia,  passed  through  Washington's  camp  on  the  Hudson, 
and  on  his  return,  he  suggested  to  the  chief  that  he  would  be  glad  to  have  com- 
mand of  West  Point.  He  made  many  patriotic  professions,  and  his  desires  were 
gratified.  He  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  that  post,  in  August,  1780, 
and  then  all  his  thoughts  were  turned  to  the  one  great  object  of  the  betrayal  of 


Arnold's  hand-writing  was  disguised,  and  he  signed  his  letters  Gustavus.  Andre's  letters 
were  signed  John  Anderson.  A  correspondence  was  carried  on  between  them  for  more  than  k 
jear. 


326  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1780. 

his  trust.  The  time  chosen  for  the  consummation  of  his  treasonable  designs, 
was  when  Washington  was  absent,  in  September,  in  conference  with  the  French 
officers  at  Hartford,  Connecticut.1  Up  to  the  time  of  his  taking  command  of 
West  Point,  Arnold  and  Andre  had  negotiated  in  writing.  They  had  never 
met,  but  now  a  personal  conference  was  necessary.  For  that  purpose,  Andre 
went  up  the  Hudson  in  the  sloop  of  war,  Vulture,  which  anchored  off  Teller's 
Point,  just  above  the  mouth  of  the  Croton  River.  Andre  was  taken  ashore, 
near  Haverstraw,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson,  where,  by  previous  appoint- 
ment, he  met  Arnold.  Before  they  parted  [Sept.  22,  1780],  the  whole  matter 
was  arranged.  Clinton  was  to  sail  up  the  river  with  a  strong  force,  and 
after  a  show  of  resistance,  Arnold  was  to  surrender  West  Point  and  its  depend- 
encies into  his  hands.  But  all  did  not  work  well.  Some  Americans  dragged 
an  old  iron  six-pound  cannon  (yet  preserved  at  Sing  Sing)  to  the  end  of  Teller's 
Point,  and  with  it  so  galled  the  Vulture,  that  she  was  driven  from  her  anchor- 
age, and,  dropping  down  the  river,  disappeared  from  Andre's  view.  He  was 
consequently  compelled  to  cross  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  Hudson  in  disguise, 
and  make  his  way  toward  New  York,  by  land.  At  Tarry  town,  twenty-seven 
miles  from  the  city,  he  was  stopped  [Sept.  23]  and  searched  by  three  young 
militia  men,2  who,  finding  papers  concealed  in  his  boots,3  took  him  to  the  near- 
est American  post.  Colonel  Jameson,  the  commander,  could  not  seem  to  com- 
prehend the  matter,  and  unwisely  allowed  Andre  to  send  a  letter  to  Arnold, 
then  at  his  quarters  opposite  West  Point.  The  alarmed  and  warned  traitor  im- 
mediately fled  down  the  river  in  his  barge,  and  escaped  to  the  Vulture  in  safety, 
leaving  behind  him  his  young  wife  and  infant  son,  who  were  kindly  treated  by 
Washington.4 

The  unfortunate  Major  Andre  was  tried  and  found  guilty  as  a  spy,  and  was 
hanged  on  the  2d  of  October,  1780,  at  Tappan  opposite  Tarrytown,  while  the  real 
miscreant  escaped.  Strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  gain  possession  of  Arnold,  and 
save  Andre,  but  they  failed,5  and  that  accomplished  officer,  betrayed  by  circum- 
stances, as  he  said  in  a  letter  to  Washington,  "ijito  the  vile  condition  of  an 
enemy  in  disguise,"  suffered  more  because  of  the  sins  of  others,  than  of  his  own. 
Washington  would  have  spared  Andre,  if  the  stern  rules  of  war  had  permitted. 

1  Page  323. 

2  John  Paulding,  David  "Williams,  and  Isaac  Van  "Wart,  all  residents  of  "Westchester  county. 
Andre  offered  them  large  bribes  if  they  would  allow  him  to  pass,  but  they  refused,  and  thus  saved 
their  country  from  ruin. 

8  These  papers  are  well  preserved.  After  being  in  private  hands  more  than  seventy  years,  they 
were  purchased,  and  deposited  in  the  New  York  State  Library,  in  1853. 

4  Washington  returned  from  Hartford  on  the  very  morning  of  Arnold's  escape,  and  reached  his 
quarters  (yet  standing  opposite  "West  Point)  just  after  the  traitor  had  left.  The  evidences  of  his 
treason  were  there,  and  officers  wero  sent  in  pursuit,  but  in  vain.  "Washington  sent  the  wife  and 
son  of  Arnold  to  New  York,  whither  the  traitor  was  conveyed  by  the  Vulture.  That  infant,  who 
was  named  James  Robertson  Arnold,  was  born  at  "West  Point.  He  became  a  distinguished  officer 
in  the  British  army,  having  passed  through  all  the  grades  of  office,  from  lieutenant.  On  the  accession 
of  Queen  Victoria,  in  1835,  he  was  made  one  of  her  aids-de-camp,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  major- 
general,  with  the  badge  of  a  Knight  of  the  Royal  Hanoverian  Guelphic  Order. 

6  Serjeant  Champe,  of  Lee's  legion  [page  333],  went  into  New  York  City,  in  the  disguise  of  a 
deserter,  joined  the  corps  which  had  been  placed  under  Arnold's  command,  and  had  every  thing 
arranged  for  carrying  off  the  traitor,  in  a  boat,  to  the  New  Jersey  shore.  On  the  very  day  when  he 
was  to  execute  his  scheme,  at  night,  Arnold's  corps  were  ordered  to  Virginia,  and  Champe  was 
compelled  to  accompany  it.  There  he  escaped,  and  joined  Lee  in  the  Carolinas. 


1781.]       SEVENTH   YEAR   OF   THE   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.       327 

The  young  soldier  has  always  been  more  pitied  than  blamed ;  while  the  name 
of  Arnold  will  ever  be  regarded  with  the  bitterest  scorn.1  Although  he  did  not 
accomplish  his  wicked  schemes,  he  received  the  stipulated  reward  for  his  treason- 
able services.  And  history,  too,  has  given  him  its  reward  of  recorded  shame, 
while  those  who  were  instrumental  in  securing 
Andre,  and  with  him  the  evidences  of  the  foul 
treason,  are  honored  by  the  nation  with  its  ever- 
lasting gratitude.  Thankful  for  deliverance  from 
the  dangers  of  treason,  Congress  voted  [Nov.  3, 
1780]  each  of  the  three  young  militia  men,  a  sil- 
ver medal  and  a  pension  of  two  hundred  dollars  a 

vear,  for  life.     And  marble  monuments  have  been 

*  •  i  M      i  P  CAPTOR'S  MEDAL.2 

erected  to  their  memories  ,    wThiie  the  sentiment  ot 

sympathy  for  the  unfortunate  Andre,  has  also  caused  a  memorial  to  him,  to  be 
erected  at  Tarrytown,  upon  the  spot  where  he  was  executed. 

And  now  another  year  drew  to  a  close,  and  yet  the  patriots  were  not  sub- 
dued. England  had  already  expended  vast  treasures  and  much  Blood  in  en- 
deavors to  subjugate  them;  and,  on  account  of  the  rebellion,  had  involved 
herself  in  open  war  with  France  and  Spain.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  and 
unmindful  of  the  fact  that  a  large  French  land  and  naval  armament  was  already 
on  the  American  shores,4  she  seemed  to  acquire  fresh  vigor  as  every  new  ob- 
stacle presented  itself.  And  when  the  British  ministry  learned  that  Holland, 
the  maritime  rival  of  England,  was  secretly  negotiating  a  treaty  with  the  United 
States  for  loans  of  money  and  other  assistance,  they  caused  a  declaration  of  war 
against  that  government  to  be  immediately  proclaimed  [Dec.  20,  1780],  and 
procured  from  Parliament  immense  appropriations  of  men  and  money,  ships  and 
stores,  to  sustain  the  power  of  Great  Britain  on  land  and  sea. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

SEVENTH  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.     [1781.] 

ONE  of  the  noblest  displays  of  true  patriotism,  for  which  the  war  for  Inde- 
pendence was  so  remarkable,  signalized  the  opening  of  the  year  1781.     Year 

1  Benedict  Arnold  was  born  in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  in  January,  1730.  He  was  bred  to  the 
business  of  an  apothecary,  and  for  some  time  carried  on  that,  with  bookselling,  in  New  Haven. 
"We  have  already  met  him  in  his  career  during  the  war,  up  to  the  time  of  his  treason.  We  shall 
meet  him  again,  in  Virginia  [page  330],  with  the  enemy.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  he  went  to  En- 
gland, then  to  Nova  Scotia,  but  he  was  everywhere  despised.  He  died  in  London,  in  June,  1801, 
where,  just  three  years  afterward,  his  wife  also  died. 

a  On  one  s'de  is  the  word  "FIDELITY,"  and  on  the  other,  "  VINCIT  AMOR  PATRLE" — "The  love 
of  country  conquers." 

8  To  Paulding,  in  St.  Peter's  church-yard,  about  two  miles  from  Peekskill,  and  to  Van  Wart  in 
Greenburg  church-yard,  a  little  more  than  that  distance  from  Tarrytown.  Williams  was  buried  in 
Schoharie  county,  where  a  monument  is  about  to  be  erected  to  his  memory.  4  Page  323. 


328  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1781. 

after  year  the  soldiers  had  suffered  every  privation,  from  lack  of  money  and 
clothing.  Faction  had  now  corrupted  the  Continental  Congress,  and  the  public 
welfare  suffered  on  account  of  the  tardiness  of  that  body  in  the  performance  of 
its  legitimate  duties.  Continental  money  had  become  almost  worthless,1  and 
the  pay  of  officers  and  men  was  greatly  in  arrears.  The  frequent  promises  of 
Congress  had  been  as  frequently  unfulfilled,  and  the  common  soldiers  had  cause 
to  be  dissatisfied  with  the  illiberal  interpretation  which  their  officers  gave  to 
the  terms  of  enlistment.2  They  had  asked  "in  vain  for  aid;  and  finally,  on  the 
first  day  of  January,  1781,  thirteen  hundred  of  the  Pennsylvania  line,  whose 
time,  as  they  understood  it,  had  expired,  left  the  camp  at  Morristown,3  with  the 
avowed  determination  of  marching  to  Philadelphia,  and  in  person  demanding 
justice  from  the  national  legislature.  General  Wayne4  was  in  command  of  the 
Pennsylvania  troops,  and  was  much  beloved  by  them.  He  exerted  all  his  influ- 
ence, by  threats  and  persuasions,  to  bring  them  back  to  duty  until  their  griev- 
ances should  be  redressed.  They  would  not  listen  to  his  remonstrances  ;  and, 
on  cocking  his  pistol,  they  presented  their  bayonets  to  his  breast,  saying,  "We 
respect  and  love  you  ;  often  have  you  led  us  into  the  field  of  battle,  but  we  are 
no  longer  under  your  command ;  we  warn  you  to  be  on  your  guard ;  if  you  fire 
your  pistol,  or  attempt  to  enforce  your  commands,  we  shall  put  you  instantly 
to  death."  Wayne  appealed  to  their  patriotism  ;  they  pointed  to  the  impo- 
sitions of  Congress.  He  reminded  them  of  the  strength  their  conduct  would 
give  to  the  enemy  ;  they  exhibited  their  tattered  garments  and  emaciated  forms. 
They  avowed  their  willingness  to  support  the  cause  of  freedom,  for  it  was  dear 
to  their  hearts,  if  adequate  provision  could  be  made  for  their  comfort,  and  then 
boldly  reiterated  their  intention  to  march  directly  to  Philadelphia,  and  demand 
from  Congress  a  redress  of  their  grievances. 

Finding  threats  and  persuasions  useless,  Wayne  concluded  to  accompany 
the  mutineers.  When  they  reached  Princeton,  they  presented  the  general  with 
a  written  programme  of  their  demands.  It  appeared  reasonable  ;  but  not  being 
authorized  to  promise  them  any  thing,  the  matter  was  referred  to  Congress. 
That  body  immediately  appointed  a  commission  to  confer  with  the  insurgents. 
The  result  was  a  compliance  with  their  just  demands,  and  the  disbanding  of  a 
large  part  of  the  Pennsylvania  line,  for  the  winter,  which  was  filled  by  new 
recruits  in  the  spring.5 

1  Page  245.     Thirty  dollars  in  paper  -were  then  worth  only  one  in  silver. 

2  The  terms,  as  expressed,  were,  that  ithey  should  "  serve  for  three  years,  or  during  the  war;" 
that  is,  for  three  years  if  the  war  continued,  or  be  discharged  sooner  if  the  war  should  end  sooner. 
The  officers  claimed  that  they  were  bound  to  serve  as  long  as  the  war  should  continue. 

3  The  head-quarters  of  Washington  were  now  at  New  "Windsor,  just  above  the  Hudson  High- 
lands.    The  Pennsylvania  troops  were  cantoned  at  Morristown,  New  Jersey ;  and  the  New  Jersey 
troops  were  at  Pompton,  in  the  same  State.  4  Page  298. 

6  Intelligence  of  this  revolt  reached  Washington  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton  on  the  same  day. 
"Washington  took  measures  immediately  to  suppress  the  mutiny,  and  prevent  the  bad  influence  of  its 
example.  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  mistaking  the  spirit  of  the  mutineers,  thought  to  gain  great  advantage 
by  the  event.  He  dispatched  two  emissaries,  a  British  sergeant,  and  a  New  Jersey  Tory  named 
Ogden,  to  the  insurgents,  with  the  written  offer  that,  on  laying  down  their  arms  and  marching  to 
New  York,  they  should  receive  their  arrearages,  and  the  amount  of  the  depreciation  of  the  Conti- 
nental currency,  in  hard  cash ;  that  they  should  be  well  clothed,  have  a  free  pardon  for  all  past 
offenses,  and  be  taken  under  the  protection  of  the  British  government ;  and  that  no  military  service 


1781.]       SEVENTH  YEAR   OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPEND  EN.CE.       329 

On  the  18th  of  January,  a  portion  of  the  New  Jersey  line,  at  Pompton, 
followed  the  example  of  their  comrades  at  Morristown.  The  mutiny  was  soon 
quelled  [January  27],  but  by  harsher  means  than  Wayne  had  employed.  Gen- 
eral Robert  Howe1  was  sent  by  Washington,  with  five  hundred  men,  to  restore 
order.  Two  of  the  ringleaders  were  hanged,  and  the  remainder  quietly  sub- 
mitted. These  events  had  a  salutary  effect.  They  aroused  Congress  and  the 
people  to  the  necessity  of  more  efficient  measures  for  the  support  of  the  army. 
Taxes  were  imposed  and  cheerfully  paid ;  a  special  agent,  sent  abroad  to  obtain 
loans,  was  quite  successful,2  and  a  national  bank3  was  established  at  Philadel- 
phia, and  placed  under  the  charge  of  Robert  Morris,4  to  whose  superintendence 
Congress  had  recently  intrusted  the  public  Treasury.  To  his  efforts  and  finan- 
cial credit,  the  country  was  indebted  for  the  means  to  commence  offensive  opera- 
tions in  the  spring  of  1781.  He  collected  the  taxes,  and  by  the  free  use  of  his 
ample  private  fortune,  and  his  public  credit,  he  supplied  the  army  with  flour 
and  other  necessaries,  and  doubtless  prevented  their  disbanding"  by  their  own 
act. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  events  in  the  South.     While  half-starved, 
half-naked  troops  were  making  such  noble  displays  of  patriotism  amid  the  snows 

should  be  required  of  them,  unless  voluntarily  offered.  Sir  Henry  requested  them  to  appoint  agents 
to  treat  with  his  and  adjust  the  terms  of  a  treaty ;  and,  not  doubting  the  success  of  his  plans,  he 
went  to  Staten  Island  himself,  with  a  large  body  of  troops,  to  act  as  circumstances 'might  require. 
Like  his  masters  at  home,  ho  entirely  misapprehended  the  spirit  and  the  incentives  to  action  of  the 
American  soldiers.  They  were  not  mercenary — not  soldiers  by  profession,  fighting  merely  for  hire. 
The  protection  of  their  homes,  their  wives  and  little  ones,  and  the  defense  of  holy  principles,  which 
their  general  intelligsnca  understood  and  appreciated,  formed  the  motive-power  and  the  bond  of  union 
of  the  American  army ;  and  the  soldier's  money  stipend  was  the  least  attractive  of  all  the  induce- 
ments which  urged  him  to  take  up  arms.  Yet  as  it  was  necessary  to  his  comfort,  and  even  his 
existence,  tli3  want  of  it  afford3d  a  just  pretext  for  the  assumption  of  powers  delegated  to  a  few. 
The  mutiny  was  a  democratic  movement :  and,  while  the  patriot  felt  justified  in  using  his  weapons 
to  redress  grievanc3S,  he  still  looked  with  horror  upon  the  armed  oppressors  of  his  country,  and 
regarded  the  a  jt  and  stain  of  treason,  und".r  any  circumstances,  as  worse  than  the  infliction  of  death. 
Clinton's  proposals  were,  therefore,  rejected  with  disdain.  "  See,  comrades,"  said  one  of  the  leaders, 
"he  takes  us  for  traitors.  L3t  us  show  him  that  tho  American  army  can  furnish  but  one  Arnold, 
and  that  Arrurica  has  no  truer  friends  than  we."  They  immediately  seized  the  emissaries,  who. 
being  deliver3d,  with  Clinton's  papers,  into  the  hands  of  Wayne,  were  tried  and  executed  as  spies, 
and  the  reward  which  had  bsen  offered,  for  their  apprehension  was  tendered  to  tho  mutineers  who 
seized  them.  They  sealed  tho  pledga  of  their  patriotism  by  nobly  refusing  it,  saying,  "Necessity 
wrung  from  us  the  act  of  demanding  justice  from  Congress,  but  we  desire  no  reward  for  doing  our 
duty  to  our  bleeding  country  !"  A  committee  of  Congress,  appointed  to  report  on  the  condition  of 
the  army,  said,  a  short  timo  previous  to  this  event,  that  it  was  "unpaid  for  five  months;  that  it 
seldom  had  more  than  six  days'  provisions  in  advance,  and  was,  on  several  occasions,  for  sundry 
successive  days,  without  meat ;  that  tho  medical  department  had  neither  sugar,  coffee,  tea,  choco- 
late, wine,  nor  spirituous  liquors  of  any  kind,  and  that  every  department  of  the  army  was  without 
money,  and  had  not  even  the  shadow  of  credit  left."  1  Page  292. 

2  Colonel  John  Laurens    [See   page   348],  a  son  of  Henry  Laurens  [page  348],  had  been  sent 
to  France  to  ask  for  aid.     While  earnestly  pressing  his  suit,  with  Yergennes,  the  French  minister, 
one  day,  that  official  said,  that  the  king  had  every  disposition  to  favor  the  United  States.     This 
patronizing  expression  kindled  the  indignation  of  the  young  diplomatist,  and  he  replied  with  empha- 
sis, "  Favor,  sir !     The  respect  which  I  owe  to  my  country  will  not  admit  the  term.     Say  that  the 
obligation  is  mutual,  and  I  will  acknowledge  the  obligation.     But,  as  the  last  argument  I  shall  offer 
to  your  Excolbncy,  the  sword  which  I  now  wear  in  defense  of  France,  as  well  as  my  own  country, 
unless  the  succor  I  solicit  is  immediately  accorded,  I  may  be  compelled,  within  a  short  time,  to  draw 
against  France,  as  a  British  subject."     This  had  the  effect  intended.     The  French  dreaded  a  recon- 
ciliation of  the  coloni3S  with  Great  Britain,  and  soon  a  subsidy  of  one  million  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  a  further  sum,  as  a  loan,  was  granted.     The  French  minister  also  gave  a  guaranty  for 
a  Dutch  loan  of  about  two  millions  of  dollars. 

3  This  was  called  the  Bank  of  North  America,  and  was  the  first  institution  of  the  kind  estab- 
lished in  this  country.  4  Page  264 


330  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1781. 

of  New  Jersey,  Arnold,  the  arch-traitor,1  now  engaged  in  the  service  of  his 
royal  master,  was  commencing  a  series  of  depredations  upon  lower  Virginia, 
with  about  sixteen  hundred  British  and  Tory  troops,  and  a  few  armed  vessels. 
He  arrived  at  Hampton  Roads"  on  the  30th  of  December.  Anxious  to  distin- 
guish himself,  he  pushed  up  the  James  River,  and  after  destroying  [January  5, 
1781]  a  large  quantity  of  public  and  private  stores  at  Richmond,  and  vicinity, 
he  went  to  Portsmouth  [Jan.  20],  opposite  Norfolk,  and  made  that  his  head- 
quarters. Great  efforts  were  made  by  the  Americans  to  seize  and  punish  the 
traitor.  The  Virginia  militia  men  were  collected  in  great  numbers,  for  the 
purpose ;  and  Jefferson,  then  governor  of  that  State,  offered  a  reward  of  five 
thousand  guineas  for  his  capture.3  La  Fayette  was  sent  into  Virginia,  with 
twelve  hundred  men,  to  oppose  him ;  and  a  portion  of  the  French  fleet  went 
[March  8,  1781]  from  Rhode  Island,  to  shut  him  up  in  the  Elizabeth  River, 
and  assist  in  capturing  him.  But  all  these  efforts  failed.  He  was  brave,  vigil- 
ant, and  exceedingly  cautious.  Admiral  Arbuthnot4  pursued  and  attacked  the 
French  fleet  on  the  16th  of  March,  and  compelled  it  to  return  to  Newport ;  and 
General  Phillips  soon  afterward  joined  Arnold  [March  26],  with  more  than 
two  thousand  men,  and  took  the  chief  command.  In  April,  the  traitor  accom- 
panied Phillips  on  another  expedition  up  the  James  River,  and  after  doing  as 
much  mischief  as  possible  between  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  he  returned  to 
New  York.5  We  shall  meet  Arnold  presently  on  the  New  England  coast.6 

During  the  year  1781,  the  southern  States  became  the  most  important 
theater  of  military  operations.  General  Greene7  was  appointed,  on  the  30th  of 
October,  1780,  to  succeed  General  Gates  in  the  direction  of  the  southern  army. 
He  first  proceeded  to  Hillsborough,  to  confer  with  Governor  Nash,  and  other 
civil  officers  of  North  Carolina,  and  arrived  at  the  head-quarters  of  the  army, 
at  Charlotte,  on  the  second  of  December.  On  the  following  day  he  took  formal 
command,  and  Gates  immediately  set  out  for  the  head-quarters  of  Washington, 
in  East  Jersey,  to  submit  to  an  inquiry  into  his  conduct  at  Camden,8  which 
Congress  had  ordered.  Greene,  with  his  usual  energy,  at  once  prepared  to 
confront  or  pursue  the  enemy,  as  occasion  might  require.  He  arranged  his 
little  army  into  two  divisions.  With  the  main  body  he  took  post  at  Cheraw, 
east  of  the  Pedee,  and  General  Morgan  was  sent  with  the  remainder  (about 
a  thousand  strong)  to  occupy  the  country  near  the  junction  of  the  Pacolet  and 
Broad  Rivers.  Cornwallis,  who  was  just  preparing  to  march  into  North  Car- 

1  Page  325.  2  Page  243.'  3  Pago  326.  4  Page  310. 

6  General  Phillips  sickened  and  died  at  Petersburg.  Lord  Cornwallis,  who  arrived  from  North 
Carolina  soon  afterward  [page  338]  took  the  chief  command.  In  a  skirmish,  a  short  distance  from 
Petersburg,  on  the  27th  of  April  [1781],  in  which  Arnold  was  engaged,  he  took  some  Americans 
prisoners.  To  one  of  them  he  put  the  question,  "  If  the  Americans  should  catch  me,  what  would 
they  do  to  me?"  The  soldier  promptly  replied,  "They  would  bury  with  military  honors  the  leg 
which  was  wounded  at  Saratoga,  and  hang  the  remainder  of  you  upon  a  gibbet." 

6  Page  340. 

7  Nathanial  Greene  was  born,  of  Quaker  parents,  in  Rhode  Island,  in  1740.    He  was  an  anchor- 
smith,  and  was  pursuing  his  trade  when  the  Revolution  broke  out.     He  hastened  to  Boston  after 
the  skirmish  at  Lexington,  and  from  that  time  until  the  close  of  the  war,  he  was  one  of  the  most 
useful  officers  in  the  army.     He  died  near  Savannah,  in  June,  1786,  and  was  buried  in  a  vault  in 
that  city.     His  sepulchre  can  not  now  be  identified.     No  living  person  knows  in  what  vault  his 
remains  were  deposited,  and  there  is  no  record  to  cast  light  upon  the  question.  8  Page  315. 


1781.]      SEVENTH  YEAR   OF  THE   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.       331 

olina  again,1  when  Greene  made  this  disposition  of  his  army,  found  himself  in 
a  dangerous  position,  for  he  was  placed  between  the  two  divisions.  Unwilling 
to  leave  Morgan  in  his  rear,  he  sent  Tarletoii  to  capture  or  disperse  his  com- 


mand.  The  Americans  retreated  before  this  superior  force,  but  were  overtaken 
at  the  Cow pens -,  in  Spartanburg  district,  and  compelled  to  fight.2  There,  well 
posted  upon  an  eminence,  Morgan3  and  his  brave  follow- 
ers turned  upon  their  pursuers.  Tarleton  was  discon- 
certed by  this  movement,  for  he  expected  to  overtake  the 
Americans  while  on  the  wing  ;  yet,  feeling  confident  of 
an  easy  victory,  he  quickly  arranged  his  line  in  battle 
order.  It  was  now  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  [January 
17,' 1781].  At  a  signal  from  Tarleton,  his  advance  gave 
a  shout,  and  rushed  furiously  to  the  contest,  under  cover 
of  artillery,  and  an  incessant  discharge  of  musketry. 


GENERAL   MORGAN. 


1  Page  318. 

2  The  scene  of  the  battle  is  among  the  Thieketty  Mountains,  west  of  the  Broad  River.     It  was 
called  Cowpens  from  the  fact,  that  some  time  before  the  Revolution,  some  traders  at  Camden  kept 
herds  of  cows  in  that  fertile  region. 

3  Daniel  Morgan,  commander  of  the  famous  rifle  corps  of  the  Revolution,  was  born  in  New  Jer- 
sey, in  1738,  and  was  in  the  humble  sphere  of  a  wagoner,  when  called  to  the  field.     He  had  been 
a  soldier  under  Braddock,  and  joined  Washington  at  Cambridge,  in  1775.     He  served  with  distinc- 
tion in  the  army  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  a  farmer  in  Virginia  after  the  war,  where  he  died  in 


332  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1781. 

The  Americans  were  prepared  to  receive  them,  and  combatted  with  them  for 
more  than  two  hours,  with  skill  arid  bravery.  The  British  were  defeated,  with 
a  loss  of  almost  three  hundred  men  in  killed  and 
wounded,  five  hundred  made  prisoners,  and  a  large  quan- 
tity of  arms,  ammunition,  and  stores.  It  was  a  brilliant 
victory ;  and  Congress  gave  Morgan  a  gold  medal,  as  a 
token  of  its  approbation.  Colonels  Howard1  and  Wash- 
ington,2 whose  soldierly  conduct  won  the  battle,  received 
each  a  silver  medal. 

When  the  battle  wTas  ended,  Morgan  pushed  forward 

COLONEL  WASHINGTON.  .,,     i  .  .  .     ,         v  ,-,        ^    ,        -,  ^ 

with  his  prisoners,  intending  to  cross  the  Latawba,  and 

make  his  way  toward  Virginia.  Cornwallis  started  in  pursuit  of  him,  as  soon 
as  he  heard  of  the  defeat  of  Tarleton.  He  destroyed  his  heavy  baggage,  and 
hastened  with  his  whole  army  toward  the  Catawba  to  intercept  Morgan  and 
his  prisoners,  before  they  should  cross  that  stream.  But  he  was  too  late.  He 
did  not  reach  that  river  until  in  the  evening,  two  hours  after  Morgan  had 
crossed.  Then  feeling  confident  of  his  prey,  he  deferred  his  passage  of  the 
stream  until  morning.  A  heavy  rain  during  the  night  filled  the  river  to  its 
brim  ;  and  while  the  British  were  detained  by  the  flood,  Morgan  had  reached 
the  banks  of  the  Yadkin,  where  he  was  joined  by  General  Greene  and  his  escort. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  military  movements  on  record,  now  occurred. 
It  was  the  retreat  of  the  American  army,  under  Greene,  from  the  Catawba, 
through  North  Carolina,  into  Virginia.  When  the  waters  of  the  Catawba  had 
subsided,  the  next  day,  Cornwallis  crossed,  and  resumed  his  pursuit.  He 
reached  the  western  bank  of  the  Yadkin  on  the  3d  of  February  [1781],  just  as 
the  Americans  were  safely  landed  on  the  eastern  shore.  There  he  was  again 
arrested  in  his  progress  by  a  sudden  swelling  of  the  floods.  Onward  the  patriots 
pressed,  and  soon  again  Cornwallis  was  in  full  chase.  At  Guilford  Court-house, 
the  capital  of  Guilford  county.  Greene  was  joined  [February  7],  by  his  main 
body  from  Cheraw,3  and  all  continued  the  flight,  for  they  were  not  strong 
enough  to  turn  and  fight.  After  many  hardships  and  narrow  escapes  during 
the  retreat,  the  Americans  reached  the  Dan  on  the  13th  of  February,  and 

1  John  Eager  Howard,  of  the  Maryland  line.     He  was  born  in  Baltimore  county  in  1752.     Ho 
went  into  military  service  at  the  commencement  of  the  war.    He  was  in  all  the  principal  battles  of 
the  Revolution,  was  chosen  governor  of  Maryland  in  1778,  was  afterwad  United  States  Senator,  and 
died  in  October,  1827. 

2  William  Washington,  a  relative  of 'the  general.     He  was  born  in  Stafford  county,  Virginia. 
He  entered  the  army  under  Mercer,  who  was  killed  at  Princeton  [page  269],  and  greatly  distin- 
guished himself  at  the  South,  as  a  commander  of  a  corps  of  cavalry.     Taken  prisoner  at  Euta\v 
Springs  [page  338],  he  remained  a  captive  till  the  close  of  the  war,  and  died  in  Charleston,  in 
March,  1810.     In  a  personal  combat  with  Tarleton  in  the  battle  at  the  Cowpens,  Washington 
wounded  his  antagonist  in  his  hand.     Some  months  afterward,  Tarleton  said,  sneeringly,  to  Mrs. 
Willie  Jones,  a  witty  American  lady,  of  Halifax,  North  Carolina,  "  Colonel  Washington,  I  am  told, 
is  illiterate,  and  can  not  write  his  own  name."     "Ah!  colonel,"  said  Mrs.  Jones,  "you  ought  to 
know  better,  for  you  bear  evidence  that  he  can  make  his  mark."     At  another  time  he  expressed  a 
desire  to  see  Colonel  Washington.     Mrs.  Ashe,  Mrs.  Jones's  sister,  instantly  replied,  "  Had  you 
looked  behind  you  at  the  Cowpens  you  might  have  had  that  pleasure."     Stung  by  this  keen  wit, 
Tarleton  placed  his  hand  upon  his  sword.     General  Leslie  [page  3471,  who  was  present,  remarked, 
"Say  what  you  please,.  Mrs.  Ashe;  Colonel  Tarleton  knows  better  "than  to  insult  a  lady  in  my 
presence."    "  3  Page  330. 


178L]       SEVENTH  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR   FOR  INDEPENDENCE.        333 


crossed  its  rising  waters  safely  into  the  friendly  bosom  of  Halifax  county,  in 
Virginia,  When  Cornwallis  arrived,  a  few  hours  later  [February  14],  the 
stream  was  too  much  swollen  to  allow  him  to  cross.  For  the  third  time  the 
waters,  as  if  governed  by  a  special  Providence,  interposed  a  barrier  between 
the  pursuers  and  the  pursued.  Mortified  and  dispirited,  the  earl  here  aban- 
doned the  chase,  and  moving  sullenly  southward  through  North  Carolina,  he 
established  his  camp  at  Hillsborough. 

General  Greene  remained  in  Virginia  only  long  enough  to  refresh  his  troops, 
and  receive  recruits,1  and  then  he  re- crossed  the  Dan 
[February  23],  to  oppose  Cornwallis  in  his  efforts  to 
embody  the  loyalists  of  North  Carolina  under  the  royal 
banner.  Colonel  Lee,2  with  his  cavalry,  scoured  the 
country  around  the  head  waters  of  the  Haw  and  Deep 
Rivers,  and  by  force  and  stratagem  foiled  the  efforts 
of  Tarleton,  who  was  recruiting  in  that  region.  On  one 
occasion  he  defeated  and  dispersed  [March  2]  a  body  of 
three  hundred  loyalists  under  Colonel  Pyle,3  near  the 
Alamance  Creek,  after  which  the  Tories  kept  quiet,  and 
very  few  dared  to  take  up  arms.  Greene,  in  the  mean 
while,  had  moved  cautiously  forward,  and  on  the  first 

of  March  [1781],  he  found  himself  at  the  head  of  almost  five  thousand  troops. 
Fesling  strong  enough  now  to  cope  with  Cornwallis,  he  sought  an  engagement 
with  him,  and  on  the  15th  they  met,  and  fiercely  contended,  near  Guilford 
Court-house,  about  five  miles  from  the  present  village  of 
Greensborough,  in  Guilford  county,  North  Carolina. 
That  battle,  which  continued  for  almost  two  hours,  was 
one  of  the  severest  of  the  war.  Although  the  Americans 
were  repulsed  and  the  British  became  masters  of  the  field, 
the  victory  was  almost  as  destructive  for  Cornwallis  as  a 
defeat.  "  Another  such  victory,"  said  Charles  Fox  in  the 
British  House  of  Commons,  "  will  ruin  the  British  army."4 
Both  parties  suffered  severely ;  and,  in  some  degree,  the 
line  of  the  Scotch  ballad  might  be  applied  to  them : 


COLONEL   HENRY   LEE. 


BATTLE   OF   GUILFORD. 


"  They  baith  did  fight,  they  baith  did  beat,  they  baith  did  rin  awa." 


1  On  his  way  south,  to  take  command  of  the  southern  army,  he  left  the  Baron  Steuben  [page 
291]  in  Virginia,  to  gather  recruits,  provisions,  &c.,  and  forward  them  to  him.     This  service  the 
Baron  performed  with  efficiency. 

2  Henry  Lee  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  1756.     He  entered  the  military  service  as  captain  of  a 
Virginia  company  in  1776,  and  in  1777  joined  the  continental  army.     At  the  head  of  a  legion,  he 
performed  extraordinary  services  during  the  war,  especially  at  the  South.     He  was  afterward  gov- 
ernor of  Virginia,  and  a  member  of  Congress.     He  died  in  1818. 

8  Lee  sent  two  young  countrymen,  whom  he  had  captured,  to  the  camp  of  Pyle,  to  inform  that 
leader  that  Tarleton  was  approaching,  and  wished  to  meet  him.  Pyle  had  never  seen  Tarleton,  and 
when  he  came  up  he  supposed  Lee  and  his  party  to  be  that  of  the  renowned  British  officer. 
Friendly  salutations  were  expressed,  and  at  a  word,  the  Americans  fell  upon  the  loyalists,  killed 
almost  a  hundred  of  them,  and  dispersed  the  remainder.  This  event  took  place  two  or  three  miles 
from  the  scene  of  the  Regulator  battle  mentioned  on  page  223. 

4  That  statesman  moved  in  committee,  "  That  his  majesty's  ministers  ought  immediately  to  take 
every  possible  means  for  concluding  peace  with  our  American  colonies."  Young  William  Pitt,  the 


334 


THE     REVOLUTION. 


. 
[1781. 


IIOBKIRK'S  HILL. 


The  battalions  of  Cornwallis  were  so  shattered,1  that  he  could  not  maintain 
the  advantage  he  had  gained ;  while  the  Americans  retreated  in  good  order  to 
the  Reedy  Fork.  Thoroughly  dispirited,  he  abandoned  Western  Carolina,  and 
moved  [March  19]  with  his  whole  army,  to  Wilmington,  near  the  sea-board. 
Greene  rallied  his  forces  and  pursued  the  British  as  far  as  Deep  River,  in 
Chatham  county.  There  he  relinquished  the  pursuit,  and  prepared  to  re-enter 
South  Carolina. 

Lord  Rawdon,2  one  of  the  most  efficient  of  Cornwallis's  chief  officers,  was 
now  in  command  of  a  British  force  at  Camden.  On  the  6th  of  April,  Greene 
marched  directly  for  that  place,  and  on  the  19th,  he 
encamped  on  Hobkirk's  Hill,  about  a  mile  from  Rawdon's 
intrenchments.  Six  days  afterward  [April  25,  1781],  he 
was  surprised3  and  defeated  by  Rawdon,  after  a  sharp  battle 
for  several  hours,  in  which  the  Americans  lost,  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing,  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  men. 
The  British  lost  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight.4  The  British 
retired  to  their  works  at  Camden,  and  Greene,  with  his 
little  army,  encamped  for  the  night  on  the  north  side  of 
Sanders' s  Creek.5  Greene  conducted  his  retreat  so  well, 
that  he  carried  away  all  his  artillery  and  baggage,  with 
fifty  British  prisoners,  who  were  captured  by  Colonel  Washington.0 

This  defeat  was  unexpected  to  Greene,7  yet  he  was  not  the  man  to  be 

successor  of  his  father,  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  inveighed  eloquently  against  a  further  prosecution  of 
the  war.  He  averred  that  it  was  "wicked,  barbarous,  unjust,  and  diabolical — conceived  in  injust- 
ice, nurtured  in  folly — a  monstrous  thing  that  contained  every  characteristic  of  moral  depravity  and 
human  turpitude — as  mischievous  to  the  unhappy  people  of  England  as  to  the  Americans."  Yet, 
as  in  former  years,  the  British  government  was  blind  and  stubborn  still. 

1  The  Americans  lost  in  killed  and  wounded,  about  four  hundred  men,  besides  almost  a  thousand 
who  deserted  to  their  homes.  The  loss  of  the  British  was  over  six  hundred.  Among  the  officers 
who  were  killed  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  "Webster,  who  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  men  in  the 
British  army.  On  this  occasion,  Greene's  force  was  much  superior  in  number  to  that  of  Cornwallis, 
and  he  had  every  advantage  of  position.  Events  such  as  are  generally  overlooked  by  the  historian, 
but  which  exhibit  a  prominent  trait  in  the  character  of  the  people  of  North  Carolina,  occurred  during 
this  battle,  and  deserve  great  prominence  in  a  description  of  the  gloomy  picture,  for  they  form 
a  few  touches  of  radiant  light  in  the  midst  of  the  sombre  coloring.  While  the  roar  of  cannon 
boomed  over  the  country,  groups  of  women,  in  the  Buffalo  and  Alamance  congregations,  who  were 
under  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Caldwell,  might  have  been  seen  engaged  in  common 
prayer  to  the  God  of  Hosts  for  his  protection  and  aid ;  and  in  many  places,  the  solitary  voice  of  a 
pious  woman  went  up  to  the  Divine  Ear,  with  the  earnest  pleadings  of  faith,  for  the  success  of  the 
Americans.  The  battling  hosts  were  surrounded  by  a  cordon  of  praying  women  during  those  dread- 
ful hours  of  contest.  2  Page  315. 

8  Greene  was  breakfasting  at  a  spring  on  the  eastern  slope  of  Hobkirk's  Hill,  when  Rawdon's 
army,  by  a  circuitous  rout  through  a  forest,  fell  upon  him.  Some  of  his  men  were  cleaning  their 
guns,  others  were  washing  their  clothes,  and  all  were  unsuspicious  of  danger. 

4  The  number  killed  was  remarkably  small.  Only  eighteen  of  the  Americans,  and  thirty-eight 
of  the  British,  were  slain  on  the  battle-field.  6  Page  315. 

8  He  had  captured  two  hundred,  but  hastily  paroling  the  officers  and  some  of  the  men,  he  took 
only  fifty  with  him. 

7  Greene  had  some  desponding  views  of  the  future  at  this  time.  To  Luzerne,  the  French  min- 
ister at  Philadelphia,  he  earnestly  wrote :  l;This  distressed  country  cannot  struggle  much  longer 
without  more  effectual  support.  *  *  *  "We  fight,  get  beaten,  rise,  and  fight  again.  The  whole 
country  is  one  continued  scene  of  blood  and  slaughter."  To  La  Fayette.  he  wrote:  "You  may 
depend  upon  it,  that  nothing  can  equal  the  sufferings  of  our  little  army,  but  their  merit."  To  Gov- 
ernor Reed,  of  Pennsylvania,  he  wrote:  "If  our  good  friends,  the  French,  cannot  lend  a  helping 
hand  to  save  these  sinking  States,  they  must  and  will  fall."  At  that  time,  the  French  army  had 
remained  for  several  months  inactive,  in  New  England. 


1781.]      SEVENTH  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.       335 

crushed  by  adversity.  On  the  morning  succeeding  the  battle,  he  retired  as  far 
as  Rugeley's  Mills,  and  then  crossing  the  Wateree,  he  took  a  strong  position 
for  offensive  and  defensive  operations.  The  two  armies  were  now  about  equal 
in  numbers,  and  Greene's  began  to  increase.  Alarmed  by  this,  and  for  the 


safety  of  his  posts  in  the  lower  country,  Rawdon  set  fire  to  Camden  and 
retreated  [May  10,  1781]  to  Nelson's  Ferry,  on  the  Santee.  He  had  ordered 
Lieutenant- Colonel  Cruger1  to  abandon  Ninety-six2  and  join  Brown  at  Augusta,3 
and  had  also  directed  Maxwell,  the  commander  of  Fort  Granby,4  to  leave  that 
post,  and  retire  to  Orangeburg,5  on  the  North  Edisto.  But  his  orders  and  his 
movements  were  made  too  late.  Within  the  space  of  a  week,  four  important 
posts  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans,6  and  Greene  was  making  rapid  marches 
toward  Ninety-six.  Lee  had  pressed  forward  and  co-operated  with  Pinckney  in 

1  Page  313. 

2  So  called  because  it  was  ninety-six  miles  from  the  frontier  fort,  Prince  George,  on  the  Keowee 
River.    Its  site  is  occupied  by  the  pleasant  village  of  Cambridge,  in  Abbeville  District,  one  hundred 
and  forty-seven  miles  north-west  from  Charleston.  3  Page  313. 

4  On  the  western  side  of  the  Congaree,  two  miles  from  the  present  city  of  Columbia,  South 
Carolina 

*  On  the  east  bank  of  the  North  Edisto,  about  sixty-five  miles  south  of  Columbia. 

Lee  and  Marion  were  the  principal  leaders  against  these  posts.  Orangeburg  was  taken  on  the 
llth  of  May ;  Fort  Motto  on  the  12th;  the  post  at  Nelson's  Ferry  on  the  14th,  and  Fort  Granby  on 
the  16th.  Fort  Watson,  situated  on  the  Santee,  a  few  miles  above  Nelson's  Ferry,  was  taken  on 
the  16th  of  April.  Nelson's  Ferry  is  at  the  mouth  of  Eutaw  Creek,  on  the  Santee,  about  fifty  miles 
from  Charleston.  Fort  Motte  was  near  the  junction  of  the  Wateree  and  Congaree  Rivers,  and  was, 
because  of  its  geographical  position,  the  most  important  of  all  these  posts.  It  was  composed  of  the 
fine  residence  of  Rebecca  Motte  (a  widowed  mother,  with  six  children),  and  temporary  fortifications 
constructed  around  it.  Mrs.  Motte,  who  was  an  ardent  Whig:,  had  been  driven  to  her  farm-house 
upon  an  eminence  near  by.  Marion  and  Lee  appeared  before  Fort  Motte  with  a  considerable  force, 
but  having  only  one  piece  of  artillery,  could  make  but  slight  impression.  The  expected  approach 


336 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


[178]. 


holding  the  country-between  Ninety-six  and  Augusta,  to  prevent  a  junction  of 
the  garrisons  at  either  of  those  places ;  and  thus,  by  skillful  operations,  the 
Americans  completely  paralyzed  the  lately  potent  strength  of  the  enemy.  -  At 
the  beginning  of  June  [1781],  the  British  possessed  only  three  posts  in  South 
Carolina,  namely,  Charleston,  Nelson's  Ferry,  and  Ninety-six. 

On  the  22d  of  May  [1781],  Greene  commenced  the  siege  of  Ninety-six,1 
with  less  than  a  thousand  regulars  and  a  few  raw  militia.  Kosciuszko,2  the 
brave  Pole,  was  his  chief  engineer,  and  the  post  being  too  strong  to  be  captured 
by  assault,  the  Americans  commenced  making  regular  ap- 
proaches, by  parallels.3  Day  after  day  the  work  went 
slowly  on,  varied  by  an  occasional  sortie.  For  almost  a 
month,  the  efforts  of  the  Americans  were  unavailing.  Then 
hearing  of  the  approach  of  Rawdon,  with  a  strong  force,  to 
the  relief  of  Cruger,  they  made  an  unsuccessful  effort,  on 
the  18th  of  June,  to  take  the  place  by  storm.  They  raised 
the  siege  the  following  evening  [June  19],  and  retreated 
beyond  the  Saluda.  Rawdon  pursued  them  a  short  distance,  when  he  wheeled 
and  marched  to  Orangeburg. 

Although  unsuccessful  at  Ninety-six,  detachments  of  the  Republican  army 
were  victorious  elsewhere.  While  this  siege  was  pro- 
gressing, Lee  and  Pickens,  with  Clarke  and  others  of 
Georgia,  were  making  successful  efforts  on  the  Savan- 
nah River.  Lee  captured  Fort  Galphin,  twelve  miles 
below  Augusta,  on  the  21st  of  May,  and  then  he  sent 
an  officer  to  that  post,  to  demand  of  Brown  an  instant 
surrender  of  his  garrison.  Brown  refused,  and  the 
siege  of  Augusta  wTas  commenced  on  the  23d.  It 
continued  until  the  4th  of  June,  when  a  general  as- 


FORT  NIXETY-SIX. 


GENERAL   PICKEXS. 


of  Rawdon,  would  not  allow  them  to  make  the  slow  process  of  a  regular  siege.  Lee  proposed  to 
hurl  some  burning  missile  upon  the  building,  and  consume  it.  To  this  destruction  of  her  property, 
Mrs.  Motte  at  once  consented,  and  bringing  out  a  bow  and  some  arrows,  which  had  been  brought 
from  the  East  Indies,  these  were  used  successfully  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  fire  to  the  dry  roof. 
The  house  was  partially  destroyed,  when  the  British  surrendered.  The  patriotic  lady  then  regaled 
both  the  American  and  British  officers  with  a  good  dinner  at  her  own  table.  Colonel  Horry  (one 
of  Marion's  officers),  in  his  narrative,  mentions  some  pleasing  incidents  which  occurred  at  the  table 
of  Mrs.  Motte,  on  this  occasion.  Among  the  prisoners  was  Captain  Ferguson,  an  officer  of  consider- 
able reputation.  Finding  himself  near  ITorry,  Ferguson  said,  "  You  are  Colonel  Horry,  I  presume, 
sir."  Horry  replied  in  the  affirmative,  wljen  Ferguson  continued,  "  Well,  I  was  with  Colonel  Wat- 
son when  he  fought  your  General  Marion  on  Sampit.  I  think  I  saw  you  there  with  a  party  of 
horse,  and  also  at  Nelson's  Ferry,  when  Marion  surprised  our  party  at  the  house.  But,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  I  was  hid  in  high  grass,  and  escaped.  You  were  fortunate  in  your  escape  .at  Sampit,  for 
Watson  and  Small  had  twelve  hundred  men."  "If  so,"  replid  Horry,  "I  certainly  was  fortunate, 
for  I  did  not  suppose  they  had  more  than  half  that  number."  "I  consider  myself,"  added  the  cap- 
tain, "equally  fortunate  in  escaping  at  Nelson's  Old  Field."  "Truly  you  were,"  answered  Horry 
dryly,  "  for  Marion  had  but  thirty  militia  on  that  occasion."  The  officers  present  could  not  suppress 
laughter.  When  Greene  inquired  of  Horry  how  he  came  to  affront  Captain  Ferguson,  he  replied, 
"He  affronted  himself  by  telling  his  own  story." 

1  The  principal  work  was  a  star  redoubt  [note  3,  page  192].  There  was  a  picketed  inclosuro 
[note  1,  page  127]  around  the  little  village;  and  on  the  west  side  of  a  stream  running  from  a 
spring  (a)  was  a  stockade  [note  2,  page  183]  fort.  The  besiegers  encamped  at  four  different  points 
around  the  works.  2  Page  277. 

3  These  are  trenches,  dug  in  a  zig-zag  line  in  the  direction  of  the  fortress  to  be  assailed.     The 


1781.}      SEVENTH  YEAR   OF   THE   WAR   FOR    INDEPENDENCE.       337 

sault  was  agreed  upon.  Brown  now  proposed  a  surrender  ;  and  the  following 
day  [June  5,  1781]  the  Americans  took  possession  of  that  important  post. 
They  lost  fifty-one  men,  killed  and  wounded ;  the  British  lost  fifty-two  killed, 
and  three  hundred  and  thirty-four  (including  the  wounded)  were  made  pris- 
oners. At  the  close  of  the  siege,  Lee  and  Pickens1  hastened  to  join  Greene 
before  Ninety-six,  and  all,  on  the  approach  of  Rawdon,  retreated  beyond  the 
Saluda,  as  we  have  observed. 

The  two  chief  commanders  of  the  belligerent  forces  now  changed  relative 
positions.  When  Rawdon  retired  toward  Orangeburg,  Greene  became  his  pur- 
suer, and  sent  a  message  to  Marion  and  Sumter,  then  on  the  Santee,  to  take  a 
position  in  front  of  the  enemy,  so  as  to  retard  his  progress.2  Finding  Rawdon 
strongly  intrenched  at  Orangeburg,  Greene  deemed  it  prudent  not  to  attack 
him.  The  Americans  crossed  the  Congaree,  and  the  main  body  encamped  on 
the  High  Hills  of  Santee,  in  Santee  district,  there  to  pass  the  hot  and  sickly 
season.  Leaving  his  troops  at  Orangeburg,  in  the  command  of  Colonel  Stew- 
art (who  had  come  up  from  Charleston  with  a  reinforcement),  Rawdon  went  to 
the  sea-board  and  embarked  for  England.3 

Early  in  August,  Greene  was  reinforced  by  North  Carolina  troops,  under 
General  Sumner  ;  and  at  the  close  of  that  month  he  crossed  the  Wateree  and 
Congaree,  and  marched  upon  Orangeburg.  Stewart  (who  had  been  joined  by 


earth  is  cast  up  in  such  a  way  that  the  workmen  are  shielded  from  shots  from  the  assailed  works, 
and  in  this  way  they  get  near  enough  to  undermine  a  fort,  or  erect  a  battery,  so  as  to  have  a  power- 
ful effect. 

1  Andrew  Pickens  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1739.     In  childhood  ho  went  to  South  Car- 
olina, and  was  one  of  the  first  in  tho  field  for  liberty,  in  the  upper  country  of  that  State.     He  was  a 
very  useful  officer,  and  good  citizen.     He  died  in  1817,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years. 

2  It  is  related  that  the  message  to  Sumter  from  Greene  was  conveyed  by  Emily  Geiger,  the 
daughter  of  a  German  planter  in  Fairfield  district.     He  prepared  a  letter  to  that  officer,  but  none 
of  his  men  appeared  willing  to  attempt  the  hazardous  service,  for  the  Tories  were  on  the  alert,  as 
Rawdon  was  approaching  the  Congaree.     Greene  was  delighted  by  the  boldness  of  a  young  girl, 
not  more  than  eighteen  years  of  age,  .who  came  forward  and  volunteered  to  carry  the  letter  to  Sum- 
ter.    With  his  usual  caution,  he  communicated  the  contents  of  tho  letter  to  Emily,  fearing  she 
might  lose  it  on  tho  way.     The  maiden  mounted  a  fleet  horse,  and  crossing  the  Wateree  at  the 
Camden  Ferry,  press3:l  on  toward  Sumter's  camp.     Passing  through  a  dry  swamp  on  the  second 
day  of  her  journey,  slio  was  intercepted  by  some  Tory  scouts.  Coming  from  the  direction  of  Greene's 
army,  she  was  an  object  of  suspicion,  and  was  taken  to  a  house  on  the  edge  of  the  swamp,  and  con- 
fined in  a  room.     With  proper  delicacy,  they  sent  for  a  woman  to  search  her  person.     No  sooner 
was  she  left  alone,  than  she  ate  up  Greene's  letter  piece  by  piece.     After  a  while,  the  matron  ar- 
rived, mads  a  careful  search,  but  discovered  nothing.     With  many  apologies,  Emily  was  allowed  to 
pursue  her  journey.     She  reached  Sumter's  camp,  communicated  Greene's  message,  and  soon  Raw- 
don was  flying  before  the  Americans  toward   Orangeburg.     Emily  Geiger  afterward  married  Mr. 
Thurwits,  a  rich  planter  on  the  Congaree. 

3  A  short  time  before  he  sailed,  Rawdon  was  a  party  to  a  cruel  transaction  which  created  a 
great  deal  of  excitement  throughout  the  South.    Among  those  who  took  British  protection  after  tho 
fall  of  Charleston  in  1780  [page  311],  was  Colonel  Isaac  Hayne,  a  highly  respectable  Carolinian. 
When  General  Greene,  the  following  year,  confined  the  British  to  Charleston  alone,  and  their  pro- 
tection hid  no  force,  Hayno  considered  himself  released  from  the  obligations  of  his  parole,  took  up 
arms  for  his  country,  and  was  made  a  prisoner.     Colonel  Balfour  was  then  in  chief  command  at 
Charleston,  and  from  the  beginning  seemed  determined  on  the  death  of  Hayne.     Without  even  the 
form  of  a  trial,  that  patriot  was  condemned  to  be  hanged.    Not  one,  not  even  the  prisoner,  supposed 
that  such  a  cruelty  was  contemplated,  until  the  sentence  was  made  public,  and  he  was  informed 
that  he  had  but  two  days  to  live.     The  men  of  the  city  pleaded  for  him ;  the  women  signed  peti- 
tions, and  went  in  troops,  and  upon  their  knees,  implored  a  remission  of  his  sentence.     All  was 
in  vain.     Rawdon  had  exerted  his  influence  to  save  the  prisoner,  but  finally  he  consented  to  his 
execution,  as  a  traitor,  and  he  became  as  inexorable  as  Balfour.     Greene  was  inclined  to  retaliate, 
but,  fortunately,  hostilities  soon  afterward  ceased,  and  the  flow  of  blood  was  stopped. 

22 


338  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1781. 

Cruger  from  Ninety-six),  immediately  retreated  to  Eutaw  Springs,  near  the 
south-west  bank  of  the  Santee,  and  there  encamped.  Greene  pursued  ;  and  on 
the  morning  of  the  8th  of  September  [1781],  a  severe  battle  commenced.  The 
British  were  driven  from  their  camp  ;  and  Greene's  troops,  like  those  of  Sum- 
ter  at  Hanging  Rock,1  scattered  among  the  tents  of  the  enemy,  drinking  and 
plundering.  The  British  unexpectedly  renewed  the  battle,  and  after  .a  bloody 
conflict  of  about  four  hours,  the  Americans  were  obliged  to  give  way.  Stewart 
felt  insecure,  for  the  partisan  legions  were  not  far  oif;  and  that  night  the  Brit- 
ish retreated  toward  Charleston.  The  next  day  [Sept,  9,  1781],  Greene  ad- 
vanced and  took  possession  of  the  battle-field,  and  then  sent  detachments  in 
pursuit  of  the  enemy.  Both  parties  claimed  the  honor  of  a  victory.  It  be- 
longed to  neither,  but  the  advantage  was  with  the  Americans.  Congress  and 
the  whole  country  gave  warm  expressions  of  their  appreciation  of  the  valor  of 
the  patriots.  The  skill,  bravery,  caution,  and  acuteness  of  Greene,  were  highly 
applauded ;  and  Congress  ordered  a  gold  medal,  ornamented  with  emblems  of 
the  battle,  to  be  struck  in  honor  of  the  event,  and  presented  to  him,  together 
with  a  British  standard,  captured  on  that  occasion.  The  Americans  lost,  in 
killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  five  hundred  and  fifty-five.  The  British  lost  six 
hundred  and  ninety-three. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  upon  the  upper  waters  of  the  Santee,3 
Marion,  Sumter,  Lee,  and  other  partisans,  were  driving  British  detachments 
from  post  to  post,  in  the  loAver  country,  and  smiting  parties  of  loyalists  in  every 
direction.  The  British  finally  evacuated  all  their  interior  stations,  and  retired 
to  Charleston,  pursued  almost  to  the  verge  of  the  city  by  the  bold  American 
scouts  and  partisan  troops.  At  the  close  of  the  year  [1781]  the  British  at  the 
South  were  confined  to  Charleston  and  Savannah ;  and  besides  these  places, 
they  did  not  hold  a  single  post  south  of  New  York.  Late  in  the  season 
[November]  Greene  moved  his  army  to  the  vicinity  of  Charleston,3  placing  it 
between  that  city  and  the  South  Carolina  Legislature,  then  in  session  at  Jack- 
sonborough ;  wrhile  Wayne,  at  the  opening  of  1782,  was  closely  wTatching  the 
British  at  Savannah. 

We  left  Cornwallis,  after  the  battle  at  Guilford  Court-house,  making  his 
way  toward  Wilmington,4  then  in  possession  of  a  small  British  garrison,  under 
Major  Craig.  Cornwallis  arrived  there  on  the  seventh  of  April,  1781,  and 
remained  long  enough  to  recruit  and  rest  his  shattered  army.  Apprised  of 
Greene's  march  toward  Camden,  and  hoping  to  draw  him  away  from  Lord 
Rawdon,  then  encamped  there,0  he  marched  into  Virginia,  joined  the  forces  of 
Phillips  and  Arnold,  at  Petersburg!!,6  and  then  attempted  the  subjugation  of 
that  State.  He  left  Wilmington  on  the  25th  of  April,  crossed  the  Roanoke  at 

1  Tage  315. 

2  At  Columbia,  the  Saluda  and  Wateree  join,  and  form  the  Congaree.     This,  with  other  and 
smaller  tributaries,  form  the  Santee.     The  "Wateree,  above  Camden,  is  called  the  Catawba. 

3  After  the  battle  at  Eutaw  Springs,  Greene  again  encamped  on  the  High  Hills  of  Santee,  from 
whence  he  sent  out  expeditions  toward  Charleston.     These  were  successful,  and  the  enemy  was 
kept  close  upon  the  sea-board  during  the  remainder  of  the  war.  *  Page  334. 

6  Page  315.  6  Page  330. 


1781.]       SEVENTH   YEAR   OP   THE   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.       339 

Halifax,  and  on  the  20th  of  May,  reached  Petersburg.  La  Fayette  was  then 
in  Virginia,1  but  his  force  was  too  small  effectually  to  oppose  the  invaders,  and 
the  State  seemed  doomed  to  British  rule. 

For  the  purpose  of  bringing  La  Fayette  into  action,  Cornwallis  penetrated 
the  country  beyond  Richmond,  and  destroyed  an  immense  amount  of  property.2 
He  also  sent  out  marauding  parties  in  various  directions,3  and  for  several  weeks 
the  whole  State  was  kept  in  great  alarm.  He  finally  proceeded  [June,  1781] 
slowly  toward  the  coast,  closely  pursued  by  La  Fayette,  Wayne,  and  Steuben. 
While  lying  at  Williamsburg,  he  received  [June  29]  orders  from  General 
Clinton,  to  take  post  near  the  sea,  in  order  to  reinforce  the  garrison  at  New 
York,  if  necessary,  which  was  now  menaced  by  the  combined  American  and 
French  armies.  He  crossed  the  James  River  [July  9]  at  Old  Jamestown, 
where  he  was  attacked  by  Wayne  before  he  could  embark  his  troops.  Wayne 
struck  a  severe  blow,  and  then  skillfully  and  hastily  retreated  back  to 
the  main  army  under  La  Fayette,  then  only  two  miles  distant.  His  loss  was 
inconsiderable,  but  the  attack  damaged  the  British  seriously.  After  crossing 
the  river,  Cornwallis  proceeded  by  land  to  Portsmouth,  opposite  Norfolk ;  but 
disliking  that  situation,  he  went  to  Yorktown,  on  the  York  River,  and  com- 
menced fortifying  that  place  and  Gloucester  Point,  opposite. 

The  French  army  under  Rocliambeau,4  in  the  mean  while,  had  left  New 
England,  and  made  its  way  to  the  Hudson  River,  where 
it  joined  [July  6,  1781]  that  of  the  Americans,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Dobbs'  Ferry.5     At  that  time,  Washington, 
who    had    the    immediate   command   of    the   American 
forces,  contemplated  an  attack  upon  the  British  in  New 
York  city.     For  six  weeks  the  two  armies  remained  in 
Westchester  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  Count  De 
Grasse,  an  eminent    French    naval  commander,    to  co- 
operate in  the  attack.     While  preparing  to  strike  the 
blow,  Clinton  was  reinforced  [August  11]  by  nearly  three    COUXT  DE  B0cii  \MDE-VU 
thousand   troops   from   Europe ;    and  intelligence   came 
from  De  Grasse  that  he  could  not  then  leave  the  West  Indies.     Thus  foiled, 
Washington  turned  his  thoughts  to  Virginia ;  and  when,  a  few  days  afterward, 
he  learned  from  De  Ban-as,  the  successor  of  Ternay,0  in  command  of  the  French 

1  Page  330. 

2  The  principal  object  of  Cornwallis  in  marching  beyond  Richmond,  was  to  prevent  a  junction 
with  La  Fayette  of  troops  under  Wayne,  then  approaching  through  Maryland.      But  the  marquis 
was  too  expert,  outmarched  the  earl,  and  met  Wayne  on  the  10th  of  June. 

8  Colonel  Simcoe,  commander  of  an  active  corps  called  the  Queen's  JRangers,  was  sent  to  capture 
or  destroy  stores  at  the  junction  of  the  Fluvanna  and  Rivanna  Rivers.  Cornwallis  also  dispatched 
Tarleton  to  attempt  the  capture  of  Governor  Jefferson  and  the  Legislature,  who  had  fled  from  Rich- 
mond to  Charlottesville,  near  the  residence  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  Seven  members  of  the  Legislature  fell 
into  his  hands  [June  4],  and  Mr.  Jefferson  narrowly  escaped  capture  by  fleeing  from  his  house  to 
the  mountains. 

4  The  Count  Rochambeau  was  born  at  Yendome,  in  France,  in  1725.  He  was  a  distinguished 
officer  in  the  French  army,  and  after  his  return  from  America,  was  made  a  Field  Marshal  by  his 
king.  He  was  pensioned  by  Bonaparte,  and  died  in  1807.  8  Page  257. 

8  Admiral  Ternay  died  at  Newport,  soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  there,  in  the  summer  of 
1780.  His  remains  were  deposited  in  Trinity  Cuarch-yard  there,  and  a  marble  slab  was  placed 
over  bis  grave. 


340  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1781. 

fleet  at  Newport,  that  De  Grasse  was  about  to  sail  for  the 
Chesapeake,  he  resolved  to  march  southward,  and  assist 
La  Fayette  against  Cornwallis.  He  wrote  deceptive  let- 
ters to  General  Greene  in  New  Jersey,  and  sent  them  so 
as  to  be  intercepted  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton.1  He  thus 
blinded  the  British  commander  to  his  real  intentions ;  and 
it  was  not  until  the  allied  armies  had  crossed  the  Hudson, 
passed  through  New  Jersey,  and  were  marching  from  the 
Delaware  toward  the  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay,"'  that  Clin- 
COUNT  DE  GRASSE.  ton  was  convinced  that  an  attack  upon  the  city  of  New 
York  was  not  the  object  of  Washington's  movements.  It 
was  then  too  late  for  successful  pursuit,  and  he  endeavored  to  recall  the  Amer- 
icans by  sending  Arnold  to  desolate  the  New  England  coast.  Although  there 
was  a  terrible  massacre  perpetrated  by  the  invaders  at  Fort  Griswold"  [Septem- 
ber 6,  1781],  and  New  London,  opposite  (almost  in  sight  of  the  traitor's  birth- 
place),4 was  burned,  it  did  not  check  the  progress  of  Washington  toward  that 
goal  where  he  was  to  Avin  the  greatest  prize  of  his  military  career.  Nor  did 
reinforcements  sent  by  water  to  aid  Cornwallis,  effect  their  object,  for  when 
Admiral  Graves  arrived  off  the  Capes  [September  5],  De  Grasse  was  there  to 
guard  the  entrance  to  the  Chesapeake.5  He  went  out  to  fight  Graves,  but  after 
a  partial  action,  both  withdrew,  and  the  French  fleet  was  anchored  [September 
10]  within  the  Capes.6 

While  Cornwallis  was  fortifying  Yorktown  and  Gloucester,  and  the  hostile 
fleets  were  in  the  neighboring  waters,  the  allied  armies,  twelve  thousand  strong,7 
were  making  their  way  southward.  They  arrived  before  Yorktown  on  the  28th 
of  September,  1781  ;  and  after  compelling  the  British  to  abandon  their  out- 
works, commenced  a  regular  siege.  The  place  was  completely  invested  on  the 
80th,  the  line  of  the  allied  armies  extending  in  a  semi-circle,  at  a  distance  of 
almost  two  miles  from  the  British  works,  each  wing  resting  upon  the  York 
River.  Having  completed  some  batteries,  the  Republicans  opened  a  heavy  can- 
nonade upon  the  town  and  the  British  works  on  the  evening  of  the  9th  of  Oc- 

1  These  letters  directed  Greene  to  prepare  for  an  attack  on  New  York. 

2  This  is  generally  called  in  the  letters  and  histories  of  the  time,  "Head  of  Elk,"  the  narrow, 
upper  part  of  the  Chesapeake  being  called  Elk  River.     There  stands  the  village  of  Elkton. 

3  Arnold  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  and  proceeded  to  attack  Fort  Trumbull,  near  New 
London.     The  garrison  evacuated  it,  and  the  village  was  burned.     Another  division  of  the  expe- 
dition went  up  on  the  east  side  of  the  Thames,  attacked  Fort  Griswold  at  Groton,  and  after  Colonel 
Ledyard  had  surrendered  it,  he  and  almost  every  man  in  the  fort  were  cruelly  murdered,  or  badly 
wounded.     There  is  a  monument  to  their  memory  at  Groton. 

4  He  was  born  at  Norwich,  at  the  head  of  the  Thames,  a  few  miles  north  of  New  London.    See 
note  1,  page  327. 

5  Graves  intended  to  intercept  a  French  squadron,  which  was  on  its  way  with  heavy  cannons 
and  military  stores  for  the  armies  at  Yorktown.     He  was  not  aware  that  De  Grasse  had  left  the 
West  Indies. 

6  The  place  of  anchorage  was  in  Lynn  Haven  Bay.     The  hostile  fleets  were  in  sight  of  each 
other  for  five  successive  days,  but  neither  party  was  anxious  to  renew  the  combat. 

7  Including  the  Virginia  militia,  the  whole  of  the  American  and  French  forces  employed  in  the 
siege,  amounted  to  a  little  over  sixteen  thousand  men.     Of  the  Americans,  about  seven  thousand 
were  regular  troops,  and  four  thousand  militia.     The  French  troops  numbered  about  five  thousand, 
including  those  brought  by  De  Grasse  from  the  "West  Indies. 


1781.]       SEVENTH  YEAR  OF   THE   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.       341 


tober.  On  the  following  evening  they  hurled  red-hot  balls  among  the  British 
shipping  in  front  of  the  town,  and  burned  several  vessels.  Hour  after  hour, 
disasters  were  gathering  a  fearful  web  of  difficulty  around  Cornwallis.  De- 
spairing of  aid  from  Clinton,  and  perceiving  his  strong  fortifications  crumbling, 
one  by  one,  under  the  terrible  storm  of  iron  from  a  hundred  heavy  cannons,  he 
attempted  to  escape  on  the  night  of  the  16th,  by  crossing  to  Gloucester,  break- 
ing through  the  French  troops  stationed  there,  and  making  forced  marches  to- 
ward New  York.  When  the  van  of  his  troops  embarked,  the  waters  of  the 
York  River  were  perfectly  calm,  although  dark  clouds  were  gathering  in  the 
horizon.  Then  a  storm  arose  as  sudden 
and  as  fearful  as  a  summer  tornado,  dis- 
persed the  boats,  compelled  many  to  put 
back,  and  the  attempt  was  abandoned.1 
Hope  now  faded ;  and  on  the  19th,  Corn- 
wallis surrendered  the  posts  at  York- 
town  and  Gloucester,  with  almost  seven 
thousand  British  soldiers,  and  his  ship- 
ping and  seamen,  into  the  hands  of  Wash- 
ington and  De  Grasse.2 

The  ceremony,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  surrender,  was  exceedingly  impos- 
ing. The  American  army  was  drawn 
up  on  the  right  side  of  the  road  lead- 
ing from  Yorktown  to  Hampton  (see 
map),  and  the  French  army  on  the  left.  Their  lines  extended  more  than  a 
mile  in  length.  Washington,  upon  his  white  charger,  was  at  the  head  of  the 
American  column  ;  and  Rochambeau,  upon  a  powerful  bay  horse,  was  at  the 
head  of  the  French  column.  A  vast  concourse  of  people,  equal  in  number,  ac- 
cording to  eye-witnesses,  to  the  military,  was  also  assembled  from  the  sur- 
rounding country  to  participate  in  the  joy  of  the  event.  Universal  silence  pre- 
vailed as  the  vanquished  troops  slowly  marched  out  of  their  intrenchments,  with 
their  colors  cased,  and  their  drums  beating  a  British  tune,  and  passed  between 
the  columns  of  the  combined  armies.  All  were  eager  to  look  upon  Lord  Corn- 
wallis, the  terror  of  the  South,3  in  the  hour  of  his  adversity.  They  were  dis- 

1  Note  4,  page  247. 

8  The  British  lost  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  killed,  three  hundred  and  twenty-six  wounded,  and 
seventy  missing.  The  combined  armies  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  about  three  hundred.  Among 
the  spoils  were  seventy -five  brass,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  iron  cannons ;  seven  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  ninety-four  muskets ;  twenty-eight  regimental  standards ;  a  large  quantity  of  musket 
and  cannon-balls ;  and  nearly  eleven  thousand  dollars  in  specie  in  the  military  chest.  The  army 
was  surrendered  to  Washington,  and  the  shipping  and  seamen  to  De  Grasse.  The  latter  soon  after- 
ward left  the  Chesapeake,  and  went  to  the  West  Indies.  Rochambeau  remained  with  his  troops  in 
Virginia  during  the  winter,  and  the  main  body  of  the  American  army  marched  north,  and  went  into 
winter  quarters  on  the  Hudson.  A  strong  detachment,  under  General  St.  Clair  [page  276],  was 
sent  south  to  drive  the  British  from  Wilmington,  and  reinforce  the  army  of  General  Greene,  then 
lying  near  Charleston. 

3  The  conduct  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  during  his  march  of  over  fifteen  hundred  miles  through  the 
Southern  States,  was  often  disgraceful  to  the  British  name.  He  suffered  dwelling-houses  to  be 
plundered  of  every  thing  that  could  be  carried  off;  and  it  was  well  known  that  his  lordship's  table 


SIEGE   OF   YORKTOAVX. 


342  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1781. 

appointed ;  he  had  given  himself  up  to  vexation  and  despair,  and,  feigning 
illness,  he  sent  General  O'Hara  with  his  sword,  to  lead  the  vanquished  army  to 
the  field  of  humiliation.  Having  arrived  at  the  head  of  the  line,  General 
O'Hara  advanced  toward  Washington,  and,  taking  off  his  hat,  apologized  for  the 
absence  of  Earl  Cornwallis.  The  commander-in-chief  pointed  him  to  General 
Lincoln  for  directions.  It  must  have  been  a  proud  moment  for  Lincoln,  for 
only  the  year  before  he  was  obliged  to  make  a  humiliating  surrender  of  his 
army  to  British  conquerors  at  Charleston.1  Lincoln  conducted  the  royal  troops 
to  the  field  selected  for  laying  down  their  arms,  and  there  General  O'Hara. 
delivered  to  him  the  sword  of  Cornwallis.  Lincoln  received  it.  and  then  po- 
litely handed  it  back  to  O'Hara,  to  be  returned  to  the  earl. 

The  delivery  of  the  colors  of  the  several  regiments,  twenty-eight  in  num- 
ber, was  next  performed.  For  this  purpose,  twenty-eight  British  captains, 
each  bearing  a  flag  in  a  case,  were  drawn  up  in  line.  Opposite  to  them,  at  a 
distance  of  six  paces,  twenty-eight  American  sergeants  were  placed  in  line  to 
receive  the  colors.  An  ensign  was  appointed  by  Colonel  Hamilton,  the  officer 
of  the  day,  to  conduct  this  interesting  ceremony.2  When  the  ensign  gave  the 
order  for  the  British  captains  to  advance  two  paces,  to  deliver  up  their  colors, 
and  the  American  sergeants  to  advance  two  paces  to  receive  them,  the  former 
hesitated,  and  gave  as  a  reason,  that  they  were  unwilling  to  surrender  their 
flags  to  non-commissioned  officers.  Hamilton,  who  was  at  a  distance,  observed 
this  hesitation,  and  rode  up  to  inquire  the  cause.  On  being  informed,  he  will- 
ingly spared  the  feelings  of  the  British  captains,  and  ordered  the  ensign  to 
receive  them  himself,  and  hand  them  to  the  American  sergeants.  The  scene  is 
depicted  in  the  engraving. 

Clinton  appeared  at  the  entrance  to  Chesapeake  Bay  a  few  days  afterward, 
with  seven  thousand  troops,  but  it  was  too  late.  The  final  blow  which  struck 
down  British  power  in  America  had  been  given.  The  victory  was  complete; 
and  Clinton  returned  to  New  York,  amazed  and  disheartened. 

Great  was  the  joy  throughout  the  colonies  when  intelligence  of  the  capture 
of  the  British  army  reached  the  people.  From  every  family  altar  where  a  love 
of  freedom  dwelt — from  pulpits,  legislative  halls,  the  army,  and  from  Congress,3 


was  furnished  with  plate  thus  obtained  from  private  families.  Tlis  march  was  more  frequently  that 
of  a  marauder  than  an  honorable  general.  It  is  estimated  that  Virginia  alone  lost,  during  Corn- 
wallis's  attempt  to  reduce  it,  thirty  thousand  slaves.  It  was  also  estimated,  at  the  time,  from  the  best 
information  that  could  be  obtained,  that,  during  the  six  months  previous  to  the  surrender  at  York- 
town,  the  whole  devastations  of  his  army  amounted  in  value  to  about  fifteen  millions  of  dollars. 

1  Page  311. 

2  Ensign  Robert  Wilson,  of  General  James  Clinton's  New  York  Brigade.    He  was  the  youngest 
commissioned  officer  in  the  army,  being  then  only  eighteen  years  of  age.    He  was  afterward  a  magis- 
trate in  central  New  York  for  a  number  of  years,  and  was  for  some  time  postmaster  at  Manlius,  in 
Onondago  county.     He  died  in  1811. 

3  A  messenger,  with  a  dispatch  from  Washington,  reached  Philadelphia  at  midnight.     Soon  the 
watchmen  in  the  streets  cried,  "  Past  twelve  o'clock,  and  Cornwallis  is  taken."     Before  dawn  the 
exulting  people  filled  the  streets;  and  at  an  early  hour,  Secretary  Thomson  [page  227]  read  that 
cheering  letter  to  the  assembled  Congress.     Then  that  august  body  went  in  procession  to  a  temple 
of  the  living  God  [Oct.  24th,  1781],  and  there  joined  in  public  thanksgivings  to  the  King  of  kings, 
for  the  great  victory.     They  also  resolved  that  a  marble  column  should  be  erected  at  Yorktown,  to 
commemorate  the  event ;  and  that  two  stands  of  colors  should  be  presented  to  "Washington,  and  two 
pieces  of  cannon  to  each  of  the  French  commanders,  Rochambeau  and  De  Grasse. 


*•  M; 


SURRENDER  OF  FLAGS  AT  YORKTOWN. 


1782.]     CLOSING  EVENTS   OF  THE  WAR  FOR   INDEPENDENCE.     345 

there  went  up  a  shout  of  thanksgiving  and  praise  to  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent, 
for  the  success  of  the  allied  troops,  and  these  were  mingled  with  universal  eulo- 
tfies  of  the  great  leader  and  his  companions  in  arms.  The  clouds  which  had 
lowered  for  seven  long  years,  appeared  to  be  breaking,  and  the  splendors  of 
the  dawn  of  peace  burst  forth,  like  the  light  of  a  clear  morning  after  a  dismal 
night  of  tempest  and  woe.  And  the  desire  for  peace,  which  had  long  burned 
in  the  bosom  of  the  British  people,  now  found  such  potential  expression,  as  to 
be  heeded  by  the  British  ministry.  The  intelligence  of  the  fate  of  Cornwallis 
and  his  party,  fell  with  all  the  destructive  energy  of  a  bomb-shell  in  the  midst 
of  the  war-party  in  Parliament;1  and  the  stoutest  declaimers  in  favor  of  bay- 
onets and  gunpowder,  Indians  and  German  mercenaries,2  as  fit  instruments  for 
enslaving  a  free  people,  began  to  talk  of  the  expediency  of  peace.  Public- 
opinion  soon  found  expression  in  both  Houses  of  Parliament ;  and  Lord  North3 
and  his  compeers,  wrho  had  misled  the  nation  for  twelve  years,  gave  way 
under  the  pressure  of  the  peace  sentiment,  and  retired  from  office  on  the  20th 
of  March,  1782.  The  advocates  of  peace  then  came  into  power  ;  and  early  in 
the  following  May,  Sir  Guy  Carleton4  arrived  in  New  York,  with  propositions 
for  a  reconciliation. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

CLOSING  EVENTS  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.     [1782—1789.] 

GENERAL  GREENE,  with  the  main  body  of  the  Southern  army,  was  yet  on 
the  High  Hills  of  Santee,  when,  on  the  80th  of  October  [1781],  intelligence 
of  the  capture  of  Cornwallis  reached  him.  The  day  of  its  arrival  was  made 
jubilant  with  rejoicings  by  the  army.  The  event  seemed  to  be  a  guaranty  for 
the  future  security  of  the  Republicans  in  the  South,  and  Governor  Rutledge& 
soon  called  a  Legislative  Assembly,  to  meet  at  Jacksonborough,  to  re-establish 
civil  authority.  An  offer  of  pardon  for  penitents,  brought  hundreds  of  Tories 
from  the  British  lines  at  Charleston,  to  accept  the  clemency.  The  North  Caro- 
lina Tories  were  dismayed,  for  immediately  after  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis. 
St.  Clair8  had  marched  upon  Wilmington,  wrhen  the  frightened  enemy  imme- 
diately abandoned  that  post,  and  Major  Craig,  the  commander,  and  a  few 
followers,  took  post  upon  St.  John's  Island,  near  Charleston.  Yet  the  vigilance 
of  the  Americans  was  not  allowed  to  slumber,  for  a  wary  foe  yet  occupied  the 
capitals  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,.  Marion  and  his  men  kept  "  watch  and 
ward"  over  the  region  between  the  Cooper  and  the  Santee,7  while  Greene's  main 

1  Lord  George  Germaine  said  that  Lord  North  received  the  intelligence  "  as  he  would  have 
done  a  cannon-ball  in  his  breast."  He  paced  the  room,  and  throwing  his  arms  wildly  about,  kept 
exclaiming,  "  0,  God !  it  is  all  over,  it  is  all  over !" 

J  Page  246.  3  Page  224.  4  Page  240.  6  Page  310.  fl  Page  276. 

On  one  occasion,  Marion's  brigade  suffered  a  severe  defeat,  while  the  commander  was  attend- 


346  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1782. 

army  lay  near  the  Edisto  ;  and  Wayne,  always  vigilant,  kept  the  enemy  as 
close  within  his  intrenchments  at  Savannah.  Washington,  who  returned  to  the 
North  immediately  after  the  surrender,  was,  at  the  same  time,  keeping  Clinton 
and  his  army  close  prisoners  in  New  York. 


While  the  theater  of  war  was  thus  narrowing,  British  statesmen  of  all 
parties,  considering  the  capture  of  Cornwallis  and  his  army  as  the  death-blow 
to  all  hope  for  future  conquests,  turned  their  attention  to  measures  for  an 
honorable  termination  of  the  unnatural  war.  General  Conway,  the  firm  and 
long-tried  friend  of  the  Americans,  offered  a  resolution  in  Parliament  in  Febru- 
ary [1782],  which  was  preliminary  to  the  enactment  of  a  decree  for  command- 
ing the  cessation  of  hostilities.  It  was  lost  by  only  one  vote.  Thus  encouraged, 

ing  his  duties  as  a  member  of  the  South  Carolina  Legislature.  lie  left  his  men  in  command  of 
Colonel  Horry,  and  near  the  Santee,  Colonel  Thompson  (afterward  the  eminent  Count  Rumford) 
attacked  the  corps,  with  a  superior  force,  and  dispersed  it.  Marion  arrived  during  the  engagement, 
rallied  his  brigade,  and  then  retired  beyond  the  Santee,  to  reorganize  and  recruit.  Benjamin 
Thompson  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  was  born  in  March,  1753.  He  became  a  school- 
master, and  while  acting  in  that  capacity,  he  married  a  rich  widow.  Already  his  mind  was  filled 
with  scientific  knowledge,  and  now  he  pursued  his  studies  and  investigations  with  energy,  "ft  hen 
the  Revolution  broke  out,  he  refused  to  take  part  in  political  matters.  The  Whigs  drove  him  to 
Boston  for  British  protection,  and  he  was  sent  to  England  by  Lord  Howe,  with  dispatches.  Toward 
the  close  of  the  war,  he  commanded  a  corps  of  Tories  at  New  York  and  Charleston.  He  returned 
to  Europe,  became  acquainted  with  the  sovereign  of  Bavaria,  made  himself  exceedingly  useful,  was 
raised  to  the  highest  dignitv.  and  was  created  a  count.  After  suffering  many  vicissitudes,  he  died,  near 
Paris,  in  August  1814.  His  daughter,  the  Countess  of  Rumford,  who  was  born  in  America,  died  at 
Concord,  New  Hampshire,  in  1852.  See  Lossing's  Eminent  Americans. 


1789.]     CLOSING  EVENTS  OF  THE  WAR  FOR   INDEPENDENCE.     347 

the  opposition  pressed  the  subject  warmly  upon  the  attention  of  the  House  of 
Commons  and  the  nation,  and  on  the  4th  of  March,  Con  way  moved  "That  the 
House  would  consider  as  enemies  to  his  majesty  and  the  country  all  those  who 
should  advise,  or  by  any  means  attempt,  the  further  prosecution  of  offensive 


war  on  the  Continent  of  North  America."  The  resolution  was  carried  without 
a  division,  and  the  next  day  the  attorney-general  introduced  a  plan  for  a  truce 
with  the  Americans.  Orders  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities  speedily  went  forth 
to  the  British  commanders  in  America,  and  preparations  were  soon  made  for 
evacuating  the  cities  of  Savannah  and  Charleston. 

When  General  Leslie,  the  British  commander  at  Charleston,  was  apprised 
of  these  proceedings  in  Parliament,  he  proposed  to  General  Greene  a  cessation 
of  hostilities.  Like  a  true  soldier,  Greene  referred  the  matter  to  Congress,  and 
did  not  for  a  moment  relax  his  vigilance.  Leslie  also  requested  Greene  to  allow 
him  to  purchase  supplies  for  his  army,  at  the  same  time  declaring  his  intention 
to  evacuate  Charleston.  Greene  was  unwilling  thus  to  nourish  a  viper,  until 
his  power  to  injure  was  destroyed,  and  he  refused.  Leslie  then  resorted  to 
force  to  obtain  provisions.  Already  he  had  made  several  efforts  to  penetrate 
the  country  for  the  purpose,  and  now,  late  in  August,  he  attempted  to  ascend 
the  Combahee,1  when  he  was  opposed  by  the  Americans  under  General  Gist,  of 

1  Page  42. 


348  THE     REVOLUTION.  [1782. 

the  Maryland  line.  Colonel  John  Laurens1  volunteered  in  the  service  ;  and  in 
a  skirmish  at  day-break,  on  the  25th  of  August,  he  was  killed.  He  was  greatly 
beloved  by  all,  and  his  death  was  mourned  with  real  sorrow.  His  was  almost 
the  last  life  sacrificed  in  that  glorious  old  war.  The  blood  of  one  other  was 
shed  at  Stono  Ferro,2  a  few  weeks  afterward,  when  Captain  Wilmot  was  killed  in 
a  skirmish  with  a  British  foraging  party. 

Several  weeks  previous  to  this,  the  British  had  evacuated  Savannah.  That 
event  occurred  on  the  llth  of  July,  when  General  Wayne,  in  consideration  of 
the  eminent  services  of  Colonel  James  Jackson,3  appointed  him  to  "receive  the 
keys  of  the  city  of  Savannah"  from  a  committee  of  British  officers.  He  per- 
formed the  duty  with  great  dignity,  and  on  the  same  day  the  American  army 
entered  the  city.  Royal  power  then  ceased  in  Georgia,  forever.  On  the  14th 
of  December  following,  the  British  evacuated  Charleston,  and  the  next  day,  the 
Americans,  under  General  Greene,  took  possession  of  it,  greeted  from  windows, 
balconies,  and  even  house-tops,  with  cheers,  waving  of  handkcrcniefs,  and  cries 
of  "God  bless  you,  gentlemen!  Welcome!  Welcome!"  The  British 
remained  in  New  York  almost  a  year  longer  (until  the  25th  of  November, 
1783),  under  the  command  of  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  who  had  succeeded  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  because  the  final  negotiations  for  peace  were  not  completed,  by  ratifi- 
cation, until  near  that  time. 

Measures  were  now  taken  by  Congress  and  the  British  government  to 
arrange  a  treaty  of  peace.  The  United  States  appointed  five  commissioners  for 
the  purpose,  in  order  that  different  sections  of  the  Union  might  be  represented. 
These  consisted  of  John  Adams,  John  Jay,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson, and  Henry  Laurens.  These  met  Richard  Oswald,  the  English  com- 
missioner, at  Paris,  and  there,  on  the  30th  of  November,  1782,  they  signed  a 
preliminary  treaty.4  French  and  English  commissioners  also  signed  a  treaty 
of  peace  on  the  20th  of  January  following.  Congress  ratified  the  action  of  its 
commissioners  in  April,  1783,  yet  negotiations  were  in  progress  until  September 
following,  when  a  definitive  treaty  was  signed  [September  3,  1783]  at  Paris.0 
In  that  treaty,  England  acknowledged  the  Independence  of  the  United 
States ;  allowed  ample  boundaries,  extending  northward  to  the  Great  Lakes, 

1  Note  2,  page  329.  2  Page  296. 

3  James  Jackson  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  Georgia,  •   He  was  born  in  England,  in 
September,  1757,  and  came  to  America  in  1772.     He  studied  law  at  Savannah,  and  was  an  active 
soldier  during  the  whole  war  for  Independence.     When  a  little  past  thirty  years  of  age,  he  was 
elected  governor  of  Georgia,  but  declined  «the  honor  on  account  of  his  youth.     He  was  a  member 
of  the  United  States  Senate  for  some  time,  and  was  governor  of  his  State  for  two  years.     He  died, 
while  at  "Washington,  as  United  States  senator,  in  1808,  and  his  remains  are  in  the  Congressional 
burial-ground.     See  his  portrait  on  page  347. 

4  Yergennes,  the  French  minister,  was  dissatisfied  with  the  manner  in  which  the  matter  had 
been  conducted.     It  was  understood,  by  the  terms  of  the  alliance  between  the  United  States  and 
France  (and  expressly  stated  in  the  instructions  of  the  commissioners),  that  no  treaty  should  be 
signed  by  the  latter  without  the  knowledge  of  the  other.     Yet  it  was  done  on  this  occasion.    A 
portion  of  the  American  commissioners  doubted  the  good  faith  of  Yergennes,  because  he  favored 
Spanish  claims.     Dr.  Franklin,  however,  trusted  Yergennes  implicitly,  and  the  latter  appears  to 
have  acted  honorably,  throughout.     The  cloud  of  dissatisfaction  soon  passed  away,  when  Franklin, 
with  soft  words,  explained  the  whole  matter. 

6  It  was  signed,  on  the  part  of  England,  by  David  Hartley,  and  on  that  of  the  United  States,  by 
Dr.  Franklin,  John  Adams,  and  John  Jay. 


1789.]     CLOSING  EVENTS  OF  THE   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.     349 

and  westward  to  the  Mississippi,  and  an  unlimited  right  of  fishing  on  the  banks 
of  Newfoundland.  The  two  Floridas  were  restored  to  Spain.  At  the  same 
time,  definitive  treaties  between  England,  France,  Spain,  and  Holland,  were 
signed  by  their  respective  commissioners,1  and  the  United  States  became  an 
active  power  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.2 

A  great  work  had  now  been  accomplished,  yet  the  joy  of  the  American 
people,  in  view  of  returning  peace  and  prosperity,  was  mingled  with  many 
gloomy  apprehensions  of  evil.  The  army,  which,  through  the  most  terrible 
sufferings,  had  remained  faithful,  and  become  conqueror,  was  soon  to  be  dis- 
banded ;  and  thousands,  many  of  them  made  invalids  by  the  hard  service  in 
which  they  had  been  engaged,  would  be  compelled  to  seek  a  livelihood  in  the 
midst  of  the  desolation  which  war  had  produced.3  For  a  long  time  the  public 
treasury  had  been  empty,  and  neither  officers  nor  soldiers  had  received  any  pay 
for  their  services.  A  resolution  of  Congress,  passed  in  1780  [October  21],  to 
allow  the  officers  half  pay  for  life,  was  ineffective,  because  funds  were  wanting. 
Already  the  gloomy  prospect  had  created  wide-spread  murmurings  in  the  army, 
and  there  were  many  men  who  sighed  for  a  stronger  government.  They  ascribed 
the  weakness  of  the  Confederation  to  its  republican  form,  and  a  change,  to  be 
wrought  by  the  army,  was  actually  proposed  to  Washington.  Nicola,  a  foreign 
officer  in  a  Pennsylvania  regiment,  made  the  proposition,  in  a  well-written  letter, 
and  not  only  urged  the  necessity  of  a  monarchy,  but  endeavored  to  persuade 
Washington  to  become  king,  by  the  voice  of  the  army.  The  sharp  rebuke  of  the 
commander-in-chief  [May,  1782],  checked  all  further  movements  in  that  direction. 

The  general  discontent  soon  assumed  another  shape,  and  on  the  llth  of 
March,  1783,  a  well-written  address  was  circulated  through  the  American  camp 
(then  near  Newburg),  which  advised  the  army  to  take  matters  into  its  own 
hands,  make  a  demonstration  that  should  arouse  the  fears  of  the  people  and  of 
Congress,  and  thus  obtain  justice  for  themselves.4  For  this  purpose  a  meeting 
of  officers  was  called,  but  the  great  influence  of  Washington  prevented  a 
response.  The  commander-in-chief  then  summoned  all  the  officers  together, 
laid  the  matter  before  them  [March  15],  and  obtained  from  them  a  patriotic 
expression  of  their  faith  in  the  u  justice  of  Congress  and  the  country."  In  a 
few  days  the  threatening  cloud  passed  away,  and  soon  after  this  event  Congress 
made  arrangements  for  granting  to  the  officers  full  pay  for  five  years,  instead 
of  half  pay  for  life  ;  and  to  the  soldiers  full  pay  for  four  months,  in  partial 
liquidation  of  their  claims.  This  arrangement  was  not  satisfactory,  and  cliscon- 


1  That  between  Great  Britain  and  Holland  was  signed  on  tho  second. 

a  John  Adams  was  the  first  minister  of  the  United  States  to  Great  Britain.  Tie  was  politely 
received  by  King  George  the  Third ;  and  that  monarch  was  faithful  to  his  promises  to  preserve 
inviolate  the  covenant  he  had  made  by  acknowledging  the  independence  of  the  new  Republic. 

3  The  army,  consisting  of  about  ten  thousand  men,  was  then  encamped  on  the  Hudson,  near 
Newburg. 

4  This  address  was  anonymous,  but  it  was  afterward  acknowledged  to  be  the  production  of  John 
Armstrong,  then  a  major,  and  one  of  General  Gates's  aids.     It  is  believed  that  Gates  and  other 
officers  were  the  instigators  of  the  scheme,  and  that  Armstrong  acted  under  their  direction.     Ho 
was  an  accomplished  writer,  and  was  much  in  public  life  after  the  war.     He  was  United  States  min- 
ister to  France  for  six  years,  from  1804.     He  was  Secretary  of  War  in  181-4 ;  and  died  in  Dutchess 
county,  New  York,  in  1843,  in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 


350  TnE     REVOLUTION.  [1782. 

tent  still  prevailed.1  In  the  mean  while  [March  2]  the  preliminary  treaty  had 
arrived.  On  the  eighth  anniversary  of  the  skirmish  at  Lexington  [April  19, 
1783],  a  cessation  of  hostilites  was  proclaimed  in  the  army,  and  on  the  3d  of 
November  following,  the  army  was  disbanded  by  a  general  order  of  Congress.  A 
small  force  was  retained  under  a  definite  enlistment,  until  a  peace  establishment 
should  be  organized.2  These  were  now  at  West  Point,  under  the  command  of 
General  Knox.  The  remainder  of  that  glorious  band  of  patriots  then  quietly 
returned  to  their  homes,  to  enjoy,  for  the  remnant  of  their  lives,  the  blessings  of 
the  liberty  they  had  won,  and  the  grateful  benedictions  of  their  countrymen. 
Of  the  two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  Continental  soldiers,  and  the  fifty-six 
thousand  militia  wTho  bore  arms  during  the  wTar,  not  more  than  six  hundred  now 
[1856]  remain  among  us  !3  And  the  average  of  these  must  be  full  ninety  years. 
The  British  army  evacuated  the  city  of  New  York  on  the  25th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1783.  With  their  departure,  went,  forever,  the  last  instrument  of  royal 
power  in  these  United  States.  On  the  morning  of  that  day — a  cold,  frosty, 
but  clear  and  brilliant  morning — the  American  troops, 
under  General  Knox,4  who  had  come  down  from  West 
Point  and  encamped  at  Harlem,  marched  to  the  Bowery 
Lane,  and  halted  at  the  present  junction  of  Third 
Avenue  and  the  Bowery.  Knox  was  accompanied  by 
George  Clinton,5  the  governor  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  with  all  the  principal  civil  officers.  There  they 
remained  until  about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when 
the  British  left  their  posts  in  that  vicinity  and  marched 
to  Whitehall.0  The  American  troops  followed,  and 


r 
GOTERXOR   CLIXTON. 


1  In  May,  1783,  a  portion  of  the  Pennsylvania  troops,  lately  arrived  from  the  South,  marched 
to  Philadelphia,  where  they  were  joined  by  others,  and  for  three  hours  they  stood  at  the  door  of  the 
State  House,  and  demanded  immediate  pay  from  Congress.     St.  Clair,  then  in  command  there, 
pacified  them  for  the  moment,  and  Washington  soon  quelled  the  mutiny.     See  page  328. 

2  A  great  portion  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  had  been  permitted,  during  the  summer,  to  visit 
their  homes  on  furlough.     The  proclamation  of  discharge,  by  Congress,  was  followed  by  Washing- 
tori's  farewell  address  to  his  companions  in  arms,  written  at  Rocky  Hill,  New  Jersey,  on  the  3d  of 
November.     He  had  already  issued  a  circular  letter  (Xewburg,  June  8th,  1783)  to  the  governor}, 
of  all  the  States  on  the  subject  of  disbanding  the  army.     It  was  designed  to  be  laid  before  the  sev- 
eral State  Legislatures.     It  is  a  document  of  great  value,  because  of  the  soundness  of  its  doctrines, 
and  the  weight  and  wisdom  of  its  counsels.     Four  great  points  of  policy  constitute  the  chief  theme 
of  his  communication,  namely,  an  indissoluble  union  of  the  States  /  a  sacred  regard  for  public  justice ; 
the  organization  of  a  proper  peace  establishment ;  and  a  friendly  intercourse  among  the  people  of  the 
several  States,  by  which  local  prejudice  might  be  effaced.     "  These,"  he  remarks,  "are  the  pillars  on 
which  the  glorious  fabric  of  cur  independency  and  national  character  must  be  supported."     No 
doubt  this  address  had  great  influence  upon  the  minds  of  the  whole  people,  and  made  them  yearn 
for  that  more  efficient  union  which  the  Federal  Constitution  soon  afterward  secured. 

8  Great  Britain  sent  to  America,  during  the  war,  one  hundred  and  twelve  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  eighty-four  troops  for  the  land  service,  and  more  than  twenty-two  thousand  seamen.  Of 
all  this  host,  not  one  is  known  to  be  living.  One  of  them  (John  Battin)  died  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  in  June,  1852,  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  years  and  four  months. 

4  Henry  Knox,  the  able  commander  of  the  artillery  during  the  Revolution,  was  born  in  Boston, 
in  1740.     He  entered  the  army  at  the  commencement  of  the  war.     He  was  President  Washington's 
Secretary  of  War,  and  held  that  office  eleven  years.     He  died  at  Thomaston,  in  Maine,  in  1806. 

5  Like  Governors  Trumbull  [page  323]  and  Rutledge  [page  310],  Clinton,  in  a  civil  capacity, 
was  of  immense  service  to  the  American  cause.     He  was  born  in  Ulster  county,  New  York,  in  1739. 
He  was  governor  about  eighteen  years,   and  died  in  1812,  while  Yice-President  of  the  United 
States.     See  page  404.  6  Now  the  South  Ferry  to  Brooklyn. 


1789.]     CLOSING   EVENTS   OF   THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.     351 

before  three  o'clock  General  Knox  took  formal  possession  of  Fort  George  amid 
the  acclamations  of  thousands  of  emancipated  freemen,  and  the  roar  of  artillery 
upon  the  Battery. 

On  Thursday,  the  4th  of  December,  Washington  met  his  officers,  yet  re- 


maining  in  service,  at  his  quarters,  corner  of  Broad  and  Pearl-streets,  New 
York,  for  the  last  time.  The  scene,  as  described  by  Marshall,1  the  best  of  the 
early  biographers  of  Washington,  was  one  of  great  tenderness.  The  commander- 
in-chief  entered  the  room  where  they  were  all  waiting,  and  taking  a  glass  of 
wine  in  his  hand,  he  said,  "  With  a  heart  full  of  love  and  gratitude,  I  now  take 


1  John  Marshall,  the  eminent  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  was  born  in  Fauquier  county, 
Virginia,  in  1755,  and  was  the  eldest  of  fifteen  children  by  the  same  mother.  He  entered  the  mil- 
itary service,  in  the  Virginia  militia,  against  Dunmore  [page  244],  in  1775,  and  was  in  the  battle  at 
the  Great  Bridge  [see  page  243].  He  remained  in  service,  as  an  excellent  officer,  until  early  in 

1780,  when  he  studied  law,  and  became  very  eminent  in  his  profession.     He  was  again  in  the  field  in 

1781.  In  1782  he  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Legislature.     He  was  chosen  Secretary  of  War  in 
1800,  and  the  next  year  was  elevated  to  the  Chief  Justiceship  of  the  United  States.     His  Life  of 
Washington  was  published  in  1805.     Judge  Marshall  died  at  Philadelphia  in  1835,  in  the  eightieth 
year  of  his  age.     He  was  an  exceedingly  plain  'man,  in  person  and  habits,  and  always  carried  his 
own  marketing  home  in  his  hands.     On  one  occasion,  a  young  housekeeper  was  swearing  lustily 
because  he  could  not  hire  a  person  to  carry  his  turkey  home  for  him.     A  plain  man,  standing  by, 
offered  to  perform  the  service,  and  when  they  arrived  at  the  door,  the  young  man  asked,  "  What 
shall  I  pay  you?"     "Oh,  nothing,"  replied  the  old  man;   "you  are  welcome;  it  was  on  my  way, 
and  no  trouble."     "  Who  is  that  polite  old  gentleman  who  brought  home  my  turkey  for  me  ?"  in- 
quired the  young  man  of  a  bystander.     "  That,"  he  replied,  "  is  John  Marshall,  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States."     The  astonished  young  man  exclaimed,  "Why  did  he  bring  home  my  turkey ?" 
"  To  give  you  a  severe  reprimand,"  replied  the  other,  "and  to  learn  you  to  attend  to  your  own  bus- 

'  iness."     The  lesson  was  never  forgotten. 


352 


THE     REVOLUTION. 


[1782. 


GENERAL   MIFFLIX. 


leave  of  you.  I  most  devoutly  wish  that  your  latter  days  may  be  as  prosperous 
and  happy  as  your  former  ones  have  been  glorious  and  honorable. "  Having 
drank,  he  continued,  "I  can  not  come  to  each  of  you  to  take  my  leave,  but 
shall  be  obliged  to  you  if  each  will  come  and  take  me  by  the  hand."  Knox, 
who  stood  nearest  to  him,  turned  and  grasped  his  hand,  and,  while  the  tears 
flowed  down  the  cheeks  of  each,  the  commander-in-chief  kissed  him.  This  he 
did  to  each  of  his  officers,  while  tears  and  sobs  stifled  utterance.  Washington 
soon  left  the  room,  and  passing  through  corps  of  light  infantry,  he  walked  in 
silence  to  Whitehall,  where  he  embarked  in  a  barge  for  Elizabethtown,  on  his 
way  to  Annapolis,  in  Maryland,  where  Congress  was  in  session.  There,  on  the 
23d  of  December,  he  resigned  into  its  custody  the  com- 
mission which  he  received  [June  16,  1775]  from  that 
body  more  than  eight  years  before.1  His  address  on 
that  occasion  was  simple  and  touching,  and  the  re- 
sponse of  General  Mifflin,2  the  president,  was  equally 
affecting.  The  spectacle  was  one  of  great  moral  sub- 
limity. Like  Cincinnatus,  Washington,  having  been 
instrumental,  under  Providence,  in  preserving  the  lib- 
erties of  his  country  and  achieving  its  independence, 
laid  down  the  cares  of  State  and  returned  to  his  plow. 

A  few  months  before  the  final  disbanding  of  the  army,  many  of  the  officers. 
then  at  Newburg,  on  the  Hudson,  met  [June  19,  1783]  at  the  head-quarters  of 
the  Baron  Steuben,  situated  about  two  miles  from  the  Fishkill 
Ferry,  and  there  formed  an  association,  which  they  named  the 
SOCIETY  OF  THE  CINCINNATI.  The  chief  objects  of  the  Society 
were  to  promote  cordial  friendship  and  indissoluble  union  among 
themselves  ;  to  commemorate,  by  frequent  re-unions,  the  great 
struggle  they  had  just  passed  through  ;  to  use  their  best  en- 
deavors for  the  promotion  of  human  liberty ;  to  cherish  good 
feeling  between  the  respective  States ;  and  to  extend  benevolent 
aid  to  those  of  the  Society  whose  circumstances  might  require 
it.  They  formed  a  General  Society,  and  elected  Washington 
its  first  president.  They  also  made  provision  for  the  formation 
of  auxiliary  State  societies.  To  perpetuate  the  Association,  it 
was  provided,  in  the  constitution,  that  the  eldest  male  descend- 
ant of  an  original, member  should  be  entitled  to  bear  the  ORDER, 
and  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the  Society.  The  Order*  consists 
of  a  gold  eagle,  suspended  upon  a  ribbon,  on  the  breast  of  which  is  a  medallion 

1  Page  238.  At  the  same  time  Washington  rendered  the  account  current  of  his  expenditures, 
for  reconnoitering,  traveling,  secret  service,  and  miscellaneous  expenses,  amounting  to  about 
$74,480.  He  would  receive  nothing  in  compensation  for  his  own  services  as  commander-in-chief. 

a  Thomas  Mifflin  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1 744.  He  was  a  Quaker  [note  7,  page  94],  but 
joined  the  patriot  army  in  1775,  and  rapidly  rose  to  the  rank  of  major-general.  He  was  a  member 
of  Congress  after  the  war,  and  also  governor  of  Pennsylvania.  He  died  in  January,  1800. 

"*  An  order  is  a  badge,  or  visible  token  of  regard  or  distinction,  conferred  upon  persons  for  mer- 
itorious services.  On  the  breast  of  Baron  Steuben  on  page  291,  is  the  order  of  Fidelity,  presented 
to  him  by  Frederic  the  Great  of  Prussia,  for  his  services  in  the  army  of  that  monarch.  Some  of  the 


ORDER. 


1789.]     CLOSING  EVENTS   OF  THE  WAR  FOR   INDEPENDENCE.     353 

with  a  device,  representing  Cincinnatus  receiving  the  Roman  senators.1  Sev- 
eral State  societies  are  yet  [1856]  in  existence. 

The  war  was  ended,  and  peace  was  guarantied,  but  the  people  had  much  to 
do  in  the  adjustment  of  public  affairs,  so  as  to  lav  the  foundations  of  permanent 
prosperity,  and  thus  secure  the  liberty  and  independence  proclaimed  and 
acknowledged.  The  country  was  burdened  with  a  heavy  debt,  foreign  and  do- 
mestic,2 and  the  Articles  of  Confederation3  gave  Congress  no  power  to  dis- 
charge them,  if  it  had  possessed  the  ability.  On  its  recommendation,  however, 
the  individual  States  attempted  to  raise  the'.r  respective  quotas,  by  direct  tax- 
ation. But  all  were  impoverished  by  the  war,  and  it  was  found  to  be  impos- 
sible to  provide  means  even  to  meet  the  arrears  of  pay  due  the  soldiers  of  the 
Revolution.  Each  State  had  its  local  obligations  to  meet,  and  Congress  could 
not  coerce  compliance  with  its  recommendations. 

This  effort  produced  great  excitement  in  many  of  the  States,  and  finally,  in 
1787,  a  portion  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts  openly  rebelled.  Daniel  Shays, 
who  had  been  a  captain  in  the  continental  army,  marched  at  the  head  of  a  thou- 
sand men,  took  possession  of  Worcester,  and  prevented  a  session  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  He  repeated  the  same  at  Springfield.  The  insurrection  soon  became 
so  formidable,  that  Governor  Bowdoin  was  compelled  to  call  out  several  thou- 
sand militia,  under  General  Lincoln,  to  suppress  it.  Lincoln  captured  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  of  the  insurgents,  and  their  power  was  broken.  A  free  pardon 
was,  finally,  offered  to  all  privates  who  had  engaged  in  the  rebellion.  Several 
leaders  were  tried,  and  sentenced  to  death,  but  none  were  executed,  for  it  was 
perceived  that  the  great  mass  of  the  people  sympathized  with  them.  This  epi- 
sode is  known  as  S/iays's  Rebellion. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  fact  that  the  Pope  was  unfriendly  to  England,4 
and  looked  with  favor  upon  the  rebellious  movements  of  her  colonies.  Soon 
after  the  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  [Sept.  3,  1783],  the  Pope's  Nuncio  at 
Paris  made  overtures  to  Franklin,  on  the  subject  of  appointing  an  apostolic 
vicar  for  the  United  States.  The  matter  was  referred  to  Congress,  and  that 
body  properly  replied,  that  the  subject  being  purely  spiritual,  it  was  beyond 
their  control.  The  idea  of  entire  separation  between  the  State  and  spiritual 
governments — the  full  exercise  of  freedom  of  conscience — was  thus  early  enun- 


orders  conferred  by  kings  are  very  costly,  being  made  of  gold  and  silver,  and  precious  stones.     The 
picture  of  the  order  of  the  Cincinnati,  given  on  the  preceding  page,  is  half  the  size  of  the  original. 

1  Cincinnatus  was  a  noble  Roman  citizen.     When  the  Romans  were  menaced  with  destruction 
by  an  enemy,  the  Senate  appointed  delegates  to  invite  Cincinnatus  to  assume  the  chief  magistracy 
of  the  nation.     They  found  him  at  his  plow.     He  immediately  complied,  raised  an  army,  subdued 
the  enemy,  and,  after  bearing  the  almost  imperial  dignity  for  fourteen  days,  he  resigned  his  office, 
and  returned  to  his  plow.     How  like  Cincinnatus  were  Washington  and  his  compatriots  of  the  War 
for  Independence ! 

2  According  to  an  estimate  made  by  the  Register  of  the  Treasury  in  1790,  the  entire  cost  of  the 
War  for  Independence,  was  at  least  one  hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  dollars,  exclusive  of  vast  sums 
lost  by  individuals  and  the  several  States,  to  the  amount,  probably,  of  forty  millions  more.     The 
treasury  payments  amounted  to  almost  ninety-three  millions,  chiefly  in  continental  bills.    The  foreign 
debt  amounted  to  eight  millions  of  dollars ;  and  the  domestic  debt,  due  chiefly  to  the  officers  and 
soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  was  more  than  thirty  millions  of  dollars. 

8  Note  1,  page  267,  and  Supplement.  *  Page  266. 

23 


354 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


[1782. 


ciated.  The  Pope  accordingly  appointed  John  Carroll,1  of  Maryland,  a  cousin 
of  Charles  Carroll,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  to  the 
high  office  of  Apostolic-Vicar.  He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Baltimore,  and 
was  ultimately  made  Archbishop  of  the  United  States.  At  about  the  same 


time,  the  Church  of  England  in  America  sought  a  reorganization,  and  Samuel 
Seabury,  an  Episcopal  minister  of  New  London,  Connecticut,  at  the  request  of 
the  Churchmen  of  that  State,  proceeded  to  England  to  obtain  ordination  as 
bishop.  The  English  bishops  were  not  allowed  to  confer  the  dignity  unless  the 
recipient  would  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  king  of  England,  as  head  of 
the  Church.  This,  Seabury  (although  a  loyalist  during  the  war)  could  not  do, 
and  he  sought  and  obtained  ordination  from  Scotch  bishops.  Such  was  the 
commencement  of  the  two  most*  prominent  prelatical  Churches  in  the  United 
States.  The  Methodist  Church,  which  has  since  flourished  so  wonderfully,  was 
then  just  taking  firm  root. 

1  John  Carroll  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1735,  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  was  sent  to 
Europe  to  be  educated.  He  was  ordained  a  priest  in  1769,  and  became  a  teacher  at  St.  Omer  and 
at  Liege.  When  the  Jesuits  were  expelled  from  France,  he  went  to  England,  and  returned  to  nif 
native  country  in  1775.  He  accompanied  a  Congressional  committee  to  Canada,  in  1776,  to  en- 
deavor to  persuade  that  Roman  Catholic  colony  to  join  the  others  in  the  revolt.  Throughout  tin 
war  he  was  attached  to  the  Repulican  cause.  He  was  appointed  Vicar-General  in  1786,  and  was 
consecrated  a  bishop  in  1790.  He  was  made  archbishop  in  1808.  He  died  in  Baltimore  in  1815, 
at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  His  usual  signature  was  f  J.  Bish.  of  Baltimore. 


1789.]     CLOSING  EVENTS   OF   THE   WAR   FOR  INDEPENDENCE.     355 

For  a  long  time  it  had  been  clearly  perceived  that,  while  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  formed  a  sufficient  constitution  of  government  during  the  prog- 
ress of  the  war,  they  were  not  adapted  to  the  public  wants  in  the  new  condition 
of  an  independent  sovereignty  in  which  the  people  found  themselves.  There 
appeared  a  necessity  for  a  greater  centralization  of  power  by  which  the  general 
government  could  act  more  efficiently  for  the  public  good.  To  a  great  extent, 
the  people  lost  all  regard  for  the  authority  of  Congress,  and  the  commercial 
affairs  of  the  country  became  wretchedly  deranged.  In  truth,  every  thing 
seemed  to  be  tending  toward  utter  chaos,  soon  after  the  peace  in  1783, 1  and  the 
leading  minds  engaged  in  the  struggle  for  Independence,  in  view  of  the  increas- 
ing and  magnified  evils,  and  the  glaring  defects  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion^ were  turned  to  the  consideration  of  a  plan  for  a  closer  union  of  the  States, 
and  for  a  general  government  founded  on  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  from  which  the  confederation  in  question  widely  departed. 

The  sagacious  mind  of  Washington  early  perceived,  with  intense  anxiety, 
the  tendency  toward  ruin  of  that  fair  fabric  which  his  wisdom  and  prowess  had 
helped  to  rear,  and  he  took  the  initial  step  toward  the  adoption  of  measures 
which  finally  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  present  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.2  At  his  suggestion,  a  convention,  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  on  the 
best  means  of  remedying  the  defects  of  the  Federal  Government,  was  held  at 
Annapolis,  in  Maryland,  in  September,  1786.  Only  five  States  (Virginia, 
Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  New  York)  were  represented.  They 
met  on  the  llth  of  that  month,  and  John  Dickenson3  was  chosen  chairman. 
They  finally  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a  draft  of  a  report  to  be  made  to 
the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States,  then  represented.  The  committee 
reported  on  the  14th,  but  there  not  being  a  representation  from  a  majority  of 
the  States,  it  was  thought  advisable  to  postpone  further  action.  They  adjourned, 
after  recommending  the  appointment  of  deputies  to  meet  in  convention  at 
Philadelphia,  in  May  following.  The  report  was  adopted  and  transmitted  to 
Congress.  On  the  21st  of  February,  1787,  a  committee  of  that  body,4  to  whom 
the  report  of  the  commissioners  was  referred,  reported  thereon,  and  strongly 
recommended  to  the  different  Legislatures  to  send  forward  delegates  to  meet  in 
the  proposed  convention  at  Philadelphia.  Propositions  were  made  by  delegates 
'  from  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  and  finally  the  following  resolution,  sub- 
mitted by  the  latter,  after  being  amended,  was  agreed  to : 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  Congress,  it  is  expedient  that  on  the 
second  Monday  in  May  next,  a  convention  of  delegates,  who  shall  have  been 
appointed  by  the  several  States,  be  held  at  Philadelphia,  for  the  sole  and 
express  purpose  of  revising  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  reporting  to 
Congress  and  the  several  Legislatures  such  alterations  and  provisions  therein 
as  shall,  when  agreed  to  in  Congress,  and  confirmed  by  the  States,  render  the 


1  Page  348.  2  Page  359.  3  Page  219. 

4  The  committee  consisted  of  Messrs.  Dana,  Varnum,  S.  M.  Mitchell,  Smith,  Cadwalader,  Irvine. 
N.  Mitchell,  Forest,  Grayson,  Blount,  Bull,  and  Few. 


356  THE    REVOLUTION.  [1782. 

Federal   Constitution  adequate  to  the  exigences  of  the  government  and  the 
preservation  of  the  Union." 

This  resolution,  with  a  preamble,  was  immediately  transmitted  to  the  several 
Speakers  of  State  Legislatives  Assemblies,  and  they  were  laid  before  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  in  all  the  States  of  the  Confederacy.  While  a  feeling 
generally  prevailed,  that  something  must  be  done  to  avert  the  threatened  anarchy, 
toward  which  governmental  operations  were  rapidly  tending,  great  caution  was 
observed  in  the  delegation  of  powers  to  those  who  should  be  appointed  members 
of  the  proposed  convention.1  In  May,  1787,2  delegates  from  all  the  States, 
except  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island,3  assembled  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  * 
room  where  Congress  was  in  session  when  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
adopted.4  Washington,  who  was  a  delegate  from  Virginia,  was,  on  motion  of 
Robert  Morris,  chosen  President.  Able  statesmen  were  his  associates,5  and  they 
entered  earnestly  upon  their  duties.  They  had  not  proceeded  far,  however, 
before  they  perceived  that  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  so  radically 
defective,  and  their  powers  so  inadequate  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  country,  that, 
instead  of  trying  to  amend  that  old  code,  they  went  diligently  to  work  to  form 
a  new  Constitution.  For  some  time  they  made  but  little  progress.  There  were 

1  The  great  question  that  came  up  before  the  members,  at  the  very  commencement  of  the  session 
of  the  Convention,  was,  ''  What  powers  do  we  possess  ?  Can  the  amendments  to  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  be  carried  so  far  as  to  establish  an  entirely  new  system  ?" 

3  The  day  fixed  for  the  assembling  of  the  Convention,  was  the  14th  of  May.  On  that  day,  del- 
egates from  only  half  the  States  were  present.  The  remainder  of  the  delegates  did  not  all  arrive 
before  the  25th. 

3  Ignorant  and  unprincipled  men,  who  were  willing  to  liquidate  public  and  private  debts  by  the 
agency  of  unstable  paper  money,  controlled  the  Assembly  of  Rhode  Island,  and  that  body  refused 
to  elect  delegates  to  the  Convention.  But  some  of  the  best  and  most  influential  men  in  the  State  ' 
joined  in  sending  a  letter  to  the  Convention,  in  which  they  expressed  their  cordial  sympathy  with 
the  object  of  that  national  assembly,  and  promised  their  adhesion  to  whatever  the  majority  might 
propose.  The  following  are  the  names  of  the  delegates : 

New  Hampshire. — John  Langdon,  John  Pickering,  Nicholas  Oilman,  and  Benjamin  West. 

Massachusetts. — Francis  Dana,  Elbridge  Gerry,  Nathaniel  Gorham,  Rufus  King,  and  Caleb  Strong. 

Connecticut. — William  Samuel  Johnson,  Roger  Sherman,  and  Oliver  Ellsworth. 

New  York. — Robert  Yates,  John  Lansing,  Jr.,  and  Alexander  Hamilton. 

New  Jersey. — David  Brearley,  William  Churchill  Houston,  William  Paterson,  John  Neilson, 
William  Livingston,  Abraham  Clark,  and  Jonathan  Dayton. 

Pennsylvania. — Thomas  Mifflin,  Robert  Morris,  George  Clymer,  Jared  Ingersoll,  Thomas  Fitz- 
simmons,  James  Wilson,  Gouverneur  Morris,  and  Benjamin  Franklin. 

Delaware. — George  Reed,  Gunning  Bedford,  Jr.,  John  Dickenson,  Richard  Bassctt,  and  Jacob 
Brown. 

Maryland. — James  M 'Henry,  Daniel  of  St.  Thomas  Jenifer,  Daniel  Carroll,  John  Francis  Mercer, 
and  Luther  Martin. 

Virginia. — George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry,  Edmund  Randolph,  John  Blair,  James  Madison, 
Jr.,  George  Mason,  and  George  Wythe.  » Patrick  Henry  having  declined  his  appointment,  James 
M'Clure  was  nominated  to  supply  his  place. 

North  Carolina. — Richard  Caswell,  Alexander  Martin,  William  Richardson  Davie,  Richard 
Dobbs  Spaight,  and  Willie  Jones.  Richard  Caswell  having  resigned,  William  Blount  was  appointed 
a  deputy  in  his  place.  Willie  Jones  having  also  declined  his  appointment,  his  place  was  supplied  by 
Hugh  Williamson. 

South  Carolina. — John  Rutledge,  Charles  Pinckey,  Charles  C.  Pinckney,  and  Pierce  Butler. 
Georgia. — William  Few,  Abraham  Baldwin,  William  Pierce,  George  Walton,  William  Houston, 
and  Nathaniel  Pendleton.  4  Page  250. 

5  The  members  who  were  most  conspicuous  as  debaters  in  the  Convention,  were  Randolph. 
Madison,  and  Mason,  of  Virginia ;  King,  Gerry,  and  Gorham,  of  Massachusetts ;  Gouverneur  Mor- 
ris, Wilson,  and  Dr.  Franklin,  of  Pennsylvania ;  Johnson,  Sherman,  and  Ellsworth,  of  Connecticut ; 
Lansing  and  Hamilton,  of  New  York;  the  two  Pinckneys,  of  South  Carolina;  Paterson,  of  New 
Jersey ;  Martin,  of  Maryland ;  Dickenson,  of  Delaware ;  and  Dr.  Williamson,  of  North  Carolina. 


FRANKLIN  IN  THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION. 


1789.]     CLOSING  EVENTS   OF   THE   WAR   FOR  INDEPENDENCE.      359 

great  diversities  of  opinion, 1  and  it  seemed,  after  several  days,  that  the  conven- 
tion must,  of  necessity,  dissolve  without  accomplishing  any  thing.  Some  pro- 
posed a  final  adjournment.  At  this  momentous  crisis,  Dr.  Franklin  arose,  and 
said  to  the  President,  "  How  has  it  happened,  sir,  that  while  groping  so  long 
in  the  dark,  divided  in  our  opinions,  and  now  ready  to  separate  without  accom- 
plishing the  great  objects  of  our  meeting,  that  we  have  hitherto  not  once  thought 
of  humbly  applying  to  the  Father  of  Lights  to  illuminate  our  understandings  ? 
In  the  beginning  of  the  contest  with  Britain,  when  we  were  sensible  of  danger, 
we  had  daily  prayers  in  this  room  for  divine  protection.  Our  prayers,  sir, 
were  heard,  and  graciously  answered."  After  a  few  more  remarks,  he  moved 
that  "henceforth,  prayers,  imploring  the  assistance  of  Heaven,  and  its  blessings 
on  our  deliberations,  be  held  in  this  Assembly  every  morning  before  we  proceed 
to  business."  The  resolution  was  not  adopted,  as  the  convention,  except  three 
or  four  members,  thought  prayers  unnecessary,  because  in  this  case  they  would 
be  merely  formal.  Objections  were  also  made,  because  there  were  no  funds  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  such  clerical  services. 

After  long  and  animated  debates,  the  Convention  referred  all  propositions, 
reports,  etc.,  which  had  been  agreed  to  from  time  to  time,  to  a  Committee  of 
Detail,  consisting  of  Rutledge,  Randolph,  Gorham,  Ellsworth,2  and  Wilson. 
The  Convention  then  adjourned,  and  ten  days  afterward  [August  6,  1787]  it 
met,  and  that  committee  reported  a  rough  sketch  of  the  Constitution,  as  it  now 
stands.  Now,  again,  long  and  sometimes  angry  debates  were  had.  Amend- 
ments were  made,  and  all  were  referred  to  a  committee  for  final  revision. 
That  committee  submitted  the  following  resolution  on  the  12th  of  September, 
which  was  adopted : 

1  Edmund  Randolph  submitted  a  plan  on  the  29th  of  May,  in  a  series  of  Resolutions,  which  was 
known  as  the  "  Virginia  Plan."  It  proposed  to  form  a  general  government,  composed  of  a  legislature, 
and  an  executive  and  judiciary  department;  a  revenue,  and  an  army  and  navy,  independent  of  ^tho 
control  of  the  several  States ;  to  have  power  to  conduct  war,  establish  peace,  and  make  treaties ;  to 
have  the  exclusive  privilege  of  coining  money,  and  the  general  supervision  of  all  national  trans- 
actions. Upon  general  principles,  this  plan  was  highly  approved ;  but  in  that  Convention  there 
were  many  ardent  and  pure  patriots,  who  looked  upon  the  preservation  of  the  State  sovereignties 
as  essential,  and  regarded  this  proposition  as  an  infringement  upon  State  Rights.  Mr.  Paterson 
also  submitted  a  plan  for  amending  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  It  proposed  to  enlarge  the 
powers  of  Congress,  but  left  its  resources  and  supplies  to  be  found  through  the  medium  of  the  State 
governments.  This  was  one  of  the  most  serious  defects  of  the  old  League — a  dependence  of  the 
general  government  upon  the  State  governments  for  its  vitality.  Other  propositions  were  submitted 
from  time  to  time,  and  the  most  intense  solicitude  was  felt  by  every  member.  Subjects  of  the  most 
vital  interest  were  ably  discussed,  from  day  to  day ;  but  none  created  more  earnest  debate  than  a 
proposition  for  the  general  government  to  assume  the  debts  of  the  States  contracted  in  providing 
means  for  carrying  on  the  war.  The  debts  of  the  several  States  were  unequal.  Those  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  South  Carolina  amounted  to  more  than  ten  millions  and  a  half  of  dollars,  while  the 
debts  of  all  the  other  States  did  not  extend,  in  the  aggregate,  to  fifteen  millions.  This  assumption 
was  finally  made,  to  the  amount  of  twenty-one  millions  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  See 
page  370. 

3  Oliver  Ellsworth  was  one  of  the  soundest  men  in  the  Convention,  and  was  ever  one  of  the 
most  beloved  of  the  New  England  patriots.  He  was  born  in  Windsor,  Connecticut,  in  April,  1745. 
He  was  educated  at  Yale  College,  and  at  Princeton,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  he  commenced 
the  practice  of  law  at  Hartford.  He  was  an  eloquent  speaker,  and  became  very  eminent  in  his 
profession.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  in  1777,  and  in  1784  he  was  appointed 
Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Connecticut.  He  was  the  first  United  States  senator  from  Connect- 
icut, under  the  new  Constitution,  and  in  1796  he  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  an  embassador  to  the  French  court  from  1799  to  1801.  He  died  in  November,  1807,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-two  years.  See  next  page. 


360  TnE     REVOLUTION.  [1782. 

11  Resolved  unanimously.  That  the  said  report,  with  the  resolutions  and 
letters  accompanying  the  same,  be  transmitted  to  the  several  Legislatures,  in 
order  to  be  submitted  to  a  convention  of  delegates  chosen  in  each  State  bj 
the  people  thereof,  in  conformity  to  the  resolves  of  the  Convention,  made  and 
provided,  in -that  case." 


The  new  Constitution,  when  submitted  to  the  people,1  found  many  and  able 
opposers.  State  rights,  sectional  interests,  radical  democracy,  all  had  numer- 
ous friends,  and  these  formed  the  phalanx  of  opposition.  All  the  persuasive 
eloquence  of  its  advocates,  with  pen  and  speech,  was  needed  to  convince  the 
people  of  its  superiority  to  the  Articles  of  Confederat'on,  and  the  necessity  for 
its  ratification.  Among  its  ablest  supporters  was  Alexander  Hamilton,2  whose 

1  The  Convention  agreed  to  the  revised  Constitution  on  the  15th  of  September,  and  on  the  17th 
it  was  signed  by  the  representatives  of  all  the  States  then  present,  except  Randolph,  C4erry,  and 
Mason.     The  Constitution  was  submitted  to  Congress  on  the  28th,  and  that  body  sent  copies  of  it 
to  all  the  State  Legislatures.     State  Conventions  were  then  called  to  consider  it ;  and  more  than  a 
year  elapsed  before  the  requisite  number  of  States  had  ratified  it.     These  performed  that  act  in  the 
following  order:  Delaware,  Dee.  7,   1787;  Pennsylvania,   Dec.  12,   1787;  New  Jersey,  Dec.  18, 
1787;  Georgia,  Jan.  2,  1788;  Connecticut,  Jan.  9,  1788;  Massachusetts,   Feb.  6,  1788;  Maryland, 
April  28,  1788;  South  Carolina,  May  23,  1788;  New  Hampshire,  June  21,   1788;  Virginia,  June 
26,  1788;  New  York,  July  26,  1788;  North  Carolina,  Nov.  21,   1788;  Rhode  Island,  May  29, 
1790. 

2  Alexander  Hamilton  was  born  on  the  Island  of  Nevis,  British  West  Indies,  in  January,  1757. 
He  was  of  Scotch  and  French  parentage.     He  became  a  clerk  to  a  New  York  merchant  at  St. 
Croix,  and  he  was  finally  brought  to  New  York  to  be  educated.    He  was  at  King's  (now  Columbia) 
College,  and  was  distinguished  as  a  good  speaker  and  writer,  while  yet  a  mere  lad.   When  the  Rev- 
olution broke  out,  he  espoused  the  Republican  cause,  entered  the  army,  became  Washington's  favor- 
ite aid  and  secretary,  and  was  an  efficient  officer  until  its  close.     He  made  the  law  his  profession, 
and,  as  an  able  financier,  he  was  made  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  under  the  new  Constitu- 


1789.]     CLOSING  EVENTS  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.     361 

pen  and  sword  had  been  identified  with  the  career  of  Washington  during  almost 
the  whole  War  for  Independence.  He  gave  to  its  advocacy  the  whole  weight  of 
his  character  and  power  of  his  genius :  and,  aided  by  Jay  and  Madison,  he  scat- 
tered broadcast  among  the  people,  those  able  papers  called  Thi  Federalist. 
These,  like  Paine's  Crisis,  stirred  the  masses ;  and  soon  eleven  States,  in  Con- 


vention assembled,  gave  the  Federal  Constitution  their  support,  and  ratified  it. 
Congress  then  fixed  the  time  for  choosing  electors  for  President  and  Vice- 
President,1  and  provided  for  the  organization  of  the  new  government.  On 
Wednesday,  the  4th  day  of  March,  1789,  the  old  Continental  Congress2  expired, 
and  the  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION  became  the  organic  law  of  the  Republic.  This 
was  the  crowning  act  of  the  War  for  Independence,3  and  then  the  UNITED 
STATES  or  AMERICA  commenced  their  glorious  career  as  a  powerful  empire 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth, 

tion.  He  was  shot  iii  a  duel,  by  Aaron  Burr,  in  July,  1804,  at  the  early  age  of  forty-seven  years. 
His  widow,  daughter  of  General  Schuyler,  died  in  November,  1854,  in  the  ninety-seventh  year  of 
her  age. 

1  These  are  men  elected  by  the  people  in  the  various  States,  to  meet  and  choose  a  President  and 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States.     Their  number  is  equal  to  the  whole  number  of  Senators  and 
Representatives  to  which  the  several  States  are  entitled.    So  the  people  do  not  vote  directly  for  the 
Chief  Magistrate.     Formerly,  the  man  who  received  the  highest  number  of  votes  was  declared  to 
be  President,  and  he  who  received  the  next  highest  number  was  proclaimed  Vice-President.     Now 
these  are  voted  for  as  distinct  candidates  for  separate  offices.     See  Article  II.  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution, Supplement.  The  first  electors  were  chosen  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  February,  1789.    The 
inauguration  of  the  first  President  did  not  take  place  [page  366]  until  the  30th  of  April  following. 

2  Page  226. 

3  For  details  of  the  history,  biography,  scenery,  relics,  and  traditions  of  the  War  for  Independ- 
ence, see  Lossing's  Pictorial  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution. 


362 


THE    REVOLUTION. 


[1782. 


Congress  was  in  session  at  New  York  while  the  Convention  at  Philadelphia 
was  busy  in  preparing  the  Federal  Constitution.  During  that  time  it  disposed 
of  the  subject  of  organizing  a  Territorial  Government  for  the  vast  region  north- 
ward of  the  Ohio  River,  within  the  domain  of  the  United  States.1  On  the  llth 
of  July,  1787,  a  committee  of  Congress  reported  "  An  Ordinance  for  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Territory  of  the  United  States  North-west  of  the  Ohio."  This 


report  embodied  a  bill,  whose  provisions  in  regard  to  personal  liberty  and  distri- 
bution of  property,  were  very  important.  It  contained  a  special  proviso  that 
the  estates  of  all  persons  dying  intestate,  in  the  territory,  should  be  equally 
divided  among  all  the  children,  or  next  of  kin  in  equal  degree,  thus  striking 
down  the  unjust  law  of  primogeniture,  and  asserting  a  more  republican  prin- 
ciple. The  bill,  also,  provided  and  declared,  that  "  there  shall  be  neither 
slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in  the  said  territory,  otherwise  than  in  the 
punishment  of  crimes  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted."  This 
ordinance  was  adopted  on  the  13th,  after  adding  a  clause  relative  to  the  reclam- 
ation of  fugitives  from  labor,  similar  to  that  incorporated  in  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution a  few  weeks  later.2 

This  ordinance,  together  with  the  fact  that  Indian  titles  to  seventeen  mil- 
lions of  acres  of  land  in  that  region,  had  been  lately  extinguished  by  treaty 


1  Page  390. 


a  See  the  Federal  Constitution,  Article  IV.,  Section  2,  Clause  3. 


1789.]    -CLOSING   EYENTS   OF  THE   WAR   FOR   INDEPENDENCE.     363 

with  several  of  the  dusky  tribes,1  caused  a  sudden  and  great  influx  of  immi- 
grants into  the  country  along  the  northern  banks  of  the  Ohio.  Manasseh  Cut- 
ler, Rufus  Putnam,  Winthrop  Sargent,  and  other  New  Englanders,  organized 
the  "  Ohio  Company,"  and  entered  into  a  contract  for  the  sale  of  a  tract  of  five 
millions  of  acres,  extending  along  the  Ohio  from  the  Muskingum  to  the  Sciota.2 
A  similar  contract  was  entered  into  with  John  Cleves  Symmes,  of  New  Jersey, 
for  the  sale  of  two  millions  of  acres,  between  the  Great  and  Little  Miamis. 
These  were  the  first  steps  taken  toward  the  settlement  of  the  vast  North-west 
Territory,  which  embraced  the  present  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Mich- 
igan, and  Wisconsin.  It  was  estimated  that,  during  the  year  following  the 
organization  of  that  Territory  [1788],  full  twenty  thousand  men,  women,  and 
children  had  passed  down  the  Ohio  River,  to  become  settlers  upon  its  banks. 
Since,  then,  how  wonderful  has  been  the  progress  of  settlement  beyond  the 
Alleghanies  !  How  wide  and  deep  has  been  the  ever-flowing  tide  of  emigration 
thither!  The  original  THIRTEEN  STATES  have  now  [1856]  expanded  into 
THIRTY-ONE,  and  vast  territories,  destined  to  become  numerous  other  States, 
are  rapidly  filling  with  people. 

1  The  Six  Nations  [page  25],  the  Wyandots  [page  23],  the  Delawares  [page  20],  and  the 
Shawnees  [page  19]. 

3  Rufus  Putnam,  who  had  been  an  active  officer  during  the  War  for  Independence,  was  one  of 
the  most  efficient  of  the  Ohio  settlers.  He  was  born  in  Worcester  county,  Massachusetts,  in  1738. 
He  entered  the  provincial  army  in  1757,  and  continued  in  service  during  the  remaincier  of  the 
French  and  Indian  War.  He  entered  the  army  of  the  Revolution  in  1775,  and  at  near  the  close  of 
the  war,  he  was  promoted  to  brigadier-general  He  went  to  the  Ohio  country,  with  abcut  forty 
settlers,  in  1788.  They  pitched  their  tents  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  River,  formed  a  settle- 
ment, and  called  it  Marietta.  Suspicious  of  the  Indians,  they  built  a  stockade,  and  called  it  Campus 
Martins.  In  1780,  President  Washington  commissioned  General  Putnam  Supreme  Judge  of  the  North- 
west Territory;  and  in  1792,  he  was  appointed  a  brigadier,  under  Wayne.  He  was  appointed  sur- 
veyor-general of  the  United  States  in  1796;  helped  to  frame  the  Constitution  of  Ohio  in  1802  ;  and 
then  retired  to  private  life.  He  died  at  Marietta  in  182-1.  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years.  He  is 
called  the  FATHER  OF  OHIO. 


SIXTH      PERIOD 

THE  CONFEDERATION. 


GOUVERNEUR  MORRIS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 
1789—1797. 

WHEN  the  Federal  Constitution1  had 
received  the  approval  of  the  people,  and 
was  made  the  supreme  law  of  the  Repub- 
lic, all  minds  and  hearts  seemed  spontaneously  turned  toward  Washington  as 
the  best  man  to  perform  the  responsible  duties  of  chief  magistrate  of  the  nation. 
On  the  6th  of  April,  1789,  he  was  chosen  President  of  the  United  States  by 
the  unanimous  vote  of  the  electors,2  and  John  Adams  was  made  Vice-President 
The  journey  of  Washington  from  Mount  Vernon  to  New  York,  was  like  a 
triumphal  march.  He  had  scarcely  left  his  porter's  lodge,  when  he  was  met 
by  a  company  of  gentlemen  from  Alexandria,  who  escorted  him  to  that  town. 
Everywhere  the  people  gathered  to  see  him  as  he  passed  along  the  road.  Towns 
sent  out  committees  to  receive  him,  and  public  addresses  and  entertainments 


1  "We  have  observed  that  Gouverneur  Morris  was  one  of  the  committee  to  make  the  final  revision 
of  the  Constitution.     The  committee  placed  it  in  his  hands,  and  that  instrument,  in  language  and 
general  management,  is  the  work  of  that  eminent  man.     Gouverneur  Morris  was  born  near  New 
York,  in  1752.    He  was  a  lawyer,  and  was  always  active  in  public  life.    In  1792  he  was  appointed 
minister  to  France,  and  after  his  return  he  was  a  legislator  for  many  years.     He  died  in  1816. 

2  Note  1,  page  361. 


1789.] 


WASHINGTON'S    ADMINISTRATION 


36, 


were  given  in  his  honor,  in  many  places.  Militia  companies  escorted  him  from 
place  to  place,  and  firing  of  cannons  and  ringing  of  bells,  announced  his  approach 
to  the  large  towns.  At  Trenton,  his  reception  was  peculiar  and  gratifying.  It 
was  arranged  by  the  ladies.  Over  Trenton  bridge  an  arch  was  thrown,  which 
was  adorned  with  laurel  leaves  and  flowers  from  the  conservatories.  Upon  the 


XJx^^ 

£X  ^ 

crown,  and  formed  of  leaves  and  flowers,  were  the  words,  "  DECEMBER  26, 
1776 ;"  '  and  on  the  sweep  beneath  was  the  sentence,  also  formed  of  flowers  : 
"THE  DEFENDER  OF  THE  MOTHERS  WILL  BE  THE  PROTECTOR  OF  THE 
DAUGHTERS."  Beneath  that  arch  the  President  was  met  by  a  troupe  of 
females.  As  he  approached,  a  group  of  little  girls,  bearing  each  a  basket, 
commenced  strewing  flowers  in  the  road,  and  the  whole  company,  young  and 
old,  joined  in  singing  the  following  ode,  written  for  the  occasion  by  Governor 
Howell: 

a  Welcome,  mighty  chief,  once  more 
Welcome  to  this  grateful  shore. 
Now  no  mercenary  foe 
Aims  again  the  fatal  blow — 

Aims  at  THEE  the  fatal  blow. 
Virgins  fair  and  matrons  grave, 
Those  thy  conquering  arm  did  save, 
Build  for  THEE  triumphal  bowers — 
Strew  your  HERO'S  way  with  flowers!" 

1  Page  262. 


366 


THE     CONFEDERATION". 


[1789. 


Washington  reached  New  York  on  the  23d  of  April,  1789.  On  the 
30th  he  appeared  upon  the  street-gallery  of  the  old  City  Hall1  in  New  York, 
and  there,  in  the  presence  of  an  immense  concourse  of  people  assembled  in 
front,  the  oath  of  office  was  administered  to  him  by  Chancellor  Livingston." 


After  delivering  an  impressive  address  to  the  members  of  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress, the  President  and  the  representatives  of  the  people  went  in  solemn  pro- 
cession to  St.  Paul's  Church,  and  there  invoked  the  blessings  of  the  Supreme 
Ruler  upon  the  new  government  just  inaugurated. 

Men  were  never  called  upon  to  perform  duties  of  greater  responsibility,  than 
those  which  demanded  the  consideration  of  Washington  and  his  compeers.  The 
first  session  of  Congress3  was  chiefly  occupied  in  the  organization  of  the  new 
government,  and  in  the  elaborating  of  schemes  for  the  future  prosperity  of  the 
Republic.  The  earliest  efforts  of  that  body  were  directed  to  the  arrangement 
of  a  system  of  revenues,  in  order  to  adjust  and  regulate  the  wretched  financial 

1  It  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Custom  House,  corner  of  Wall  and  Broad-streets.     In  the 
picture  on  page  364,  a  correct  representation  of  its  street-gallery  is  given. 

2  One  of  the  committee  [note  2,  page  251]  to  draft  the  Declaration  of  Independence.     He  was 
born  in  New  York  in  1747,  became  a  lawyer,  and  was  always  an  active  public  man.     He  was 
minister  to  France  in  1801,  when  he  purchased  Louisiana  for  the  United  States.     See  page  390.    He 
joined  Robert  Fulton  in  steamboat  experiments  [page  398],  and  died  in  1813. 

3  Members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  are  elected  to  seats  for  two  years,  and  they  hold 
two  sessions  or  sittings  during  that  time.     Each  full  term  is  called  a  Congress.     Now  [1856-57] 
our  representatives  are  in  the  third  session  of  the  thirty-fourth  Congress.     The  second  was  an  extra 
session  of  a  few  days.     Senators  are  elected  by  the  State  Legislatures  .to  serve  six  years. 


1797.]  WASHINGTON'S    ADMINISTRATION. 

affairs  of  the  country.1  This  subject  was  brought  forward  by  Madison,2  the 
tacitly  acknowledged  leader  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  two  days  after  the 
votes  for  President  and  Vice-President  had  been  counted.  Pursuant  to  his  suo-- 

o 

gestion.  tonnage  duties  were  levied,  and  also  a  tariff,  or  duties  upon  foreign 
goods  imported  into  the  United  States.  These  duties  were  made  favorable  to 
American  shipping.  This  was  the  commencement  of  our  present,  though  con- 
siderably modified,  revenue  system. 

Having  made  provision  for  the  collection  of  revenue,  Congress  next  turned 
its  attention  to  the  reorganization  of  the  executive  departments.  Three — Treas- 
ury, War,  and  Foreign  Affairs — were  created,  the  heads  of  which  were  to  be 
styled  secretaries,  instead  of  ministers,  as  in  Europe.  These  the  President 
might  appoint  or  dismiss  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate.  They  were  to 
constitute  a  cabinet  council,  always  ready  for  consultation  with  the  President, 
on  public  affairs,  and  bound  to  give  him  their  opinions  in  writing,  wrhen 
required. 

It  may  be  instructive  to  take  a  brief  retrospective  view  of  the  progress  of 
legislative  action  concerning  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  from  the  close 
of  the  Revolution  until  the  time  in  question.  In  March,  1783,  the  younger 
Pitt3  proposed  in  the  British  Parliament,  a  scheme  for  the  temporary  regulation 
of  commercial  intercourse  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  Its 
chief  feature  was  the  free  admission  into  the  British  West  India  ports  of  American 
vessels  laden  with  the  products  of  American  industry — the  West  India  people, 
in  turn,  to  be  allowed  like  free  trade  with  the  United  States.  The  proposition 
was  rejected,  and  soon  an  order  went  forth  from  the  Privy  Council,4  for  the 
entire  exclusion  of  American  vessels  from  West  India  ports,  and  prohibiting  the 
importation  there  of  several  products  of  the  United  States,  even  in  British  bot- 
toms. Notwithstanding  this  unwise  and  narrow  policy  was  put  in  force,  Mr. 
Adams,  the  American  minister  at  the  court  of  St.  James,  proposed,  in  1785, 
to  place  the  navigation  and  trade  between  all  the  dominions  of  the  British  crown 
and  all  the  territories  of  the  United  States,  upon  a  basis  of  perfect  reciprocity. 
This  generous  offer  was  not  only  declined,  but  the  minister  was  haughtily 
assured  that  no  other  would  be  entertained.  Whereupon  Mr.  Adams  imme- 
diately recommended  the  United  States  to  pass  navigation  acts  for  the  benefit 
of  their  commerce. 

Some  individual  States  attempted  to  legislate  upon  commercial  matters 
and  the  subject  of  duties  for  revenue,  but  their  efforts  were  comparatively 
fruitless.  The  importance  of  having  the  united  action  of  all  the  States,  in 
framing  general  navigation  laws,  was  clearly  perceived,  and  this  perception  was 
one  of  the  chief  causes  which  led  to  the  Convention  that  formed  the  Federal 
Constitution.5  The  new  government  was  inaugurated  in  due  time,  and,  as  we 
have  mentioned,  the  earliest  efforts  of  Congress,  under  the  new  order  of  things, 
were  the  consideration  of  schemes  for  imposing  discriminating  duties.6  These 

1  Page  353.  2  Note  5,  page  356.  3  Page  217. 

4  Note  1,  page  400.  5  Page  355.  "  e  Page  306. 


368  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1789. 

measures  immediately  opened  the  blind  eyes  of  British  legislators  to  the  neces- 
sity of  a  reciprocity  in  trade  between  the  two  countries.  They  saw  that  Amer- 
ican commerce  was  no  longer  at  the  mercy  of  thirteen  distinct  legislative  bodies, 
as  under  the  old  Confederation,  nor  subject  to  the  control  of  the  king  and  his 
council.  They  perceived  that  its  interests  were  guarded  and  its  strength  nur- 
tured, by  a  central  power,  of  wonderful  energy,  and  soon  haughty  Britain 
became  the  suppliant.  Soon  after  the  passage  of  the  revenue  laws  by  Con- 
gress, a  committee  of  Parliament  proposed  to  ask  the  United  States  to  con- 
sent to  an  arrangement  precisely  the  same  as  that  suggested  by  Mr.  Adams, 
six  years  before,  which  was  so  scornfully  rejected.  The  proposition  was  met 
by  generous  courtesy  on  the  part  of  the  United  States ;  yet  it  was  not  until 
1816,  when  the  second  war  for  Independence1  had  been  some  time  closed,  that 
reciprocity  treaties  fairly  regulated  the  commerce  between  the  two  countries. 

During  the  period  here  referred  to,  another  great  commercial  interest,  then 
in  embryo,  was  under  contemplation  and  discussion,  by  a  few  men  of  forecast. 
It  was  that  of  the  production  of  COTTON.  Primarily  it  is  an  agricultural  inte- 
rest, but  now,  when  nearly  all  the  cotton  used  on  the  continent  of  Europe  is  grown 
in  the  United  States,  it  has  become  a  great  commercial  interest.  Among  the  first 
and  most  powerful  advocates  of  the  cultivation  of  this  plant,  was  Tench  Coxe,3  of 
Philadelphia,  wrho,  as  early  as  1785,  when  he  was  only  thirty  years  of  age,  pub- 
lished the  fact  that  he  "  felt  pleasing  convictions  that  the  United  States,  in  its 
extensive  regions  south  of  Anne  Arundel  and  Talbot  counties,  Maryland,  would 
certainly  become  a  great  cotton-producing  country."  And  while  the  Federal 
Convention  was  in  session  in  Philadelphia,  in  1787,3Mr.  Coxe  delivered  a  powerful 
public  address  on  that  and  kindred  subjects,  having  for  his  object  the  establishment 
of  a  society  for  the  encouragement  of  manufactures  and  the  useful  arts.  Before 
that  time,  not  a  bale  of  cotton  had  ever  been  exported  from  the  United  States 
to  any  other  country,  and  no  planter  had  adopted  its  cultivation,  as  a  "crop."  4 

The  Senate  was  engaged  upon  the  important  matter  of  a  Federal  judiciary, 
while  the  House  was  employed  on  the  Revenue  bills.  A  plan,  embodied  in  a 
bill  drafted  by  Ellsworth  of  Connecticut,5  was,  after  several  amendments,  con- 
curred in  by  both  Houses.  By  its  provisions,  a  national  judiciary  was  estab- 
lished, consisting  of  a  supreme  court,  having  one  chief  justice,  and  five  associate 

1  Page  409. 

3  Tench  Coxe  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  in  May,  1755,  and,  as  we  have  mentioned  in  the  text, 
was  one  of  the  earliest  advocates  of  the  cotton  culture.     From  1787  until  his  death,  there  was  never 
an  important  industrial  movement  in  which  he  was  not  greatly  interested,  or  in  which  his  name 
did  not  appear  prominent.     In  1794,  while  he  was  the  Commissioner  of  Revenue,  at  Philadelphia,  he 
published  a  large  octavo  volume,  containing  his  views,  as  expressed  in  speech  and  writing,  on  the 
subject  of  the  cotton  culture.     In  1806,  he  published  an  essay  on  naval  power  and  the  encourage- 
ment of  manufactures.     The  following  year  he  published  an  essay  on  the  cultivation  of  cotton,  and 
from  time  to  time  thereafter,  he  wrote  and  published  his  views  on  these  subjects.     He  died  in  July, 
1824,  at  the  age  of  more  than  sixty-eight  years.     See  next  page.  3  Page  356. 

4  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  entire  produce  of  cotton,  in  all  countries,  in  1791,  was  four 
hundred  and  ninety  millions  of  pounds,  and  that  the  United  States  produced  only  one  twenty-fifth 
of  the  entire  quantity.     In  the  year  1855-56,  the  twelve  cotton-growing  States  of  the  Union  pro- 
duced three  millions,  five  hundred  and  twenty-six  thousand,  three  hundred  and  sixty-two  bales,  of 
four  hundred'  pounds  each,  making  an  aggregate  of  one  billion,  four  hundred  and  ten  millions,  five  hun- 
dred and  forty -four  thousand,  eight  hundred  pounds.     The  whole  world  did  not  produce  as  much  cot- 
ton as  this,,  annually,,  previous  to  the  year  1834..  5  Page  360. 


1797.] 


WASHINGTON'S    ADMINISTRATION. 


justices,  who  were  to  hold  two  sessions  annually,  at  the  seat  of  the  Federal 
Government.1  Circuit  and  district  courts  were  also  established,  which  had  ju- 
risdiction over  certain  specified  cases.  Each  State  was  made  a  district,  as  were 
also  the  Territories  of  Kentucky2  and  Maine.3  The  districts,  except  Kentucky 


and  Maine,  were  grouped  together  into  three  circuits.  An  appeal  from  these 
lower  courts  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  was  allowed,  as  to 
points  of  law,  in  all  civil  cases  when  the  matter  in  dispute  amounted  to  two 
thousand  dollars.  A  marshal  was  to  be  appointed  by  the  President,  for  each 
district,  having  the  general  powers  of  a  sheriff,  who  was  to  attend  all  courts, 
and  was  authorized  to  serve  all  processes.  A  district  attorney,  to  act  for  the 
United  States  in  all  cases  in  which  the  Federal  Government  might  be  inter- 
ested, was  also  to  be  appointed  for  each  district.  Such,  in  brief  outline,  and 
in  general  terms,  was  the  Federal  judiciary,  organized  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Government,  and  still  in  force,  with  slight  modifications. 

The  next  business  of  importance  that  engaged  the  attention  of  Congress, 


1  John  Jay  [page  379]  of  New  York,  one  of  the  most  active  and  acute  lawyers  in  the  country, 
was  apppointed  the  first  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States;  and  Edmund  Randolph,  of  Virginia, 
was  made  Attorney-General.  Randolph  succeeded  Patrick  Henry  as  governor  of  Virginia,  in  1786, 
and  was  very  active  in  the  Convention  of  1787.  See  note  1,  page  359.  He  succeeded  Jefferson  as 
Secretary  of  State,  and  died  in  1813.  John  Rutledge  [page  2 1 0],  of  South  Carolina ;  James  Wilson, 
of  Pennsylvania ;  "William  Gushing,  of  Massachusetts ;  Robert  H.  Harrison,  of  Maryland ;  and  John 
Blair,  of  Virginia,  were  appointed  associate  judges.  2  Page  377.  3  Page  452. 

24 


370  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1789. 

was  the  proposed  amendments  to  the  Federal  Constitution,  made  by  the  minor- 
ities of  the  several  conventions  which  ratified  that  instrument.  This  subject 
was  brought  forward  by  Madison,  in  justice  to  these  minorities,  and  pursuant 
to  pledges  which  he  had  found  it  necessary  to  give,  in  order  to  secure  its  ratifi- 
cation in  Virginia.  These  amounted,  in  the  aggregate,  to  one  hundred  and 
forty-seven,1  besides  separate  bills  of  rights  proposed  by  Virginia  and  New 
York.  Many  of  these  amendments  were  identical  in  spirit,  as,  for  example,  the 
nine  propositions  by  Massachusetts  were  repeated  by  New  Hampshire.  And  it 
is  a  singular  fact,  that  of  all  the  proposed  amendments,  not  one,  judged  by  sub- 
sequent experience,  was  of  a  vital  character.  How  well  this  illustrates  the 
profound  wisdom  embodied  in  our  Constitution !  Sixteen  amendments  were 
finally  agreed  to  by  Congress,  ten  of  which  were  subsequently  ratified  by  the 
States,  and  became  a  part  of  the  Federal  compact.2  After  a  session  of  almost 
six  months,  Congress  adjourned,3  on  the  29th  of  September  [1789],  and  Wash- 
ington, having  appointed  his  cabinet  council,4  made  a  brief  tour  through  the 
northern  and  eastern  States,  to  make  himself  better  acquainted  with  the  people 
and  their  resources.6 

On  the  8th  of  January,  1790,  the  second  session  of  the  first  Congress  com- 
menced, during  which  Alexander  Hamilton,6  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
made  some  of  those  able  financial  reports  which  established  the  general  line  of 
national  policy  for  more  than  twenty  years.  On  his  recommendation,  the  gen- 
eral government  assumed  the  public  foreign  and  domestic  debt  incurred  by  the 
late  war,7  and  also  the  State  debts  contracted  during  that  period.  The  foreign 
debt,  including  interest,  due  to  France  and  to  private  lenders  in  Holland,  with 
a  small  sum  to  Spain,  amounted  to  $11,710,378.  The  domestic  debt,  regis- 
tered and  unregistered,  including  interest,  and  some  claims,  principally  the  out- 
standing continental  money,8  amounted  to  $42.414,085.  Nearly  one  third  of 
this  was  the  arrears  of  interest.  As  the  government  certificates,  continental 


1  The  minority  of  the  Pennsylvania  Convention  proposed  14;  of  Massachusetts,  9;  of  Maryland, 
28;  of  South  Carolina,  4;  of  New  Hampshire,  12;  of  Virginia,  20;  of  New  York,  32. 

3  See  Supplement. 

3  A  few  days  before  the  adjournment,  a  resolution  was  adopted,  requesting  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  recommend  a  day  of  public  thanksgiving  and  prayer,  to  be  observed  by  the  people 
of  the  nation,  in  acknowledgment  of  the  many  signal  favors  of  the  Almighty,  iu  permitting  them  to 
establish,  in  peace,  a  free  government. 

4  Alexander  Hamilton  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ; 
Henry  Knox,  Secretary  of  War;  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  Secretary 
of  Foreign  Affairs.    Jefferson  was  then  United  States  minister  at  the 
court  of  France,  and  did  not  enter  upon  his  duties  until  March,  1790. 
The  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Navy  was  not  created  until  the  pres- 
idency of  Mr.  Adams.     Naval  affairs  were  under  the  control  of  the 
Secretary  of  War.     General  Knox  was  one  of  the  most  efficient 
officers  of  the  Revolution,  having,  from  the  beginning,  the  chief  com- 
mand of  the  artillery.     He  entered  the  army  as  captain  of  artillery, 
and  rose  to  the  rank  of  major-general.     Note  4,  page  350. 

5  Washington  was  everywhere  received  with  great  honors ;  and 
Trumbull,  author  of  JLPFingal,  wrote  to  his  friend,  Oliver  Wolcott: 

GENERAL  KNOX.  "  We  have  gone  through  all  the  popish  grades  of  worship ;  and  the 

President  returns  all  fragrant  with  the  odor  of  incense." 

6  Note  2,  page  360. 

7  Note  2,  page  253.     In  that  note  the  amount  given  is  the  principal,  without  the  interest. 

8  Page  245. 


1797.]  WASHINGTON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  371 

bills,  and  other  evidences  of  debt,  were  now  held  chiefly  by  speculators,  who 
had  purchased  them  at  reduced  rates,  the  idea  had  been  put  forth  by  prominent 
men,  that  it  would  be  proper  and  expedient  to  apply  a  scale  of  depreciation,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  paper  money  toward  the  close  of  the  war, l  in  liquidating  these 
claims.  But  Hamilton  opposed  it  as  dishonest  and  impolitic,  arguing,  in  sup- 
port of  the  latter  objection,  that  public  credit  was  essential  to  the  new  Federal 
Government.  He  therefore  urged  that  all  the  debts  of  the  government  should 
be  met  according  to  the  terms  of  the  contract.  He  proposed  the  funding  of  the 
public  debt,  in  a  fair  and  economical  way,  by  which  the  public  creditors  should 
receive  their  promised  six  per  cent,  interest,  until  the  Government  should  be 
able  to  pay  the  principal,  the  Secretary  assuming  that,  in  five  years,  the 
United  States  might  effect  loans  at  five,  and  even  at  four  per  cent.,  with  which 
these  claims  might  be  liquidated.  He  proposed  to  have  the  proceeds  of  the 
post-office"  as  a  sinking  fund,  for  the  gradual  extinction  of  the  debt.  After 
much  debate,  the  propositions  of  Hamilton,  in  general,  were  agreed  to  by  Con- 
gress, on  the  9th  of  March,  1790.3  A  system  of  revenue  from  imposts  and 
internal  excise,  proposed  by  Hamilton,  was  also  adopted.  A  petition  from 
the  Society  of  Friends,  or  Quakers,  presented  on  the  llth  of  February,  on  the 
subject  of  slavery,  caused  long,  and,  sometimes,  acrimonious  debates.  An  act 
was  also  passed,  during  this  session,  making  the  District  of  Columbia  the  per- 
manent seat  of  the  Federal  Government,  after  the  lapse  of  ten  years  from  that 
date. 

The  First  Congress  commenced  its  third  session4  in  December,  1T90,  and 
before  its  close,  measures  were  adopted  which  laid  the  foundations  of  public 
credit  and  national  prosperity,  deep  and  abiding.  During  the  two  years  in 
which  the  new  government  had  been  engaged  in  the  business  of  organization,  a 
competent  revenue  had  been  provided  for ;  the  public  debt,  national  and  State, 
had  been  funded,  and  the  interest  thereon  had  been  provided  for ;  a  national 
judiciary,  wise  in  all  its  features,  had  been  established;  and  the  nation,  in 
its  own  estimation  and  that  of  other  States  of  the  world,  had  taken  a  proud 
position  in  the  great  political  family.  North  Carolina  [Nov.  21,  1789]  and 
Rhode  Island  [May  29,  1790],  had  already  become  members  of  the  Confeder- 
acy, by  ratifying  the  Constitution  ;B  and  during  this  session,  Vermont0  had  been 
admitted  [Feb.  18,  1791]  as  a  sovereign  State.  Settlements  were  now  rapidly 
spreading  beyond  the  Alleghanies,7  and  the  subject  of  territorial  organizations 

1  Note  3,  page  245.  2  Page  373. 

3  The  President  was  authorized  to  borrow  $12,000,000,  if  necessary,  to  pay  off  the  foreign  debt; 
and  a  new  loan  was  to  be  opened,  payable  in  certificates,  of  the  domestic  debt,  at  their  par  value, 
and  in  continental  bills  of  credit,  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  for  one.  Congress  also  authorized  an 
additional  loan,  payable  in  certificates  of  the  State  debts,  to  the  amount  of  $21,500,000.  These 
certificates  were  those  which  had  been  issued  for  services  or  supplies,  during  the  war.  A  new 
board  of  commissioners  was  appointed,  with  full  power  to  settle  all  claims  on  general  principles  of 
equity.  *  Note  3,  page  366.  6  Page  3 GO. 

6  Vermont  was  originally  called  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  and  was  claimed  by  both  New 
York  and  New  Hampshire.     In  1777,  the  people  met  in  convention,  and  proclaimed  the  territory 
an  independent  State.     After  purchasing  the  claims  of  New  York  for  $30,000,  it  was  admitted  into 
the  Union. 

7  The  first  census,  or  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States,  was  completed  in 
1791.     The  number  of  all  sexes  and  colors,  was  3,929,000.     The  number  of  slaves  was  695,000. 


372  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1789. 

was  pressed  upon  the  consideration  of  Congress.  Already  the  North-western 
Territory,  as  we  have  seen,1  had  been  established  [July,  1787],  and  Tennessee 
had  been  constituted  [March  26,  1790]  the  Territory  South-west  of  the  Ohio.'' 

The  subject  of  a  national  currency  early  engaged  the  attention  of  Congress, 
and  at  the  commencement  of  the  last  session  of  the  First  Congress,  a  bill  for 
the  establishment  of  a  national  bank  was  introduced  into  the  Senate,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  suggestion  and  plan  of  Hamilton.  At  that  time  the  whole  bank- 
ing capital  in  the  United  States  was  only  $2,000,000,  invested  in  the  Bank  of 
North  America,  at  Philadelphia,  established  by  Robert  Morris  ;3  the  Bank  of 
New  Ybr/j,  in  New  York  city,,  and  the  Bank  of  Massachusetts,  in  Boston. 
The  charter  was  limited  to  twenty  years  ;  its  location  was  to  be  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  and  its  management  to  be  intrusted  to  twenty-five  directors. 
Although  chartered  in  January,  1791,  the  National  Bank  did  not  commence 
its  operations,  in  corporate  form,  until  in  February,  1794,  when  it  began  with 
a  capital  of  $10,000.000. 

Early  in  the  first  session  of  the  second  Congress,  the  important  subject  of 
a  national  mint  received  the  attention  of  the  representatives  of  the  people.  That 
subject  had  been  frequently  discussed.  As  early  as  1782,  the  topic  of  coins 
arid  currency  had  been  presented  to  the  Continental  Congress,  by  Gouverneur 
Morris,  in  an  able  report,  written  at  the  request  of  Robert  Morris.  In  1784, 
Mr.  Jefferson,  as  chairman  of  a  committee  appointed  for  the  purpose,  submitted 
a  report,  agreeing  with  Morris  in  regard  to  a  decimal  system,  but  entirely  dis- 
agreeing with  him  in  the  details.4  He  proposed  to  strike  four  coins,  namely, 
a  golden  piece  of  the  value  of  ten  dollars  ;  a  dollar,  in  silver  ;  a  tenth  of  a  dol- 
lar, in  silver;  and  a  hundredth  of  a  dollar,  in  copper.  In  1785,  Congress 
adopted  Mr.  Jefferson's  report,  and  made  legal  provision,  the  following  year, 
for  a  coinage  upon  that  basis.  This  was  the  origin  of  our  cent,  dime,  dollar, 
and  eagle.  Already  several  of  the  States  had  issued  copper  coins  ;5  but  the 
Federal  Constitution  vested  the  right  of  coinage  solely  in  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. The  establishment  of  a  Mint  was  delayed,  however,  and  no  special  action 
in  that  direction  was  taken  until  1790,  when  Mr.  Jefferson,  then  Secretary  of 

1  Pago  3G2, 

2  The  subject  of  the  public  lands  of  the  United  States  has  always  been  one  of  interest.     The 
first  act  of  Congress,  on  the  subject  of  limited  sales,  was  in  accordance  with  a  scheme  proposed  by 
Hamilton,  in  1790,  which  provided  in  some  degree  for  the  protection  of  small  purchasers.     Previous 
to  that,  not  less  than  a  tract  of  four  thousand  acres  could  be  purchased.     This  was  calculated  to 
make  labor  subservient  to  wealth,  in  new  settlements.     Hamilton's  scheme  was  highly  approved. 
The  minimum  price  of  public  land,  previous  to  1800,  was  two  dollars  per  acre  ;  since  then,  one  dol- 
lar and  twenty-five  cents.     The  extent  of  the  public  domain  has  greatly  increased,  by  accessions, 
within  a  few  years.     At  the  close  of  1855,  there  remained  unsold  about  96.000,000  of  acres  of  sur- 
veyed public  domain,  and  of  the  unsurveyed,  about  136.000,000  of  acres,  worth,  in  the  aggregate, 
about  $276,000,000.     The  average  cost  to  the  government,  per  acre,  of  acquiring  title,  surveying, 
selling,  and  managing,  is  about  22  cents  per  acre,  while  it  sells  at  $1.25  per  acre,  or  a  net  profit  of 
$1.03.  3  Note  3,  page  263. 

4  Morris  attempted  to  harmonize  the  moneys  of  all  the  States.     Starting  with  an  ascertained 
fraction  as  an  unit,  for  a  divisor,  he  proposed  the'  following  table  of  moneys : 

Ten  units  to  be  equal  to  one  penny. 

Ten  pence  to  one  bill. 

Ten  bills  one  dollar  (or  about  seventy-five  cents  of  our  currency). 

Ten  dollars  one  crown. 
6  Note  4,  page  122. 


1797.]  WASHINGTON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  373 

.  State,  urged  the  matter  upon  the  attention  of  Congress.  Still  there  was  delay, 
until  on  the  2d  of  April,  1792,  laws  were  enacted  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Mint.  During  three  years  from  that  time,  its  operations  were  chiefly  experi- 
mental, and  long  debates  were  had  concerning  the  devices  for  the  new  coins.1 
The  Mint  was  finally  put  into  full  operation,  in  1795,2  and  has  continued  to 
increase  in  its  issues  of  coin,  ever  since.3 

A  bill  for  the  organization  of  a  post-office  system,  was  passed  during  the 
same  session  that  measures  were  adopted  for  the  establishment  of  a  Mint.  Very 
soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  first  session  of  the  first  Congress,  a  letter 
was  received  from  Ebenezer  Hazzard  [July  17,  1789],  then  postmaster-general 
under  the  old  Confederation,  suggesting  the  importance  of  some  new  regula- 
tions for  that  department.  A  bill  for  the  temporary  establishment  of  the  post 
office  was  passed  soon  afterward.  The  subject  was  brought  up,  from  time  to 
time,  until  the  present  system  was  organized  in  1792.  The  postmaster-general 
was  not  made  a  cabinet  officer  until  the  first  year  [1829]  of  President  Jack- 
son's administration.4 

British  agents  on  the  north-western  frontier  continued  to  tamper  with  the 
Indians,  and  excite  them  to  hostilities  against  the  United  States,  for  several 
years  after  the  peace  of  1783.5  And,  contrary  to  the  terms  of  that  treaty,  the 
British  held  possession  of  western  posts  belonging  to  the  United  States.  These 
facts  caused  a  prevalent  belief  that  the  British  government  yet  hoped  for  an 
opportunity  to  bring  the  new  Republic  back  to  colonial  dependence.  The  .pub- 
lic mind  in  America  became  excited,  and  the  fact,  that  Sir  John  Johnston5  was 
the  British  Indian  agent  on  that  frontier,  and  Sir  Guy  Carleton  (then  Lord 
Dorchester)  was  again  governor  of  Canada,7  strengthened  that  opinion  and 
apprehension.  Finally,  in  the  spring  of  1790,  the  fostered  discontents  of  the 
Indians  were  developed  into  open  hostilities.  Attempts  at  pacific  arrangements 
were  fruitless,  and  General  Harmer  was  sent  into  the  Indian  country  north  of 
the  present  Cincinnati,  with  quite  a  strong  force,  to  desolate  their  villages  and 


1  The  Senate  proposed  the  head  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  who  should  occupy  the 
chair  at  the  time  of  the  coinage.     In  the  House,  the  head  of  Liberty  was  suggested,  as  being  less 
aristocratic  than  that  of  the  President — having  less  the  stamp  of  royalty.     The  head  of  Liberty  was 
finally  adopted. 

2  The  first  mint  was  located  in  Philadelphia,  and  remained  the  sole  issuer  of  coin,  in  the  United 
States,  until  1835,  when  a  branch  was  established  in  each  of  the  States  of  Georgia,  North  Carolina, 
and  Louisiana — in  Charlotte,  Dahlonega,  and  New  Orleans.   '  These  three  branches  went  into  oper- 
ation in  the  years  1837-38. 

3  From  1793  to  1795,  the  value  of  the  whole  issue  was  a  little  more  than  a  million  and  a  half 
of  dollars.     For  the  last  three  or  four  years,  the  amount  has  exceeded  sixty  millions  annually.    Pre- 
vious to  the  year  1830,  almost  the  entire  supply  of  gold  for  our  coinage  was  furnished  by  foreign 
countries.     North  Carolina  was  the  first  State  of  the  Union  that  sent  gold  to  the  mint  from  its 
mines.     Since  then,  almost  every  S*tate  has  made  contributions,  some  very  small.     But  the  young- 
est State  of  •  all,  California   [See    page   497],  has   outstripped  them  all,  having  sent  to  the  mint,  at 
the  close  of  1854,  gold  to  the  amount  of  $264,250,000  of  the  $273,609,000  worth,  the  amount  of  the 
entire  deposit  of  domestic  gold.     Altogether,  the  yield  of  the  California  mines  now  [1856]  may  be 
fairly  estimated,  in  round  numbers,  at,  at  least  $500,000,000. 

4  Page  459.     The  operations  of  the  post-office  department  increased  very  rapidly  year  after  year. 
In  1795,  the  number  of  post-office  routes  was  453  over  13.207  miles  of  travel.     The  revenue  of  the 
department  was  $160,620.     Now  [1856]  the  mlmber  of  routes  is  over  25,000;  the  number  of  miles 
traveled,  full  220,000;  and  the  revenue  nearly  $7,000,000. 

6  Page  348.  6  Note  2,  page  278.  7  Page  240. 


374  THE     CONFEDERATION".  [1789. 

crops,  as  Sullivan  did  those  of  the  Senecas  in  1779. l  In  this  he  succeeded,  but 
in  two  battles  [Oct.  17  and  22,  1790],  near  the  present  village  of  Fort  Wayne, 
in  Indiana,  he  was  defeated,  with  considerable  loss.  The  following  year,  an 
expedition  of  Kentucky  volunteers,  under  General  Scott,  marched  against  the 
Indians  on  the  Wabash.  General  Wilkinson  led  a  second  expedition  against 
them,  in  July  following,  and  in  September,  General  St.  Clair,2  then  governor 
of  the  North-west  Territory,  marched  into  the  Indian  country,  with  two  thou- 
sand men.  While  in  camp  near  the  northern  line  of  Darke  county,  Ohio,  on 
the  borders  of  Indiana,  he  was  surprised  and  defeated  [Nov.  4,  1791]  by  the 
Indians,  with  a  loss  of  about  six  hundred  men. 

The  defeat  of  St.  Clair  produced  great  alarm  on  the  whole  north-western 
frontier.  Even  the  people  of  Pittsburg3  did  not  feel  secure,  and  the  border 
settlers  called  loudly  for  help.  Fortunately  the  Indians  did  not  follow  up  the 
advantage  they  had  gained,  and  for  a  while  hostilities  ceased.  Commissioners 
were  appointed  to  treat  with  them,  but  through  the  interference  of  British 
officials,  their  negotiations  were  fruitless.  General  Wayne4  had  been  appointed, 
in  the  mean  while,  to  succeed  St.  Clair  in  military  command,  and  apprehend- 
ing that  the  failure  of  the  negotiations  would  be  followed  by  an  immediate 
attack  upon  the  frontier  settlements,  he  marched  into  the  Indian  country  in  the 
autumn  of  1793.  He  spent  the  winter  at  Greenville,5  near  the  place  of  St. 
Clair's  defeat,  where  he  built  Fort  Recovery.  The  following  summer  [1794] 
he  pushed  forward  to  the  Maumee  River,  and  built  Fort  Defiance  ;6  and  on  the 
St.  Mary's  he  erected  Fort  Adams  as  an  intermediate  post.  On  the  16th  of 
August  he  went  down  the  Maumee,  with  three  thousand  men,  and  not  far  from 
the  present  Maumee  City,7  he  fought  and  defeated  the  Indians,  on  the  20th  of 
the  same  month.  He  then  laid  waste  their  country,  and  after  a  successful 
campaign  of  about  ninety  days,  he  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Greenville. 
There,  the  following  year,  the  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  western  tribes,  in  all 
about  eleven  hundred,  met  [August  3,  1795]  commissioners  of  the  United 
States,  made  a  treaty  of  peace,  and  ceded  to  the  latter  a  large  tract  of  land  in 
the  present  States  of  Michigan8  and  Indiana.  After  that,  the  United  States 
had  very  little  trouble  with  the  western  Indians  until  just  before  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  of  1812-15.9 

Party  spirit,  which  had  been  engendered  during  the  discussions  of  the 
Federal  Constitution,10  gradually  assumed  distinct  forms,  and  during  the  second 
session  of  the  second  Congress,  it, became  rampant  among  the  people,  as  well  as 
in  the  national  legislature.  Hamilton  and  Jefferson,  the  heads  of  distinct 
departments11  in  Washington's  cabinet,  differed  materially  concerning  important 
public  measures,  and  then,  under  the  respective  leadership  of  those  statesmen, 

1  Pago  304.         2  Page  276.         3  Page  205.         4  Page  298.         8  In  Darke  county,  Ohio. 

6  At  the  junction  of  the  Au  Glaize  with  the  Maumee  River,  in  the  south-east  part  of  Williams 
county,  Ohio. 

7  In  the  town  of  "Waynesfield.      The  British  then  occupied  a  fort  at  the  Maumee  Rapids, 
near  by. 

8  The  British  held  possession  of  Detroit,  and  nearly  all  Michigan,  until  1796.     See  page  380. 

9  Page  409.  10  Page  360.  "  Page  367. 


"WAYNE'S  DEFEAT  OF  THE  INDIANS. 


1797.]  WASHINGTON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  377 

were  drawn  those  lines  of  party  distinction  known  as  Federalist  and  Repub- 
lican, which  continued  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  Federalist  party  was 
composed  of  those  who  favored  great  concentration  of  power  in  the  general  gov- 
ernment. The  Republicans,  on  the  contrary,  were  for  diffusing  power  among 
the  people.  Here  were  antagonistic  points  of  great  difference,  and  the  warfare 
between  the  parties  was  acrimonious  in  the  extreme. 

During  the  summer  of  1792,  very  little  of  public  interest  occurred,  except 
the  admission  [June  1]  of  Kentucky1  into  the  Union,  but  the  marshalling  of 
forces  for  the  presidential  election,  which  was  to  take  place  in  the  autumn. 
Washington  yearned  for  the  quiet  of  private  life,  and  had  expressed  his  deter- 
mination to  withdraw  from  public  station  on  the  expiration  of  his  presidential 
term ;  but  it  was  made  evident  to  his  mind,  that  the  great  majority  of  the 
people  desired  his  continuance  in  office,  and  that  the  public  safety  demanded 
it.  Under  these  circumstances,  he  consented  to  be  a  candidate,  and  he  and 
Adams  were  re-elected  by  large  majorities. 

Yet  the  Republican  party  was  daily  gaining  strength,  partly  from  develop- 
ments within  the  body  politic  of  the  United  States,  and  partly  from  events  then 
transpiring  in  Europe.  A  bloody  revolution  was  in  progress  in  France.  The 
people  there  had  abolished  monarchy,  and  murdered  their  king,  and  the  new 
Republic  in  name  (a  political  chaos  in  reality),  having  the  avowed  sympathies 
of  the  Republican  party  in  America,2  sent  M.  Genet3  as  its  minister  to  the 
United  States,  to  obtain  the  co-operation  of  the  American  people.  The  French 
Republic  had  declared  war  against  England,  Spain,  and  Holland,  and  needed 
transatlantic  assistance.  Remembering  the  recent  alliance,4  and  sympathizing 
with  all  efforts  for  popular  freedom,  the  Republican  party  here,  and  also  many 
of  the  Federalists,  received  Genet  (who  arrived  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
in  April,  1793)  with  open  arms,  and  espoused  his  cause. 

But  Genet's  zeal  outstripped  his  prudence,  and  defeated  his  plans.  With- 
out waiting  for  an  expression  of  opinions  or  intentions  from  the  government  of 
the  United  Scates,  he  began  to  fit  out  privateers5  in  our  ports,  to  depredate 
upon  English,  Dutch,  and  Spanish  property  ;6  and  when  Washington  prudently 
issued  [May  9,  1793]  a  proclamation,  declaring  it  to  be  the  duty  and  the  inter- 


1  Kentucky,  which  had  been  settled  chiefly  by  Virginians,  and  was  claimed  as  a  part  of  the 
territory  of  that  State,  was  now  erected  into  a  sovereign  member  of  the  confederation.  Its  first 
ssttlement,  as  we  have  seen  [note  2,  page  300],  was  at  Boonesboro',  by  Daniel  Boone,  in  1775. 

a  There  was  a  general  burst  of  enthusiasm  in  the  United  States,  on  receipt  of  the  intelligence  of 
the  advent  of  Liberty  in  France,  and  public  demonstrations  of  it  were  made  iri  several  places.  In 
Boston,  an  ox,  roasted  whole,  was  placed  upon  a  car  drawn  by  sixteen  horses,  and  with  the  Amer- 
ican and  French  flags  displayed  from  its  horns,  was  paraded  through  the  streets,  followed  by  carts, 
bearing  bread  and  two  hogsheads  of  punch,  which  were  distributed  among  the  people.  A  civic 
feast  was  held  at  Faneuil  Hall,  over  which  Samuel  Adams  [note  1,  page  221]  presided.  In  Phil- 
adelphia the  anniversary  of  the  French  alliance  [page  283]  was  celebrated  by  a  public  dinner,  at 
Which.  General  Mifflin  [page  352]  presided;  and  in  other  places  festivals  were  held. 

f  3  Edmund  Charles  Genet  was  the  son  of  A  distinguished  public  man  in  France.  He  married,  in 
this  country,  a  daughter  of  Governor  George  Clinton  [note  5.  page  350],  and  remained  in  the 
United  States.  He  died  at  Greenbush,  opposite  Albany,  in  1834,  aged  about  seventy-two  years. 

|  Page  283.  &  Note  1,  page  246. 

These  cruisers  brought  captured  vessels  into  our  ports,  and  French  consuls  actually  held 
courts  of  admiralty,  and  authorized  the  sale  of  the  prizes.  All  this  was  done  before  Genet  was 
recognized  as  a  minister  by  the  American  government. 


378  THE     CONFEDEKATION.  [1789. 

est  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  preserve  a  strict  neutrality  toward  the 
contending  powers  of  Europe,  Genet  persisted,  and  tried  to  excite  hostility 
between  our  people  and  their  government.  Washington  finally  requested  and 
obtained  his  recal,  and  Fauchet,  who  succeeded  him  in  1794,  was  instructed  to 
assure  the  President  that  the  French  government  disapproved  of  Genet's  con- 
duct. No  doubt  the  prudence  and  firmness  of  Washington,  at  this  time,  saved 
our  Republic  from  utter  ruin. 

A  popular  outbreak  in  western  Pennsylvania,  known  in  history  as  The 
Whiskey  Insurrection,  gave  the  new  government  much  trouble  in  1794.  An 
excise  law,  passed  in  1791,  which  imposed  duties  on  domestic  distilled  liquors, 
was  very  unpopular.  A  new  act,  passed  in  the  spring  of  1794,  was  equally 
unpopular ;  and  when,  soon  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  officers  were 
sent  to  enforce  it  in  the  western  districts  of  Pennsylvania,  they  were  resisted 
by  the  people,  in  arms.  The  insurrection  became  general  throughout  all  that 
region,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Pittsburg  many  outrages  were  committed. 
Buildings  were  burned,  mails  were  robbed,  and  government  officers  were  in- 
sulted and  abused.  At  one  time  there  were  between  six  and  seven  thousand 
insurgents  under  arms.  The  local  militia  would  have  been  utterly  impotent  to 
restore  order,  if  their  aid  had  been  given.  Indeed,  most  of  the  militia  assem- 
bled in  response  to  a  call  made  by  the  leaders  of  the  insurgents,  and  these  com- 
posed a  large  portion  of  the  "  rebels."  The  insurgent  spirit  extended  into  the 
border  counties  of  Virginia ;  and  the  President  and  his  cabinet,  perceiving,  with 
alarm,  this  imitation  of  the  lawlessness  of  French  politics,  took  immediate  steps 
to  crush  the  growing  hydra.  The  President  first  issued  two  proclamations 
[August  7,  and  September  25],  but  without  effect.  After  due  consideration, 
and  the  exhaustion  of  all  peaceable  means,  he  ordered  out  a  large  body  of  the 
militia  of  Virginia,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey,  who  marched  to 
the  insurgent  district,  in  October  [1794],  under  the  command  of  General 
Henry  Lee,  then  governor  of  Virginia.1  This  last  argument  was  effectual ;  and 
soon  this  insurrection,  like  that  of  Shays's,  of  Massachusetts,  some  years 
earlier,2  which  threatened  the  stability  of  the  Federal  Government,  was 
allayed. 

Another  cloud  was  now  rising  in  the  political  horizon.  While  these  inter- 
nal commotions  were  disturbing  the  public  tranquillity,  a  bitter  feeling  was 
growing  up  between  the  American  and  British  governments.  Each  accused 
the  other  of  infractions  of  the  treaty  of  1783,3  and  the  disputes,  daily  assuming 
a  more  bitter  tone,  threatened  to  involve  the  two  nations  in  another  war.  The 
Americans  complained  that  no  indemnification  had  been  made  for  negroes  car- 
ried away  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution  ;4  that  the  British  held  military  posts 
on  their  frontiers,  contrary  to  the  treaty  ;5  that  British  'emissaries  had  excited 
the  hostility  of  the  Indians  ;G  and  that,  to  retaliate  on  France,  the  English  had 

1  Page  333.  2  Page  353.  3  Page  348. 

4  During  the  last  two  years  of  the  war  in  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  and  at  the  final  evacua- 
tion, the  British  plundered  many  plantations,  and  sold  the  negroes  in  the  "West  Indies. 

6  Note  8,  page  374.  B  Page  373. 


1797.]  WASHINGTON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  379 

captured  our  neutral  vessels,  and  impressed  our  seamen  into  the  British  service.1 
The  British  complained  that  stipulations  concerning  the  property  of  loyalists,3 
and  also  in  relation  to  debts  contracted  in  England  before  the  Revolution,  had 
not  been  complied  with.  In  order  to  avert  an  event  so  very  undesirable  as 
a  war  with  Great  Britain,  the  President  proposed  to  send  a  special  envoy  to  the 
British  court,  in  hopes  of  bringing  to  an  amicable  settlement,  all  matters  in 
dispute  between  the  two  governments.  The  Federal  Legislature  approved  of  it, 


and  on  the  19th  of  April,  1794,  John  Jay3  was  appointed  an  envoy  extraordi- 
nary for  the  purpose. 

The  special  minister  of  the  United  States  was  received  with  great  courtesy 
in  England,  where  he  arrived  in  June ;  and  he  negotiated  a  treaty  which,  at  the 
time,  was  not  very  satisfactory  to  a  large  portion  of  his  countrymen.  It  hon- 
estly provided  for  the  collection  of  debts  here,  by  British  creditors,  which  had 


This  practice  was  one  of  the  causes  which  finally  produced  a  war  between  the  two  nations, 
in  1812.  See  page  409. 

3  The  loyalists,  or  Tories  [note  4,  page  226],  who  had  fled  from  the  country  during  the  prog- 
ress, or  at  the  close  of  the  War  for  Independence,  and  \\hose  property  had  been  confiscated, 
endeavoured  to  regain  their  estates,  and  also  indemnity  for  their  other  losses.  The  British  govern- 
ment finally  paid  to  these  sufferers  more  than  $15,000,000. 

3  John  Jay  was  a  descendant  of  a  Huguenot  family  [page  49],  and  was  born  in  the  city  of  New 
York  in  1745.  He  was  early  in  the  ranks  of  active  patriots,  and  rendered  very  important  services 
during  the  Revolution.  After  the  war  he  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  of  our  countrymen  in  laying 
the  foundations  of  our  Federal  Government,  and  of  establishing  the  civil  government  of  his  native 
State,  of  which  he  was  chief  magistrate  at  one  time.  He  retired  from  public  life  in  1801,  and 
died  in  1829,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years.  His  residence  was  at  Bedford.  Westchester  county, 
York. 


380 


THE     CONFEDERATION. 


[1789. 


been  contracted  before  the  Revolution,  but  it  procured  no  redress  for  those  who 
had  lost  negroes.  It  secured  indemnity  for  unlawful  captures  on  the  seas,  and 
the  evacuation  of  the  forts  on  the  frontiers  (yet  held  by  the  British),  by  the  1st 
of  June,  1796.  In  order  to  secure  certain  points  of  great  importance,  Jay  was 


compelled  to  yield  others ;  and  he  finally  signed  a  treaty,  defective,  in  some 
things,  and  objectionable  in  others,  but  the  best  that  could  then  be  obtained. 
The  treaty  gave  rise  to  violent  debates  in  Congress,1  and  in  State  Legislatures, 
but  was  ratified  by  the  Senate  on  the  24th  of  June,  1795.3  The  wisdom, 

1  The  debates,  on  that  occasion,  developed  talent  of  the  highest  order,  and  present  a  memorable 
epoch  in  the  history  of  American  politics  and  statesmanship.  Albert  Gallatin  then  established 
his  title  to  the  leadership  of  the  opposition  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  while  Fisher  Ames,  in  a 
speech  of  wonderful  power,  in  favor  of  the  treaty  and  the  Administration,  won  for  himself  the 
laurels  of  an  unrivaled  orator.  He  was,  then  in  feeble  health ;  and  when  he  arose  to  speak,  thin 
and  pale,  he  could  hardly  support  himself  on  his  feet,  and  his  voice  was  feeble.  Strength  seemed 
to  come  as  he  warmed  with  the  subject,  and  his  eloquence  and  wisdom  poured  forth  as  from  a 
mighty  and  inexhaustible  fountain.  So  powerful  was  his  speech,  that  a  member  opposed  to  him 
moved  that  the  question  on  which  he  had  spoken  should  be  postponed  until  the  next  day,  "  that 
they'should  not  act  under  the  influence  of  an  excitement  of  which  their  calm  judgment  might  net 
approve."  In  allusion  to  this  speech,  John  Adams  bluntly  said:  "There  wasn't  a  dry  eye  in  the 
House,  except  some  of  the  jackasses  that  occasioned  the  necessity  of  the  oratory."  Fisher  Arnes 
was  born  in  Dedham,  Massachusetts,  in  April,  1756.  His  health  was  delicate  from  infancy.  He 
was  so  precocious  that  he  commenced  the  study  of  Latin  when  six  years  of  age,  and  was  admitted 
to  Harvard  College  at  the  age  of  twelve.  He  chose  the  law  for  a  profession,  and  soon  stood  at  the 
head  of  the  bar  in  his  native  district.  He  was  a  warm  advocate  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  He 
was  the  first  representative  of  his  district  in  the  Federal  Congress.  He  died  on  the  4th  of  July, 
1808,  at  the  age  of  forty-eight  years. 

8  Great  excitement  succeeded.     In  several  cities  mobs  threatened  personal  violence  to  the  sup- 


1797.]  WASHINGTON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  381 

and  policy,  and  true  patriotism  of  Mr.  Jay  were  soon  made  manifest.  In  Oc- 
tober following,  a  treaty  was  concluded  with  Spain,  by  which  the  boundaries  be- 
tween the  Spanish  territories  of  Louisiana  and  Florida,  and  the  United  States, 
were  defined.  That  treaty  also  secured  to  the  United  States  the  free  naviga- 
tion of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  use  of  New  Orleans,  as  a  port,  for  ten  years. 

As  soon  as  one  excitement  was  fairly  allayed,  causes  for  others  appeared ; 
and  during  the  whole  time  of  Washington's  administration  of  eight  years,  when 
the  policy  of  the  new  government  had  to  be  established,  and  its  machinery  put 
in  operation,  the  greatest  wisdom,  circumspection,  and  conservative  action,  on 
the  part  of  officials,  were  continually  demanded.  Difficulties  appeared  like 
little  clouds  on  the  distant  horizon,  sometimes  as  mere  specks,  at  others,  in 
alarming  shapes.  These  were  chiefly  in  connection  with  trade,  especially  in 
foreign  lands.  American  commerce  was  rapidly  expanding,  and  now  began  to 
find  its  way  into  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  There  it  was  met  by  Algerine 
pirates,  who  seized  the  merchandise,  and  held  the  seamen  in  captivity,  in  order 
to  procure  ransom-money.  These  depredations,  which  finally  gave  rise  to  efforts 
to  organize  a  navy,  had  continued  many  years  before  the  government  took 
active  measures  to  suppress  them.  President  Washington  called  the  attention 
of  Congress  to  the  subject,  toward  the  close  of  1790 ;  and  at  the  same  time, 
Jefferson,  then  Secretary  of  State,  gave  many  interesting  details,  in  his  annual 
report,  on  the  subject  of  these  piracies.  A  commissioner  was  sent  to  treat  with 
the  Dey,  or  Governor,  of  Algiers  on  the  subject,  but  that  semi-barbarian  robber 
argued  in  reply  :  ' '  If  I  were  to  make  peace  with  everybody,  what  should  I  do 
with  my  corsairs  ?  what  should  I  do  with  my  soldiers  ?  They  would  take  off 
my  head  for  the  want  of  other  prizes,  not  being  able  to  live  on  their  miserable 
allowance." 

In  the  spring  of  1794,  Congress,  on  account  of  these  depredations,  passed 
an  Act  to  provide  for  a  naval  armament,  and  appropriated  almost  seven  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  for  the  purpose.  But  the  United  States,  in  the  absence 
of  the  proposed  navy,  was  compelled  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace  in  the  autumn 
of  1795  [November  28],  with  the  Dey  of  Algiers,  by  which  an  annual 
tribute  was  to  be  given  for  the  redemption  of  captives,  in  accordance  with  the 
long-established  usages  of  European  nations.1  This  was  humiliating,  but  could 
not  then  be  avoided.  Congress  had  given  the  President  power  to  provide  by 
purchase  or  otherwise,  and  equip,  several  vessels.  To  this  end  he  put  forth 
his  energies  immediately,  and  in  July  [1794],  he  commissioned  captains  and 
superintendents,  naval  constructors  and  navy  agents,  six  each,  and  ordered  the 
construction  of  six  ships.  The  treaty  with  the  Dey  of  Algiers  caused  work  on 

porters  of  the  treaty.  Mr  Jay  was  burned  in  effigy  [note  6,  page  215],  Mr.  Hamilton  was  stoned 
at  a  public  meeting,  and  the  British  minister  at  Philadelphia  was  insulted. 

1  Between  the  years  1785  and  1793,  the  Algerine  pirates  captured  and  carried  into  Algiers, 
fifteen  American  vessels,  used  the  property,  and  made  one  hundred  and  eighty  officers  and  seamen 
slaves  of  the  most  revolting  kind.  In  1795,  the  United  States  agreed,  by  treaty,  to  pay  eight  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  for  captives,  then  alive,  and  in  addition,  to  make  the  dey,  or  governor,  a 
pressnt  of  a  frigate  worth  a  hundred  thousand  dollars.  An  annual  tribute  of  twenty-three  thousand 
dollars  was  also  to  be  paid.  This  was  complied  with  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  1812. 
See  pages  390  and  445. 


382  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1789. 

these  vessels  to  be  suspended  in  1795.  Soon  the  folly  of  not  completing  the 
little  navy,  so  well  begun,  was  made  manifest,  when  British  cruisers  commenced 
the  practice  of  taking  seamen  from  American  vessels,  and  impressing  them  into 
the  English  service.1  The  ships  of  the  French  Republic  soon  afterward  com- 
menced depredations  upon  American  commerce ;  and  in  1797,  when  war  with 
that  government  seemed  inevitable,2  Congress,  on  the  urgent  recommendation 
of  President  Adams,  caused  the  frigates  United  States,  Constellation,  and 
Constitution  to  be  completed,  equipped,  and  sent  to  sea.  This  was  the  com- 
mencement of  the  American  navy,3  which,  in  after  years,  though  weak  in  num- 
bers, performed  many  brilliant  exploits.  From  this  time  the  navy  became  the 
cherished  arm  of  the  national  defense ;  and  chiefly  through  its  instrumentality, 
the  name  and  power  of  the  United  States  began  to  be  properly  appreciated  in 
Europe,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 

Now  [1796],  the  administration  of  Washington  was  drawing  to  a  close.  It 
had  been  one  of  vast  importance  and  incessant  action.  All  disputes  with 
foreign  nations,  except  France,4  had  been  adjusted;  government  credit  was 
established,  and  the  nation  was  highly  prosperous.5  The  embryos  of  new  em- 
pires beyond  the  Alleghanies,  had  been  planted ;  and  the  last  year  of  his  admin- 
istration was  signalized  by  the  admission  [June,  1796]  of  Tennessee  into  the 
Union  of  States,  making  the  number  of  confederated  republics,  sixteen. 

During  the  closing  months  of  Washington's  administration,  the  first  great 
struggle  among  the  people  of  the  United  States,  for  ascendancy  between  the 
Federalists  and  Republicans,6  took  place.  The  only  man  on  whom  the  nation 
now  could  possibly  unite,  was  about  to  retire  to  private  life.  He  issued  his 
admirable  Farewell  Address  to  his  countrymen — that  address  so  full  of  wis- 
dom, patriotism,  and  instruction — early  in  the  autumn  of  1796  [September  19], 
and  then  the  people  were  fully  assured  that  some  other  man  must  be  chosen  to 
fill  his  place.  There  was  very  little  time  for  preparation  or  electioneering,  for 
the  choice  must  be  made  in  November  following.  Activity  the  most  extraordi- 
nary appeared  among  politicians,  in  every  part  of  the  Union.  The  Federalists 
nominated  John  Adams  for  the  high  office  of  Chief  Magistrate,  and  the  Repub- 
licans nominated  Thomas  Jefferson  for  the  same.  The  contest  was  fierce,  and 
party  spirit,  then  in  its  youthful  vigor,  was  implacable.  The  result  was  a  vic- 

1  Page  401.  2  Page  385. 

3  Congress  had  created  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  as  an  executive  department,  and  on 
the  30th  of  April,  1798,  Benjamin  Stoddart,  of  Georgetown,  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  was 
appointed  to  that  chair.     Hitherto  the  business  of  the  war  and  navy  departments  had  been  per- 
formed by  the  Secretary  of  War. 

4  The  French  government  was  highly  displeased  because  of  the  treaty  made  with  England,  by  Mr. 
Jay,  and  even  adopted  hostile  measures  toward  the  United  States.     It  wanted  the  Americans  to 
show  an  active  participation  with  the  French  in  hatred  of  the  English,  and  therefore  the  strict  neu- 
trality observed  by  Washington,  was  exceedingly  displeasing  to  the  French  Committee  of  Public 
Safety.     The  conclusion  of  the  treaty  with  Algiers,  independently  of  French  intervention,  and  the 
success  of  the  negotiation  with  Spain,  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  French  rulers.     In  a  word, 
because  the  United  States,  having  the  strength,  assumed  the  right  to  stand  alone,  the  French  were 
offended,  and  threatened  the  grown-up  child  with  personal  chastisement. 

6  Commerce  had  wonderfully  expanded.  The  exports  had,  in  five  years,  increased  from  nine- 
teen millions  of  dollars  to  more  than  fifty-six  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  imports  in  about  the  same 
ratio.  6  Page  377. 


801.] 


ADAMS'S    ADMINISTRATION. 


383 


tory  for  both  parties  —  Adams  being  elected  President,  and  Jefferson,  having 
the  next  highest  number  of  votes,  was  chosen  Vice-  President.1  On  the  4th  of 
March,  1797,  Washington  retired  from  office,  and  Adams  was  inaugurated  the 
second  President  of  the  United  States.  The  great  leader  of  the  armies  in  the 
War  for  Independence  was  never  again  enticed  from  the  quiet  pursuits  of  agri- 
culture at  Mount  Vernon,  to  the  performance  of  public  duties. 


CHAPTER    II. 

ADAMS'S     ADMINISTRATION.     [1797  —  1801.] 

JOHN  ADAMS"  was  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  his  age  when,  dressed  in  a 
full  suit  of  pearl-colored  broadcloth,  and  with  powdered  hair,  he  stood  in  Inde- 
pendence Hall  [March  4,  1797],  in  Philadelphia,  and  took  the  oath  of  office, 


1  The  whole  number  of  electoral  votes  [see  note  1,  page  361]  ,was  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight, 
making  seventy  necessary  to  a  choice.  John  Adams  received  seventy-one,  and  Jefferson  sixty-seven. 
John  Adams  was  born  at  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  in  October,  1735.  He  chose  the  law  as  a 
profession,  but  being  a  good  writer  and  fair  speaker,  he  entered  the  political  field  quite  early,  and 
with  Hancock,  Otis,  and  others,  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  earlier  Revolutionary  movements,  in 
Boston  and  vicinity.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  from  which  he  was  trans- 
ierred  to  the  important  post  of  a  minister  to  the  French  and  other  courts  in  Europe.  He  was  one 
of  the  most  industrious  men  in  Congress.  In  the  course  of  the  eighteen  months  preceding  his  de- 


384 


THE     CONFEDERATION". 


[1797. 


as  President 'of  the  United  States,  administered  by  Chief  Justice  Ellsworth/ 
He  was  pledged,  by  his  acts  and  declarations,  to  the  general  policy  of  Washing- 
ton's administration,  and  he  adopted,  as  his  own,  the  cabinet  council  left  by  his 
predecessor.2  He  came  into  office  at  a  period  of  great  trial  for  the  Republic. 
Party  spirit  and  sectional  differences  were  rife  in  its  bosom,  and  the  relations 
uf  the  United  States  with  France  were  becoming  more  and  more  unfriendly. 


Already  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,  the  American  minister  at  the  French 
court,  had  been  ordered  to  leave  their  territory  by  the  Directory,  then  the  su- 
preme executive  power  in  France.3  Depredations  upon  American  commerce 
had  also  been  authorized  by  them ;  and  the  French  minister  in  the  United 


parture  for  Europe,  Mr.  Adams  had  been  on  ninety  different  committees,  and  was  chairman  of 
thirty-five  of  them.  He  was,  at  one  time,  intrusted  with  no  less  than  six  missions  abroad,  namely, 
to  treat  for  peace  with  Great  Britain;  to'make  a  commercial  treaty  with  Great  Britain;  to  negoti- 
ate the  same  with  the  States  General  of  Holland ;  the  same  with  the  Prince  of  Orange ;  to  pledge 
the  faith  of  the  United  States  to  the  Armed  Neutrality ;  and  to  negotiate  a  loan  of  ten  millions  of 
dollars.  He  was  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  and  died  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  that  great  act  [1826],  with  the  words  "Independence  forever!"  upon  his -lips.  He  was  in  the 
ninety-second  year  of  his  age.  See  page  459.  l  Page  360. 

a  Timothy  Pickering,  Secretary  of  State;  Oliver  Wolcott,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  James 
M'Henry,  Secretary  of  War ;  and  Charles  Lee,  Attorney-General  Washington's  first  cabinet  had 
all  resigned  during  the  early  part  of  his  second  term  of  office  (the  President  is  elected  for  four  years), 
and  the  above-named  gentlemen  were  appointed  during  1795  and  1796. 

3  The  Republican  government  of  France  was  administered  by  a  council  called  the  Directory.  It 
was  composed  of  five  members,  who  ruled  in  connection  with  two  representative  bodies,  called,  re- 
spectively, the  Council  of  Ancients,  and  the  Council  of  Five  Hundred.  The  Directory  was  the  head, 
•  or  executive  power  of  the  government. 


1801.]  ADAMS'S    ADMINISTRATION.  385 

States  had  grossly  insulted  the  government.  President  Adams  perceived  the 
necessity  of  prompt  and  energetic  action,  and  he  convened  an  extraordinary 
session  of  Congress,  on  the  15th  of  May.  With  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate, 
the  President  appointed  [July]  three  envoys,1  with  Pinckney  at  their  head,  to 
proceed  to  France,  and  endeavor  to  adjust  all  difficulties.  They  met  at  Paris, 
in  October,  but  were  refused  an  audience  with  the  Directory,  unless  they 
should  first  pay  a  large  sum  of  money  into  the  French  treasury.  Overtures 
for  this  purpose  were  made  by  unofficial  agents.  The  demand  was  indignantly 
refused;  and  then  it  was  that  Pinckney  uttered  that  noble  sentiment,  "Mil- 
lions for  defense,  but  not  one  cent  for  tribute !"  The  two  Federalist  envoys 
(Marshall  and  Pinckney)  were  ordered  out  of  the  country,  while  Mr.  Gerry. 
who  was  a  Republican,  and  whose  party  sympathized  with  the  measures  of 
France,  was  allowed  to  remain.  The  indignant  people  of  the  United  States 
censured  Mr.  Gerry  severely  for  remaining.  He,  too,  soon  found  that  nothing 
could  be  accomplished  with  the  French  rulers,  and  he  returned  home. 

The  fifth  Congress  assembled  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  13th  of  November. 
1797.  Perceiving  the  vanity  of  further  attempts  at  negotiation  with  France. 
Congress,  and  the  country  generally,  began  to  prepare  for  war.  Quite  a  large 
standing  army  was  authorized  [May,  1798] ;  and  as  Washington  approved  of  the 
measure,  he  was  appointed  [July]  its  commander-in-chief,  with  General  Alex- 
ander Hamilton  as  his  first  lieutenant.  Washington  consented  to  accept  the 
office  only  on  condition  that  General  Hamilton  should  be  the  acting  commander- 
in-chief,  for  the  retired  President  was  unwilling  to  enter  into  active  military  serv- 
ice again.  A  naval  armament,  and  the  capture  of  French  vessels  of  war,  was 
authorized ;  and  a  naval  department,  as  we  have  observed,2  with  Benjamin 
Stoddart  at  its  head,  was  created.  Although  there  was  no  actual  declaration 
of  war  made  by  either  party,  yet  hostilities  were  commenced  on  the  ocean,  and  a 
vessel  of  each  nation  suffered  capture  ;3  but  the  army  was  not  summoned  to  the 
field. 

The  proud  tone  of  the  French  Directory  was  humbled  by  the  dignified  and 
decided  measures  adopted  by  the  United  States,  and  that  body  made  overtures 
for  a  peaceful  adjustment  of  difficulties.  President  Adams  immediately  ap- 
pointed [Feb.  26,  1799]  three  envoys4  to  proceed  to  France,  and  negotiate  for 

1  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,  Elbridge  Gerry,  and  John  Marshall.  Pinckney  was  an  active 
patriot  in  South  Carolina  during  the  Revolution.  He  was  born  in  Charleston,  in" February,  17-iG. 
and  was  eduated  in  England.  He  studied  law  there,  and  on  his  return  to  his  native  country,  in 
1769,  he  commenced  a  successful  professional  career  in  Charleston.  He  took  part  early  in  Repub- 
lican movements,  held  military  offices  during  the  War  for  Independence,  and  when  war  with  France 
seemed  certain,  in  1797,  Washington  appointed  him  next  to  Hamilton  in  command.  He  died,  in 
August,  1825,  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age.  Gerry  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  Marshall  had  been  an  active  patriot  and  soldier.  See  page  351.  The  latter. 
as  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  administered  the  oath  of  office  to  several  Presidents. 

3  Page  382. 

3  The  United  States  frigate  Constellation,  captured  the  French  frigate  L1  Imurgente,  in  February. 

1799.  That  frigate  had  already  taken  the  American  schooner  Retaliation.     On  the  1st  of  February. 

1800,  the  Constellation  had  an  action  with  the  French  frigate  La  Vengeance,  but  escaped  capture 
after  a  loss  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  in  killed  and  wounded. 

4  W.  Y.  Murray,  Oliver  Ellsworth,  and  Patrick  Henry.     Mr.  Henry  declined,  and  William  R. 
Davie  [note  5,  page  318J,  of  North  Carolina,  took  his  place. 

25 


386  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1797. 

peace,  but  when  they  arrived,  the  weak  Directory  was  no  more.  The  govern- 
ment was  in  the  -hands  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  [Nov.  1799]  as  First  Consul,1 
whose  audacity  and  energy  now  saved  France  from  anarchy  and  utter  ruin.  He 
promptly  received  the  United  States  embassadors,  concluded  a  treaty  [Sept.  30, 
1800],  and  gave  such  assurances  of  friendly  feelings  that,  on  the  return  of  the 
ministers,  the  provisional  army  of  the  United  States,  whose  illustrious  com- 
mander-in-chief  had,  in  the  mean  while,  been  removed  by  death,  was  disbanded. 

Two  unpopular  domestic  measures  were  adopted  in  the  summer  of  1798, 
known  as  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws.  The  first  authorized  the  President  to 
expel  from  the  country  any  alien  (not  a  citizen)  who  should  be  suspected  of 
conspiring  against  the  Republic.  An  apology  for  the  law  was,  that  it  was  com- 
puted that  there  were  more  than  thirty  thousand  Frenchmen  in  the  United 
!  States,  all  of  whom  were  devoted  to  their  native  country,  and  were  mostly  asso- 
ciated, by  clubs  or  otherwise.  Besides  these,  there  were  computed  to  be  in  the 
country  ;at  least  fifty  thousand  persons  who  had  been  subjects  of  Great  Britain, 
some  of  whom  had  found  it  unsafe  to  remain  at  home.  The  Sedition  law  author- 
ized the  suppression  of  publications  calculated  to  weaken  the  authority  of  the 
government.  At  that  period  there  were  two  hundred  newspapers  published  in  the 
United  States,  of  which  about  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  were  in  favor  of  the 
federal  administration ;  the  remainder  were  chiefly  under  the  control  of  aliens. 
These  measures  were  unpopular,  because  they  might  lead  to  great  abuses.  In 
Virginia  and  Kentucky,  the  legislatures  declared  .them  to  be  decidedly  uncon- 
stitutional, and  they  were  finally  repealed. 

The  nation  suffered  a  sad  bereavement  near  the  close  of  the  last  year  of  the 
century.  "Washington,  the  greatest  and  best-beloved  of  its  military  and  civil 
leaders,  died  at  Mount  Vernon  on  the  14th  of  December,  1799,  when  almost 
sixty-eight  years  of  age.  No  event  since  the  foundation  of  the  government, 
had  made  such  .an  impression  on  the  public  mind.  The  national  grief  was 
sincere,  and  party  spirit  was  hushed  into  silence  at  "his  grave.  All  hearts 
united  in  homage  to  the  memory  of  him  who  was  properly  regarded  as  the 
FATHER  OF  His  COUNTRY.  Congress  was  then  in  session  at  Philadelphia,  and 
when  Judge  Marshall2  announced  the  sad  event,  both  Houses3  immediately 
.adjourned  for  the  day.  On  re-assembling  the  next  day,  appropriate  resolutions 
were  passed,  and  the  President  was  directed  to  write  a  letter  of  condolence  to 
Mrs.  Washington,4  in  the  name  of  Congress.  Impressive  funeral  ceremonies  were 

:1  "Bonaparte,  Cambaceres,  and  the  Abbe  Sieyes  became  the  ruling  power  in  France,  with  the 
'title  of  Consuls,  after  the  first  had  overthrown  the  Directory.  Bonaparte  was  the  First  Consul,  and 
was,  in  fact,  an  autocrat,  or  one  who  rules  by  his  own  will.  3  Page  351.  3  Note  3,  page  366. 

4  Martha  Dandridge,  who  first  married  Daniel  Parke  Custis,  and  afterward,  while  yet  a  young 
widow,  was  wedded  to  Colonel  "Washington,  was  born  in  Kent  county,  Virginia,  in  1732,  about 
three  months  later  than  her  illustrious  husband.  Her  first  husband  died  when  she  was  about 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  leaving  her  with  two  children,  and  a  large  fortune  in  lands  and  money. 
She  was  married  to  Colonel  "Washington,  in  January,  1759.  She  was  ever  worthy  of  such  a  hus- 
band; and  while  ho  was  President  of  the  United  States,  she  presided  with 'dignity  over  the  execu- 
tive mansion,  both  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  When  her  husband  died,  she  said::  "''Tis  well; 
all  is  now  over;  I  shall  soon  follow  him;  I  have  no  more  trials  to  pass  through."  In  little  less 
than  thirty  months  afterward,  she  was  laid  in  the  family  vault  at  Mount  Yernon.  Her  grandson, 
and  adopted  son  of  "Washington  (also  the  last  surviving  executor  of  his  will)  is  yet  [December, 
1856]  living  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  opposite  Washington  City. 


1801.] 


ADAMS'S     ADMINISTRATION. 


387 


observed  by  that  body,  and  throughout  the  country.1  General  Henry  Lee,a  of 
Virginia,  on  the  invitation  of  Congress,  delivered  [December  26,  1799]  an 
eloquent  funeral  oration  before  the  national  legislature ;  and  the  recommenda- 
tion of  Congress,  for  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  wear  crape  on  their  left 
arms  for  thirty  days,  was  generally  complied  with.  The  whole  nation  put  on 
tokens  of  mourning. 


The  death  of  Washington  also  made  a  profound  impression  in  Europe.  To 
the  people  there,  who  were  aspiring  for  freedom,  it  seemed  as  if  a  bright  star 
had  disappeared  from  the  firmament  of  their  hopes.  Rulers,  also,  joined  in 
demonstrations  of  respect.  Soon  after  the  event  of  his  death  was  known  in 
France,  Bonaparte,  then  First  Consul,3  rendered  unusual  honors  to  his  name. 
On  the  9th  of  February  [1800],  he  issued  the  following  order  of  the  day  to 
the  army :  "  Washington  is  dead  !  This  great  man  fought  against  tyranny ;  he 
established  the  liberties  of  his  country.  His  memory  will  always  be  dear  to 
the  French  people,  as  it  will  be  to  all  free  men  of  the  two  worlds  ;  and  especially 
to  French  soldiers,  who,  like  him  and  the  American  soldiers,  have  combatted 
for  liberty  and  equality."  Bonaparte  also  ordered,  that  during  ten  days  black 
crape  should  be  suspended  from  all  the  stnndards  and  flags  throughout  the 
French  Republic.  Splendid  ceremonies  in  the  Champs  de  Mars,  and  a 
funeral  oration  in  the  Hotel  des  Invalides,  were  also  given,  at  both  of  which 

1  Congress  resolved  to  erect  a  mausoleum,  or  monument,  at  Washington  City,  to  his  memory,  but 
ie  resolution  has  never  been  carried  into  effect.     A  magnificent  one,  composed  of  white  marble,  is 
now  in  course  of  erection  there,  to  be  paid  for  by  individual  subscriptions. 

Note  2,  page  333.  a  Note  1,  page  395. 


388  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1801. 

the  First  Consul,  and  all  the  civil  and  military  authorities  of  the  capital  were 
present.  Lord  Bridport,  commander  of  a  British  fleet  of  almost  sixty  vessels, 
lying  at  Torbay,  on  the  coast  of  France,  when  he  heard  of  the  death  of  Wash- 
ington, lowered  his  flag  half-mast,  and  this  example  was  followed  by  the  whole 
fleet.  And  from  that  time  until  the  present,  the  name  of  Washington  has 
inspired  increasing  reverence  at  home  and  abroad,  until  now  it  may  be  said  that 
the  praise  of  him  fills  the  whole  earth. 

After  the  close  of  the  difficulties  with  France,  very  little  of  general  interest 
occurred  during  the  remainder  of  Mr.  Adams's  administration,  except  the 
removal  of  the  seat  of  the  Federal  government  to  the  District  of  Columbia,1  in 
the  summer  of  1800 ;  the  admission  into  the  Union  [May,  1800]  of  the  country 
between  the  western  frontier  of  Georgia  and  the  Mississippi  River,  as  the  Mis- 
sissippi Territory  ;  and  the  election  of  a  new  President  of  the  United  States. 
Now,  again,  came  a  severe  struggle  between  the  Federalists  and  Republic- 
ans, for  political  power.2  The  former  nominated  Mr.  Adams  and  Charles 
Cotesworth  Pinckney,3  for  President ;  the  latter  nominated  Thomas  Jefferson 
and  Aaron  Burr,4  for  the  same  office.  In  consequence  of  dissensions  among  the 
Federalist  leaders,  and  the  rapid  development  of  ultra-democratic  ideas  among 
the  people,  the  Republican  party  was  successful.  Jefferson  and  Burr  had  an 
equal  number  of  electoral  votes.  The  task  of  choosing,  therefore,  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution.  The  choice  finally  fell  upon  Mr.  Jefferson,  after  thirty-five 
ballotings  ;  and  Mr.  Burr  was  proclaimed  Vice-President. 

During  the  year  1800,  the  last  of  Adams's  administration,  the  second  enu- 
meration of  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  took  place.  The  population 
was  then  five  millions,  three  hundred  and  nineteen  thousand,  seven  hundred  and 
sixty-two — an  increase  of  one  million,  four  hundred  thousand  in  ten  years. 
The  Federal  revenue,  which  amounted  to  four  millions,  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-one  thousand  dollars  in  1790,  was  increased  to  almost  thirteen  millions 
in  1800. 


CHAPTER    III. 

JEFFERSON'S    ADMINISTRATION.     [1801  —  1809]. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON/  the  third  President  of  the  United  States,  was  in  the 
fifty-eighth  year  of  his  age  when,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1801,  he  was  duly 

1  Page  371.     The  District  is  a  tract  ten  miles  square  on  each  side  of  the  Potomac,  ceded  to  the 
United  States  by  Maryland  and  Virginia  in  1790.     The  city  of  Washington  was  laid  out  there  in  ]  791, 
and  the  erection  of  the  Capitol  was  commenced  in  1793,  when  [April  18]  President  Washington  laid 
the  corner  stone  of  the  north  wing,  with  Masonic  honors.     The  two  wings  were  completed  in  1808, 
and  these  were  burned  by  the  British  in  1814.     See  page  436.     The  central  portion  of  the  Capitol 
was  completed  in  1827,  the  wings  having  been  repaired  soon  after  the  conflagration.     Altogether 
it  covered  an  area  of  a  little  more  than  an  acre  and  a  half  of  ground.    In  course  of  time  it  became 
too  small,  and  now  [1856]  an  extension  of  it  is  in  progress.     The  addition  is  in  the  form  of  wings, 
north  and  south,  projecting  both  east  and  west  beyond  the  main  building. 

2  Page  377.  3  Note  1,  page  385.  4  Note  4,  page  241,  and  page  397. 

6  Thomas  Jefferson  was  born  in  Albemarle  county,  Virginia, 'in  April,  1743.     He  was  educated 


1809.] 


JEFFERSON'S    ADMINISTRATION. 


389 


inaugurated  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Republic,  in  the  new  Capitol,  at  Wash- 
ington City.  His  inaugural  speech,  which  was  looked  for  with  great  anxiety, 
as  a  foreshadowing  of  the  policy  of  the  new  President,  was  manly  and  conserv- 
ative, and  it  allayed  many  apprehensions  of  his  opponents.  From  its  tone,  they 


imagined  that  few  of  the  Federal  office-holders  would  be  disturbed  ;  but  in  this 
they  soon  found  themselves  mistaken.  The  Federal  party,  while  in  power, 
having  generally  excluded  Republicans  from  office,  Jefferson  felt  himself  justi- 
fied in  giving  places  to  his  own  political  friends.  He  therefore  made  many 
removals  from  official  station  throughout  the  country  ;  and  then  was  commenced 
the  second  act  in  the  system  of  political  proscription,1  which  has  not  always 
proved  wise  or  salutary.  He  retained,  for  a  short  time,  Mr.  Adams's  Secretaries 
of  the  Treasury  and  Navy  (Samuel  Dexter  and  Benjamin  Stoddart),  but  called 


at  William  and  Mary  College,  studied  law  with  the  eminent  George  Wythe,  and  had  his  patriotism 
first  inflamed  by  listening  to  Patrick  Henry's  famous  speech  [note  1,  page  214]  against  the  Stamp  Act. 
He  first  appeared  in  public  life  in  the  Virginia  Assembly,  in  1769,  and  was  one  of  the  most  active 
workers  in  that  body,  until  sent  to  perform  more  important  duties  in  the  Continental  Congress. 
The  inscription  upon  his  monument,  written  by  himself,  tells  of  the  most  important  of  his  public 
labors :  "  Here  lies  buried  THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  Author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  of  the 
Statute  of  Virginia  for  religious  freedom ;  and  Father  of  the  University  of  Virginia."  He  was 
governor  of  his  own  State,  and  a  foreign  minister.  He  lived  until  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  [July  4,  1826],  and  at  almost  the  same  hour  when  the  spirit  of  Adams 
took  its  flight  [page  457],  his  also  departed  from  the  body,  when  he  was  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three  years.  l  Page  461. 


390  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1801. 

Republicans  to  fill  the  other  seats  in  his  cabinet.1  He  set  vigorously  at  work 
to  reform  public  abuses,  as  far  as  was  in  his  power ;  and  so  conciliatory  were 
his  expressed  views  in  reference  to  the  great  body  of  his  opponents,  that  many 
Federalists  joined  the  Republican  ranks,  and  became  bitter  denouncers  of  their 
former  associates  and  their  principles. 

President  Jefferson's  administration  was  signalized  at  the  beginning  by  the 
repeal  of  the  Excise  Act,2  and  other  obnoxious  and  unpopular  laws.  His  sug- 
gestions concerning  the  reduction  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  hauling  up  of  the 
navy  in  ordinary,  the  abolition  of  certain  offices,  and  the  revision  of  the 
judiciary,  were  all  taken  into  consideration  by  Congress,  and  many  advances 
in  jurisprudence  were  made.  Vigor  and  enlightened  views  marked  his  course  : 
and  even  his  political  opponents  confessed  his  forecast  and  wisdom,  in  many 
things.  During  his  first  term,  one  State  and  two  Territories  were  added  to  the 
confederacy.  A  part  of  the  North-western  Territory3  became  a  State,  under 
the  name  of  Ohio,4  in  the  autumn  of  1802 ;  and  in  the  spring  of  1803,  Louisi- 
ana was  purchased  [April]  of  France  for  fifteen  millions  of  dollars.  This 
result  was  brought  about  without  much  difficulty,  for  the  French  ruler  was 
desirous  of  injuring  England,  and  saw  in  this  an  excellent  way  to  do  it.  In 
violation  of  a  treaty  made  m  the  year  1795,  the  Spanish  governor  of  Louisiana 
closed  the  port  of  New  Orleans  in  1802.  Great  excitement  prevailed  through- 
out the  western  settlements ;  and  a  proposition  was  made  in  Congress  to  take 
forcible  possession  of  the  Territory.  It  was  ascertained  that,  by  a  secret  treaty, 
the  country  had  been  ceded  to  France,  by  Spain.  Negotiations  for  its  purchase 
were  immediately  opened  with  Napoleon,  and  the  bargain  was  consummated  in 
April,  1803.  The  United  States  took  peaceable  possession  in  the  autumn  of 
that  year.  It  contained  about  eighty-five  thousand  mixed  inhabitants,  and 
about  forty  thousand  negro  slaves.  When  this  bargain  was  consummated, 
Napoleon  said,  prophetically,  ' l  This  accession  of  territory  strengthens  forever 
the  power  of  the  United  States ;  and  I  have  just  given  to  England  a  maritime 
rival  that  will  sooner  or  later  humble  her  pride."  Out  of  it  two  Territories 
were  formed,  called  respectively  the  Territory  of  New  Orleans  and  the  Dis- 
trict of  Louisiana. 

We  have  already  adverted  to  the  depredations  of  Algerine  corsairs  upon 
American  commerce.  The  insolence  of  the  piratical  powers  on  the  southern 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean,5  at  length  became  unendurable;  and  the  United 
States  government  resolved  to  cease  paying  tribute  to  them.  The  Bashaw  of 
Tripoli  thereupon  declared  war  [Jnine  10,  1801]  against  the  United  States ; 
and  Captain  Bainbridge  was  ordered  to  cruise  in  the  Mediterranean  to  protect 

1  James  Madison,  Secretary  of  State ;  Henry  Dearborn,  Secretary  of  "War ;  Levi  Lincoln,  Attor- 
ney General.  Before  the  meeting  of  Congress  in  December,  he  appointed  Albert  Gallatin  [note  1, 
page  380,  and  note  6,  page  443],  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  Robert  Smith,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
They  were  both  Republicans.  2  Page  378.  3  Page  362. 

4  No  section  of  the  Union  had  increased,  in  population  and  resources,  so  rapidly  as  Ohio.  When, 
in  1800,  it  was  formed  into  a  distinct  Territory,  the  residue  of  the  North-western  Territory  remained 
as  one  until  1809.  Then  the  Territories  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  were  formed.  When  Ohio  was 
admitted  as  a  State,  it  contained  a  population  of  about  seventy-two  thousand  souls. 

6  Morocco,  Algiers,  Tunis,  and  Tripoli,  in  Africa.     They  are  known  as  the  Barbary  Powers. 


1809.] 


JEFFERSON'S    ADMINISTRATION. 


391 


American  commerce.1  In  1803,  Commodore  Preble  was  sent  thither  to  humble 
the  pirates.  After  bringing  the  Emperor  of  Morocco  to  terms,  he  appeared 
before  Tripoli  with  his  squadron.  One  of  his  vessels  (the  Philadelphia),  com- 
manded by  Bainbridge,2  struck  on  a  rock  in  the  harbor,  while  reconnoitering  ; 


and  before  she  could  be  extricated,  she  was  captured  [October  31,  1803]  by 
the  Tripolitans.  The  officers  were  treated  as  prisoners  of  war,  but  the  crew 
were  made  slaves. 


1  Captain  Bainbridge  had  been  on  that  coast  the  previous  year. 
He  arrived  at  Algiers  in  September,  1800,  in  the  frigate  George  Washing- 
ton, with  the  annual  tribute  money  [page  381].  The  dey,  or  governor, 
demanded  the  use  of  his  vessel  to  carry  an  ambassador  to  Constan- 
tinople. Bainbridg}  remonstrated,  when  the  dey  haughtily  observed: 
"  You  pay  me  tribute,  by  which  you  become  my  slaves,  and  therefore 
I  have  a  right  to  order  you  as  I  think  proper."  Bainbridge  was 
obliged  to  comply,  for  the  castle  guns  would  not  allow  him  to  pass  out 
of  the  harbor.  He  sailed  for  the  East,  and  had  the  honor  of  first  dis- 
playing the  American  flag  before  the  ancient  city  of  Constantinople. 
The  Sultan  regarded  it  as  a  favorable  omen  of  future  friendship,  because 
Aisflag  bore  a  crescent  or  half-moon,  and  the  American  a  group  of  stars. 

*  "William  Bainbridge  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  in  1774.  He  was  captain  of  a  merchant  vessel 
at  the  age  of  nineteen  years,  and  entered  the  naval  service  in  1798.  He  was  distinguished  during 
the  second  War  for  Independence  [page  409],  and  died  in  1833. 


UNITED   STATES    FRIGATE. 


392 


THE     CONFEDERATION. 


[1801. 


LIEUTENANT   DECATUK. 


The  credit  of  the  American  navy  was  somewhat  repaired,  early  in  the 
following  year,  when  Lieutenant  Decatur,1  with  only  sev- 
enty-six volunteers,  sailed  into  the  harbor  of  Tripoli,  in 
the  evening  of  February  3,  1804,  and  runing  alongside 
the  Philadelphia  (which  lay  moored  near  the  castle,  and 
guarded  by  a  large  number  of  Tripolitans),  boarded  her. 
killed  or  drove  into  the  sea  all  of  her  turbaned  defenders, 
set  her  on  fire,  and  under  cover  of  a  heavy  cannonade 
from  the  American  squadron,  escaped,  without  losing  a 
man.2  As  they  left  the  burning  vessel,  the  Americans 
raised  a  shout,  which  was  answered  by  the  guns  of  the 
batteries  on  the  shore,  and  by  the  armed  vessels  at  anchor 
near.  They  went  out  into  the  Mediterranean  unharmed,  sailed  for  Syracuse, 
and  were  received  there  with  great  joy  by  the  American  squadron,  under  Com- 
modore Preble.  This  bold  act  humbled  and  alarmed  the  bashaw  ;3  yet  his 
capital  withstood  a  heavy  bombardment,  and  his  gun-boats  gallantly  sustained  a 
severe  action  [August  3]  with  the  American  vessels. 

In  the  following  year,  through  the  aid  of  Hamet  Caramelli,  brother  of  Jes- 
suff,  the  reigning  bashaw  (or  governor)  of  Tripoli,  favorable  terms  of  peace 
were  secured.  The  bashaw  was  a  usurper,  and  Hamet,  the  rightful  heir  to  the 
throne,4  was  an  exile  in  Egypt.  He  readily  concerted,  with 
Captain  William  Eaton,  American  consul  at  Tunis,  a  plan 
for  humbling  the  bashaw,  and  obtaining  his  own  restoration  to 
rightful  authority.  Captain  Eaton  acted  under  the  sanction  of 
his  government ;  and  early  in  March  [March  6,  1805],  he  left 
Alexandria,  with  seventy  United  States  seamen,  accompanied 
by  Harnet  and  his  followers,  and  a  few  Egyptian  troops.  They 
made  a  journey  of  a  thousand  miles  across  the  Libyan  desert, 
and  on  the  27th  of  April,  captured  Derne,  a  Tripolitan 
city  on  the  Mediterranean.  Three  weeks  later  [May  18],  they 
had  a  successful  battle  with  Tripolitan  troops ;  and  on  the  18th 
of  June  they  again  defeated  the  forces  of  the  bashaw,  and 


MOHAMMEDAN 
SOLUIER. 


1  Stephen  Decatur  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1779.     He  entered  the  navy  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
years.     After  his  last  cruise  in  the  Mediterranean,  he  superintended  the  building  of  the  gun-boats. 
He  rose  to  the  rank  of  commodore ;  and  during  the  second  War  for  Independence  [page  409],  he 
was  distinguished  for  his  skill  and  bravery.     He  afterward  humbled  the  Barbary  Powers  [note  5, 
page  390]  ;  and  was  esteemed  as  one  among  the  choicest  flowers  of  the  navy.     He  was  killed,  at 
Bladensburg,  in  a  duel  with  Commodore  Barron,  in  March,  1820,  when  forty-one  years  of  age. 

2  While  the  American  squadron  was  on  its  way  to  Syracuse,  it  captured  a  small  Tripolitan  ves- 
sel, bound  to  Constantinople,  with  a  present  of  female  slaves  for  the  Sultan.      This  was  taken  into 
service,  and  named  the  Intrepid,  and  was  the  vessel  with  which  Decatur  performed  his  bold  exploit 
at  Tripoli.     This  act  greatly  enraged  the  Tripolitans,  and  the  American  prisoners  were  treated  with 
the  utmost  severity.     The  annals  of  that  day  give  some  terrible  pictures  of  white  slavery  on  the 
southern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

3  Bashaw,  or  Pacha  [Pas-shaw],  is  the  title  of  the  governor  of  a  province,  or  town,  in  the  do- 
minions of  the  Sultan  (or  emperor)  of  Turkey.    The  Barbary  States  [note  5,  page  390]  are  all  under 
the  Sultan's  rule. 

4  The  bashaw,  who  was  a  third  son,  had  murdered  his  father  and  elder  brother,  and  compelled 
Hamet  to  fly  for  his  life.     With  quite  a  large  number  of  followers,  he  fled  into  Egypt. 


DECATUR  BURNING  THE  PHILADELPHIA. 


1809.] 


JEFFERSON'S    ADMINISTRATION. 


395 


pressed  forward  toward  Tripoli.  The  terrified  ruler  had  made  terms  of  peace 
[June  4,  1805]  with  Colonel  Tobias  Lear,  American  consul-general1  in  the 
Mediterranean,  and  thus  disappointed  the  laudable  ambition  of  Eaton,  and  the 
hopes  of  Hamet.2 

While  these  hostile  movements  were  occurring  in  the  East,  the  President 


had,  in  a  confidential  message  to  Congress,  in  January,  1803,  proposed  the  first 
of  those  peaceable  conquests  which  have  opened,  and  are  still  opening,  to  civil- 
ization and  human  industry,  the  vast  inland  regions  of  our  continent.  He  rec- 
ommended an  appropriation  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  an  exploring  expedi- 
tion across  the  continent  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The 
appropriation  was  made,  and  presently  an  expedition,  consisting  of  thirty  indi- 
viduals, under  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke,  was  organized.  They  left  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi  on  the  14th  of  May,  1804,  and  were  absent  about  twenty-seven 
months.  It  was  very  successful,  particularly  in  geographical  discoveries,  and 

1  A  consul  is  an  officer  appointed  by  a  government  to  reside  in  a  foreign  port,  to  have  a  general 
supervision  of  the  commercial  interests  of  his  country  there.  In  some  cases  they  have  powers  almost 
equal  to  a  minister.  Such  is  the  case  with  consuls  within  the  ports  of  Mohammedan  countries.  The 
word  consul  was  applied  to  Napoleon  [page  387]  in  the  ancient  Roman  sense.  It  was  the  title  of 
the  chief  magistrate  of  Rome  during  the  Republic.  The  treaty  made  by  Lear  provided  for  an  ex- 
change of  prisoners,  man  for  man,  as  far  as  they  would  go.  Jessuff  had  about  two  hundred  more 
prisoners  than  the  Americans  held,  and  for  these,  a  ransom  of  $60,000  was  to  be  paid.  It  was  also 
stipulated  that  the  wife  and  children  of  Hamet  should  be  given  up  to  him. 

3  Hamet  afterward  came  to  the  United  States,  and  applied  to  Congress  for  a  remuneration  for 
his  services  in  favor  of  the  Americans.  He  was  unsuccessful;  but  Congress  voted  $2,400  for  his 
temporary  relief. 


396  THE     CONFEDERATION".  [1801. 

furnished  the  first  reliable  information  respecting  the  extensive  country  between 
the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  During  the  same  year,  the  election  for 
President  of  the  United  States  recurred.  Aaron  Burr,  having  lost  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Democratic  party,1  was  not  re-nomiriated  for  Vice-President. 
.George  Clinton3  was  put  in  his  place ;  and  Jefferson  and  Clinton  were  elected 
by  a  great  majority3  over  their  Federal  opponents,  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinck- 
ney,4  of  South  Carolina,  who  was  nominated  for  President,  and  Rufus  King,5 
of  New  York,  for  Vice-President. 

A  serious  difficulty  commenced  in  the  West  during  the  second  year  [1805] 
of  Mr.  Jefferson's  second  administration.  The  fertile  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  were  then  very  rapidly  filling  with  adventurers,  and  the  materials 
for  new  States,  strong  and  ample,  were  gathering.  Michigan  was  erected  into 
a  Territory  in  1805 ;  and  all  along  the  Mississippi,  extensive  settlements  were 
taking  root  and  flourishing.  The  tide  of  population  was  full  and  unceasing,  and 
was  composed,  chiefly,  of  adventurous  characters,  ready  for  any  enterprise  that 
should  offer  the  result  of  great  gain.  Taking  advantage  of  the  restless  spirit 
of  these  adventurers,  and  the  general  impression  that  the  Spanish  population  of 
Louisiana  would  not  quietly  submit  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,0 
Aaron  Burr7  thought  to  make  them  subservient  to  his  own  ambitious  purposes. 
His  murder  of  Hamilton  in  a  duel,8  on  the  12th  of  July,  1804,  made  him 
everywhere  detested  ;  and,  perceiving  his  unpopularity  in  the  fact  of  his  having 
been  superseded  in  the  office  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  by  George 
Clinton,9  he  sought  a  new  field  for  achieving  personal  aggrandisement.  In 
April,  1805,  he  departed  for  the  West,  with  several  nominal  objects  in  view, 
but  chiefly  in  relation  to  pecuniary  speculations.  These  seemed  to  conceal  his 
real  design  of  effecting  a  strong  military  organization,  for  the  purpose  of  invad- 
ing the  Spanish  possessions  in  Mexico.  General  Wilkinson,10  then  in  the  West, 
and  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Federal  army,  became  his  associate.  Wil- 

1  Pago  377.  2  Page  350. 

3  The  great  popularity  of  Jefferson's  administration  was  shown  by  the  result  of  this  election.  He 
received  in  the  electoral  college  [note  1,  page  361]  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  votes,  and  Mr. 
Pinckney  only  fourteen.  4  Page  384 

6  Rufus  King  was  born  in  1755,  and  was  in  Harvard  College  in  1775,  when  hostilities  with 
Great  Britain  commenced,  and  the  students  were  dispersed.    He  chose  the  law  for  a  profession,  and 
became  very  eminent  as  a  practitioner.     He  was  in  Sullivan's  army,  on  Rhode  Island  [page  289], 
in  1778 ;  and  in  1784,  the  people,  appreciating  his  talents  and  his  oratorical  powers,  elected  him  to  a 
seat  in  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts.     He  was  an  efficient  member  of  the  Federal  Convention, 
in  1787,  and  nobly  advocated  the  Constitution  afterward.     He  removed  to  New  York,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Legislature,  was  also  on?  of  the  first  United  States  Senators  from  New  York,  and 
in  1796  was  appointed  minister  to  Great  Britain.      From  1813  to  1826  he  was  a  member  of  the 
United  States  Senate,  and  in  1825  was  again  sent  to  England  as  minister  plenipotentiary.     He 
died,  near  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  in  April,  1827,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.          6  Page  390. 

7  Aaron  Burr  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  in  1756.      In  his  twentieth  year  he  joined  the  conti- 
nental army,  and  accompanied  Arnold  [note  4,  page  241]  in  his  expedition  against  Quebec,  in  1775. 
His  health  compelled  him  to  leave  the  army  in  1779,  and  he  became  a  distinguished  lawyer  and 
active  public  man.     He  died  on  Staten  Island,  near  New  York,  in  1836,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 

8  Note  2,  page  360.     A  political  quarrel  led  to  fatal  results.     Burr  had  been  informed  of  some 
remarks  made  by  Hamilton,  in  public,  derogatory  to  his  character,  and  he  demanded  a  retraction. 
Hamilton  considered  his  demand  unreasonable,  and  refused  compliance.     Burr  challenged  him  to 
fight,  and  Hamilton  reluctantly  met  him  on  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson,  near  Hoboken,  where  they 
fought  with  pistols.     Hamilton  discharged  his  weapon  in  the  air,  but  Burr  took  fatal  aim,  and  his 
antagonist  fell.     Hamilton  died  the  next  day.  8  Page  350.  10  Page  410. 


1809.] 


JEFFERSON'S    ADMINISTRATION. 


397 


kinson  had  just  been  appointed  governor  of  Louisiana,  and  his  official  position 
secured  precisely  the  advantage  which  Burr  sought. 

Burr  went  down  the  Ohio ;  and  one  beautiful  morning  at  the  close  of  April 
[1805]  j  he  appeared  at  the  house  of  Blennarhasset,  an  Irishman  possessed  of 


fine  education,  a  large  fortune,  and  an  accomplished  and  enthusiastic  wife.1  To 
him  he  unfolded  his  grand  military  scheme  ;  and  the  imaginations  of  Blennar- 
hasset and  his  wife  were  fired.  Dreams  of  immense  wealth  and  power  filled 
their  minds ;  and  when  Burr  had  departed  from  the  quiet  home  of  this 
gentleman,  the  sunshine  of  his  house  faded.  Blennarhasset  was  a  changed  man. 
He  placed  his  wealth  and  reputation  in  the  keeping  of  an  unprincipled  dema- 
gogue, and  lost  both.  At  that  time,  the  brave  and  noble  Andrew  Jackson2  was 
in  command  of  the  militia  of  Tennessee.  In  May,  Burr  appeared  at  the  door 
of  that  stern  patriot,  and  before  he  left  it,  he  had  won  Jackson's  confidence,  and 
his  promise  of  co-operation.  He  also  met  Wilkinson  at  St.  Louis,  and  there 
gave  him  some  hints  of  a  greater  scheme  than  he  had  hitherto  unfolded,  which, 
that  officer  alleged,  made  him  suspicious  that  Burr's  ultimate  aim  was  damage 

1  His  residence  was  upon  an  island  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  River.     There 
he  had  a  fine  library,  beautiful  conservatories,  and  a  variety  of  luxuries  hitherto  unseen  in  that 
wilderness  region.    His  home  was  an  earthly  paradise,  into  which  the  vile  political  serpent  crawled, 
and  despoiled  it  with  his  slime.     Blennarhasset  became  poor,  and  died  in  1831.     His  beautiful  and 
accomplished  wife  was  buried  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  year  1842. 

2  Page  460. 


398 


THE    CONFEDERATION. 


[1801. 


to  the  Union.  However,  the  schemer  managed  the  whole  matter  with  great 
skill.  He  made  friends  with  many  of  the  dissatisfied  military  and  naval  officers, 
and  won  their  sympathies;1  and  in  the  summer  of  1806,  he  was  very  active  in 
the  organization  of  a  military  expedition  in  the  West.  The  secresy  with 


which  it  was  carried  on,  excited  the  suspicions  of  many  good  men  beyond  the 
mountains,  among  whom  was  Jackson.  Burr  was  suspected  of  a  design  to  dis- 
member the  Union,  and  to  establish  an  independent  empire  west  of  the  Alleg- 
hanies,  with  himself  at  the  head.  Those  suspicions  were  communicated  to  the 
Federal  Government,  which,  having  reason  to  suspect  Burr  of  premeditated 
treason,  put  forth  the  strong  arm  of  its  power,  and  crushed  the  viper  in  its  egg. 
Burr  was  arrested  [February,  1807],  near  Fort  Stoddart,  on  the  Tombigbee 
River,  in  the  present  State  of  Alabama,  by  Lieutenant  (afterward  Major-Gen- 
eral)  Gaines,3  taken  to  Richmond,  in  Virginia,  and  there  tried  on  a  charge  of 
treason.  He  was  acquitted.  The  testimony  showed  that  his  probable  design 
was  an  invasion  of  Mexican  provinces,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  there  an 
independent  government. 

While  Burr's  scheme  was  ripening,  difficulties  with  Spain  were  increasing, 
and  the  United  States  were  brought  to  the  verge  of  a  war  wTith  that  country. 


1  Many  in  the  "West  supposed  the  government  was  secretly  favoring  Burr's  plans  against  Mex- 
ico, and,  having  no  suspicions  of  any  other  designs,  some  of  the  truest  men  of  that  region  became, 
some  more  and  some  less,  involved  in  the  meshes  of  his  scheme.  /  2  Page  467. 


1809.]  JEFFERSON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  399 

At  the  same  time,  the  continued  impressment  of  American  seamen  into  the 
English  navy,  and  the  interruptions  to  American  commerce  by  the  British  gov- 
ernment, irritated  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  caused  the  President  to 
recommend  partial  non-intercourse  with  Great  Britain.  This  policy  was 
adopted  by  Congress  [April  15,  1806],  the  prohibition  to  take  effect  in  Novem- 
ber following.  This  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  retaliatory  measures  of  the 
American  government  toward  that  of  Great  Britain. 

The  following  year  [1807]  is  remarkable  in  American  history  as  the  era 
of  the  commencement  of  successful  steamboat  navigation.  Experiments  in  that 
direction  had  been  made  in  this  country  many  years  before,  but  it  was 
reserved  for  Robert  Fulton1  to  bear  the  honor  of  success.  He  spent  a 
long  time  in  France,  partly  in  the  pursuit  of  his  profession  as  a  portrait-painter, 
and  in  the  study  of  the  subject  of  steam  navigation.  Through  the  kindness  of 
Joel  Barlow,  then  [1797]  in  Paris  (in  whose  family  he  remained  seven  years), 
he  was  enabled  to  study  the  natural  sciences,  modern  languages,  and  to  make 
experiments.  There  he  became  acquainted  with  Robert  R.  Livingston,2  and 
through  his  influence  and  pecuniary  aid,  on  his  return 
to  America,  he  was  enabled  to  construct  a  steamboat, 
and  to  make  a  voyage  on  the  Hudson  from  New  York 
to  Albany,  "against  wind  and  tide,"  in  thirty-six 
hours.3  He  took  out  his  first  patent  in  1809.  Within 
fifty  years,  the  vast  operations  connected  with  steam- 
boat navigation,  have  been  brought  into  existence. 
Now  the  puff  of  the  steam-engine  is  heard  upon  the  FULTON'S  STEAMBOAT. 
waters  of  every  civilized  nation  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

And  now  the  progress  of  events  in  Europe  began  to  disturb  the  amicable 
relations  which  had  subsisted  between  the  governments  of  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  since  the  ratification  of  Jay's  treaty.4  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was 
upon  the  throne  of  France  as  emperor ;  and  in  1806  he  was  King  of  Italy,  and 
his  three  brothers  were  made  ruling  monarchs.  He  was  upon  the  full  t'de  of 
his  success  and  conquests,  and  a  large  part  of  continental  Europe  wras  now 


1  Robert  Fulton  was  born   in  Pennsylvania^  in  17G5,  and  was  a  student  of  "West,  the  great 
painter,  for  several  years.     He  had  more  genius  for  mechanics  than  the  fine  arts,  and  when  he 
turned  his  efforts  in  that  direction,  he  became  very  successful.     He  died  in  1815,  soon  after  launch- 
ing a  steamship  of  war,  at  the  age  of  fifty  years.     At  that  time  there  were  six  steamboats  afloat  on 
the  Hudson,  and  he  was  building  a  steamship,  designed  for  a  voyage  to  St.  Petersburg,  in  Russia. 

2  Page  366. 

8  This  was  the  Ckrmont,  Fulton's  experimental  boat.  It  was  one  hundred  feet  in  length,  twelve 
feet  in  width,  and  seven  in  depth.  The  engine  was  constructed  by  "Watt  and  Bolton,  in  England, 
and  the  hull  was  made  by  David  Brown,  of  New  York.  The  following  advertisement  appeared  in 
the  Albany  Gazette,  September  1st,  1807  :  "The  North  River  Steamboat  will  leave  Paulus's  Hook 
[Jersey  City]  on  Friday,  the  4th  of  September,  at  9  in  the  morning,  and  arrive  at  Albany  on  Satur- 
day, at  9  in  the  afternoon.  Provisions,  good  berths,  and  accommodations  are  provided.  The 
charge  to  each  passenger  is  as  follows : 

"  To  Newburg,        dollars,  3,  time,   14  hours. 
"    Poughkeepsie,     "        4,      "      17      " 
"    Esopus,  "         5,       "      20      " 

"    Hudson,  "         5|,     "      30      " 

"    Albany,  "         7,"      "      36      " 

4  Page  380. 


400 


THE     CONFEDERATION. 


[1801. 


prostrate  at  his  feet.  Although  England  had  joined  the  continental  powers 
against  him  [1803],  in  order  to  crush  the  Democratic  revolution  commenced  in 
France,  and  the  English  navy  had  almost  destroyed  the  French  power  at  sea, 
all  Europe  was  yet  trembling  in  his  presence.  But  the  United  States,  by 


maintaining  a  strict  neutrality,  neither  coveted  his  favors  nor  feared  his  power; 
at  the  same  time  American  shipping  being  allowed  free  intercourse  between 
English  and  French  ports,  enjoyed  the  vast  advantages  of  a  profitable  carrying 
trade  between  them. 

The  belligerents,  in  their  anxiety  to  damage  each  other,  ceased,  in  time,  to 
respect  the  laws  of  nations  toward  neutrals,  and  adopted  measures  at  once 
destructive  to  American  commerce,  and  in  violation  of  the  most  sacred  rights 
of  the  United  States.  In  this  matter,  Great  Britain  took  the  lead.  By  an 
order  in  council,1  that  government  declared  [May  16,  1806]  the  whole  coast  of 
Europe,  from  the  Elbe,  in  Germany,  to  Brest,  in  France,  to  be  in  a  state  of 
blockade.  Napoleon  retaliated  by  issuing  [November  '21]  a  decree  at  Berlin, 
which  declared  all  the  ports  of  the  British  islands  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade. 
This  was  intended  as  a  blow  against  England's  maritime  superiority,  and  it  was 


1  The  British  privy  council  consists  of  an  indefinite  number  of  gentlemen,  chosen  by  the  sover- 
eign, and  having  no  direct  connection  with  the  cabinet  ministers.  The  sovereign  may,  under  the 
advice  of  this  council,  issue  orders  OP  proclamations  which,  if  not  contrary  to  existing  laws,  are 
binding  upon  the  subjects.  These  are  for  temporary  purposes,  and  are  called  Orders  in  Council. 


1809.]  JEFFERSON'S    ADMINISTRATION".  401 

the  beginning  of  what  he  termed  the  continental  system,  the  chief  object  of 
which  was  the  ruin  of  Great  Britain.     The  latter,  by  another  order  [January 
7,  1807],  prohibited  all  coast  trade  with  France;  and 
thus   the  gamesters  played  with  the  world's  peace  and 
prosperity.     In   spite   of    pacific   attempts    to    put    an 
end   to  these   ungenerous    measures,    American   vessels 
were  seized  by  both  English  and  French  cruisers,  and 
American  commerce  dwindled  to  a  domestic  coast  trade.1 
The  United  States  lacked  a  navy  to  protect  her  commerce 
on  the  ocean,  and  the  swarms  of  gun-boats2  which  Con- 
gress, from  time  to  time,  had  authorized  as  a  substitute,      A  FELUCCA  GUN-BOAT. 
were  quite  inefficient,  even  as  a  coast-guard. 

The  American  merchants  and  all  in  their  interest,  so  deeply  injured  by  the 
"orders"  and  "decrees"  of  the  warring  monarchs,  demanded  redress  of  griev- 
ances. Great  excitement  prevailed  throughout  the  country,  and  the  most  bitter 
feeling  was  beginning  to  be  felt  against  Great  Britain.  This  was  increased  by 
her  haughty  assertion  and  offensive  practice  of  the  doctrine  that  she  had  the 
right  to  search  American  vessels  for  suspected  deserters  from  the  British  navy, 
and  to  carry  away  the  suspected  without  hinderance.3  This  right  was  strenu- 
ously denied,  and  its  policy  vehemently  condemned,  because  American  seamen 
might  be  thus  forced  into  the  British  service,  under  the  pretense  that  they  were 
deserters.  Indeed  this  had  already  happened.4 

Clouds  of  difficulty  now  githered  thick  and  black.  A  crisis  approached. 
Four  seamen  on  board  the  United  States  frigate  Chesapeake,  were  claimed  as 
deserters  from  the  British  armed  ship  Melampus*  They  were  demanded,  but 
Commodore  Barren,  of  the  Chesapeake,  refused  to  give  them  up.  The 


1  In  May,  1800,  James  Monroe  [page  447]  and  William  Pinkney,  were  appointed  to  assist  in 
the  negotiation  of  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  concerning  the  rights  of  neutrals,  the  imprisonment 
of  seamen,  right  of  search,  &c.     A  treaty  was  finally  signed,  but  as  it  did  not  offer  security  to 
American  vessels  against  the  aggressions  of  British  ships  in  searching  them  and  carrying  off  seamen, 
Mr.  Jefferson  refused  to  submit  it  to  the  Senate,  and  rejected  it.     The  Federalists  condemned  the 
course  of  the  President,  but  subsequent  events  proved  his  wisdom.     Mr.  Pinkney,  one  of  the  special 
envoys,  was  a  remarkable  man.     He  was  born  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  in  March,  17G4.     He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years,  and  became  one  of  the  most  profound  states- 
men and  brilliant  orators  of  the  age.     He  was  a  member  of  the  Maryland  Senate,  in  1811,  when 
President  Madison  appointed  him  Attorney-General  for  the  United  States.      He  was  elected  a 
member  of  Congress,  and  in  18 1C  was  appointed  United  States  minister  to  St.  Petersburg.     After 
a  short  service  in  the  Senate,  his  health  gave  way,  and  he  died  in  February,  1822,  in  the  fifty-ninth 
year  of  his  age. 

2  These  were  small  sailing  vessels,  having  a  cannon  at  the  bow  and  stern,  and  manned  by  fully 
armed  men,  for  the  purpose  of  boarding  other  vessels. 

3  England  maintains  the  doctrine  that  a  British  subject  can  never  become  an  alien.     At  the 
time  in  question,  she  held  that  she  had  the  right  to  take  her  native-born  subjects  wherever  found,  and 
place  them  in  the  army  or  navy,  even  though,  by  legal  process,  they  had  become  citizens  of  another 
nation.     Our  laws  give  equal  protection  to  the  native  and  adopted  citizen,  and  would  not  allow 
Great  Britain  to  exercise  her  asserted  privilege  toward  a  Briton  who  had  become  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States. 

*  During  nine  months,  in  the  years  1796  and  1797,  Mr.  King  [page  395],  the  American  minis- 
ter in  London,  had  made  application  for  the  release  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-one  seamen  (a 
greater  portion  of  whom  were  Americans),  who  had  been  seized  on  the  false  charge  of  being  desert- 
ers, and  pressed  into  the  British  service. 

5  A  small  British  squadron,  of  which  the  Melampus  was  one,  was  lying  in  Lynn  Haven  Bay,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  at  this  time.  It  was  commanded  by  Admiral  Berkeley. 

26 


402  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [180J. 

Chesapeake  left  the  capes  of  Virginia  on  a  cruise,  on  the  22d  of  June,  1807, 
and  on  the  same  day  she  was  chased  and  attacked  by  the  British  frigate 
Leopard.  Unsuspicious  of  danger  and  unprepared  for  an  attack,  Barren  sur- 
rendered his  vessel,  after  losing  three  men  killed  and  eighteen  wounded.  The 
four  men  were  then  taken  on  board  the  Leopard,  and  the  Chesapeake 
returned  to  Hampton  Roads.1  Investigation  proved  that  three  of  the  seamen, 
who  were  colored  men,  wrere  native  Americans,  and  that  the  fourth  had  been 
impressed  into  the  British  service,  and  had  deserted. 

Forbearance  was  no  longer  a  virtue.     The  outrage  upon  the  Chesapeake 
aroused  the  nation,  and  provoked  retaliatory  measures.     All  parties  joined  in 
one  loud  voice  of  indignation,  and  many  were  very  anxious  for  a  declaration  of 
war  with  England.     The  President,  however,  proposed  a  pacific  course,  as  long 
as  any  hope  for  justice  or  reconciliation  remained.     He  issued  a  proclamation, 
in  July  [1807],  ordering  all  British  armed  vessels  to  leave  the  waters  of  the 
United  States  immediately,  and  forbidding  any  one  to  enter  until  full  satisfac- 
tion for  the  present  insult,  and  security  against  future  aggressions,  should  be 
made.     Although  the  British  government  understood  the  attack  on  the  Chesa- 
peake as  an  outrage,  yet  diplomacy,  which  is  seldom  honest,  was  immediately 
employed  to  mistify  the  plain  question  of  law  and  right.2     In  the  mean  while, 
France  and  England  continued  to  play  their  desperate  game,  to  the  detriment 
of  commerce,  unmindful  of  the  interests  of  other  nations,  or  the  obligations 
of  international  law.      A  British  order  in   council3  was   issued  on  the  llth 
of  November,  1807,  forbidding  neutral  nations  to  trade  with  France  or  her 
allies,  except  upon  payment  of  tribute  to  Great  Britain.     Napoleon  retaliated, 
by  issuing,  on  the  17th  of  December,  a  decree  at  Milan,  forbidding  all  trade 
with  England  or  her  colonies  ;  and  authorizing  the  confiscation  of  any  vessel 
found  in  his  ports,  which  had  submitted  to  English  search,  or  paid  the  exacted 
tribute.     In  other  words,    any  vessel  having  goods  upon  which  any  impost 
whatever  should  have  been  paid  to  Great  Britain,  should  be  denationalized, 
and  subject  to  seizure  and  condemnation.    These  edicts  were,  of  course,  destruct- 
ive to  the  principal  part  of  the  foreign  commerce  of  the  United  States.     In 
this  critical  state  of  aflairs,  the  President  convened  Congress  several  weeks 
[Oct.  25,  1807]  earlier  than  usual ;  and  in  a  confidential  message  [December 
18],  he  recommended  to  that  body  the  passage  of  an  act,  levying  a  commercial 
embargo.     Such  an  act  was  passed  [December  22],  which  provided  for  the  de- 
tention of  all  vessels,  American  a,nd  foreign,  at  our  ports ;  and  ordered  Ameri- 
can vessels  abroad  to  return  home  immediately,   that  the  seamen  might  be 

1  Page  297. 

2  The  President  forwarded  instructions  to  Mr.  Monroe,  our  minister  to  England,  to  demand  im- 
mediate satisfaction  for  the  outrage,  and  security  against  similar  events  in  future.     Great  Britain 
thereupon  dispatched  an  envoy  extraordinary  (Mr.  Rose)  to  the  United  States,  to  settle  the  diffi- 
culty in  question.     The  envoy  would  not  enter  into  negotiations  until  the  President  should  with- 
draw his  proclamation,  and  so  the  matter  stood  until  November,  1811  (more  than  four  years),  when 
the  British  government  declared  the  attack  on  the  Chesapeake  to  have  been  unauthorized,  and  pro- 
mised pecuniary  aid  to  the  families  of  those  who  were  killed  at  that  time.     But  Britain  would  not 
relinquish  the  right  of  search,  and  so  a  cause  for  quarrel  remained. 

3  Note  1,  page  400. 


1809.]  JEFFERSON'S    AD  MINI  STR  ATI  OX.  403 

trained  for  the  inevitable  war.     Thus  the  chief  commerce  of  the  world  was 
brought  to  a  full  stop. 

The  operation  of  the  embargo  law  was  the  occasion  of  great  distress,  especi- 
ally in  commercial  communities;  yet  it  was  sustained  by  the  great  body  of  the 


American  people.  It  put  patriotism  and  firmness  to  a  severe  test.  It  bore 
extremely  hard  upon  seamen  and  their  employers,  for  it  spread  ruin  throughout 
the  shipping  interest.  It  was  denounced  by  the  Federal  party,  chiefly  for  polit- 
ical effect;1  and  as  it  failed  to  obtain  from  England  and  France  any  acknowl- 
edgment of  American  rights,  it  was  repealed  on  the  1st  of  March,  1809,  three 
days  before  Mr.  Jefferson  retired  from  office.  Congress,  at  the  same  time. 
passed  [March  1,  1809]  a  law  which  forbade  all  commercial  intercourse  with 
France  and  England,  until  the  " orders  in  council"  and  the  "decrees'3  should 
be  repealed. 


1  Mr.  Jefferson  truly  wrote  to  a  friend :  "  The  Federalists  are  now  playing  a  game  of  the  most 
mischievous  tendency,  without,  perhaps,  being  themselves  aware  of  it.  They  are  endeavoring 
to  convince  England  that  we  suffer  more  from  the  embargo  than  they  do,  and  that,  if  they  will 
hold  out  awhile,  we  must  abandon  it.  It  is  true,  the  time  will  come  when  we  must  abandon  it ; 
but  if  this  is  before  the  repeal  of  the  orders  in  council,  wo  must  abandon  it  only  for  a  state  of  war." 
John  Quincy  Adams,  who  had  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  because  he  dif- 
fered from  the  majority  of  his  constituents  in  supporting  the  measures  of  the  administration,  wrote 
to  the  President  to  the  effect,  that  from  information  received  by  him.  it  was  the  determination  of 
the  ruling  party  (Federalists)  in  Massachusetts,  and  even  throughout  New  England,  if  the  embargo 
was  persisted  in,  no  longer  to  submit  to  it,  but  to  separate  themselves  from  the  Union ;  and  that  such 
was  the  pressure  of  the  embargo  upon  the  community,  that  they  would  be  supported  by  the  people. 
This  was  explicitly  denied,  in  after  years,  by  the  Federalist  leaders. 


404  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1809. 

In  the  midst  of  the  excitement  on  account  of  the  foreign  relations  of  the 
United  States,  another  Presidential  election  was  held.  Who  should  be  the  Dem- 
ocratic candidate  ?  was  a  question  of  some  difficulty,  the  choice  lying  between 
Messrs.  Madison  and  Monroe,  of  Virginia.  For  some  time,  a  portion  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  in  that  State,  under  the  leadership  of  the  eminent  John  Randolph,1 
of  Roanoke,  had  differed  from  the  Administration  on  some  points  of  its  foreign 
policy;  yet,  while  they  acted  with  the  Federalists  on  many  occasions,  they 
studiously  avoided  identification  with  that  party.  Mr.  Madison  was  the  firm 
adherent  of  Jefferson,  and  an  advocate  and  apologist  of  his  measures,  while  Mr. 
Monroe"  rather  favored  the  views  of  Mr.  Randolph  and  his  friends.  The  strength 
of  the  two  candidates  was  tried  in  a  caucus  of  the  Democratic  members  of  the 
Virginia  Legislature,  and  also  in  a  caucus  of  the  Democratic  members  of  Con- 
gress. Mr.  Madison,  having  a  large  majority  on  both  occasions,  was  nominated 
for  the  office  of  President,  and  George  Clinton  for  that  of  Vice-President. 
Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney  and  Rufus  King  were  the  Federalist  candidates. 
Madison  and  Clinton  were  elected.  At  the  close  of  eight  years'  service,  as 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Jefferson  left  office  [March  4,  1809], 
and  retired  to  his  beautiful  Monticeltoj  in  the  bosom  of  his  native  Virginia. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

M  A  D I S  0  X '  8     ADMINISTRATION.     [  1  S  0  9  —  1  8  1  7  .] 

X  James  Madison,  the  fourth  President  of  the  Republic,  took  the 
chair  of  state,  the  country  was  overspread  with  gloom  and  despondency. 
Although  somewhat  highly  colored,  the  report  of  a  committee  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Legislature,  in  January,  1809,  gives,  doubtless,  a  fair  picture  of  the  con- 
dition of  affairs.  It  said:  "Our  agriculture  is  discouraged;  the  fisheries 
abandoned;  navigation  forbidden;  our  commerce  at  home  restrained,  if  not 

1  John  Randolph  \vas  seventh  in  descent  from  Foeahontas  [page  GG],  the  beloved  daughter  of 
the  emperor  of  the  Powhatans.     He  was  born  at  Petersburg,  in  Virginia,  in  June,  1773.     He  was 
in  delicate  health  from  infancy.     He  studied  in  Columbia  College,  New  York,  and  William  and 
Mary  College,  in  Virginia.     Law  was  his  chosen  profession ;  yet  ho  was  too  fond  of  literature  and 
politics  to  be  confined  to  its  practice.     He  entered  public  lire  in  1799,  when  he  was  elected  to  a 
seat  in  Congress,  where  he  was  a  representative  of  his  native  State,  in  the  lower  House,  for  thirty 
years,  with  the  exception  of  three  intervals  of  two  years  each.    During  that  time  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Senate  for  two  years.     He  opposed  the  war  in  1812.     His  political  course  was  erratic. 
Jackson  appointed  him  minister  to  St.  Petersburg  in  1S30.     His  health  would  not  permit  him  to 
remain  there.     On  his  return  ho  was  elected  to  Congress,  but  consumption  soon  laid  him  in  the 
grave.     He  died  at  Philadelphia,  in  May,  1 833.     Mr.  Randolph  was  a  strange  compound  of  moral 
and  intellectual  qualities.     He  was  at  times  almost  an  atheist ;  at  others,  he  was  imbued  with  the 
deepest  emotions  of  piety  and  reverence  for  Deitv.     It  is  said  that,  on  one  occasion,  he  ascended  a 
lofty  spur  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  at  dawn,  and  from  that  magnificent  observatory  saw  the  sun  rise.     As 
its  light  burst  in  beauty  and  glory  over  the  vast  panorama  before  him,  he  turned  to  his  servant  and 
said,  with  deep  emotion,  "Tom,  if  any  body  says  there  is  no  God,  tell  them  they  lie!"     Thus  he 
expressed  the  deep  sense  which  his  soul  felt  of  the  presence  of  a  Great  Creator. 

2  Page.  447. 


1817.]  MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  405 

annihilated ;  our  commerce  abroad  cut  off;  our  navy  sold,  dismantled,  or 
degraded  to  the  service  of  cutters,  or  gun-boats;1  the  revenue  extinguished; 
the  course  of  justice  interrupted;  and  the  nation  weakened  by  internal  animos- 
ities and  divisions,  at  the  moment  when  it  is  unnecessarily  and  improvidently 
exposed  to  war  with  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Spain."  This  was  the  lan- 
guage of  the  opponents  of  the  administration,  and  must  be  taken  with  some 
allowance.  That  party  was  strongly  opposed  to  Mr.  Madison,  because  they 


believed  that  he  would  perpetuate  the  policy  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  But  when, 
dressed  in  a  suit  of  plain  black,  he  modestly  pronounced  his  inaugural  address 
[March  4.  1809],  the  tone  and  sentiment  of  which  fell  like  oil  upon  the 
troubled  waters,  those  of  his  most  implacable  political  enemies  who  heard  him, 
could  not  refrain  from  uttering  words  of  approbation ;  and  hopes  were  enter- 
tained by  the  whole  nation,  that  his  measures  might  change  the  gloomy  aspect 
of  affairs. 

To  all  unbiassed  minds,  no  man  appeared  better  fitted  for  the  office  of  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  Republic,  at  that  time  of  general  commotion,  than  Mr.  Mad- 
ison.2 He  had  been  Secretary  of  State  during  the  wt  :>le  administration  of  Mr. 


1  Pago  401. 

2  James  Madison  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  March,  1751.     Ho  was  educated  at  Princeton,  New 
Jersey,  and  was  diverted  from  the  intended  practice  of  the  law  by  the  charms  and  excitements  of 
political  life.     He  assisted  in  framing  the  first  Constitution  of  Virginia,  in  1776.     He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  his  State  Legislature  and  of  the  Executive  Council,  and  in  1780  was  a  delegate  in  the  Conti- 
nental Congress.     In  public  life,  there,  and  in  his  State  councils,  he  was  ever  the  champion  of 
popular  liberty.     As  a  member  of  the  Federal  Convention,  and  supporter  of  the  Constitution,  he 


406  THE    CONFEDERATION.  [1809. 

Jefferson,  and  was  familiar  with  every  event  which  had  contributed  to  produce 
the  existing  hostile  relations  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 
His  cabinet  was  composed  of  able  men,1  and  in  the  eleventh  Congress,  which 
convened  on  the  22d  of  May,  1809,  in  consequence  of  the  critical  state  of 
affairs,'  there  was  a  majority  of  his  political  friends.  Yet  there  was  a  powerful 
party  in  the  country  (the  Federalists),  hostile  to  his  political  creed,  and  opposed 
to  a  war  with  England,  which  now  seemed  probable. 

At  the  very  beginning  of  Madison's  administration,  light  beamed  upon  the 
future.  Mr.  Erskine,  the  British  minister,  assured  the  President,  that  such 
portions  of  the  orders  in  council3  as  affected  the  United  States,  should  be 
repealed  by  the  10th  of  June.  He  also  assured  him  that  a  special  envoy  would 
soon  arrive,  to  settle  all  matters  in  dispute  between  the  two  governments. 
Supposing  the  minister  to  be  authorized  by  his  government  to  make  these 
assurances,  the  President,  as  empowered  by  Congress,  issued  a  proclamation 
[April  19,  1809],  permitting  a  renewal  of  commercial  intercourse  with  Great 
Britain,  on  that  day.  But  the  government  disavowed  Erskine' s  act,  and  the 
President  again  [August  10]  proclaimed  non-intercourse.  The  light  had 
proved  deceitful.  This  event  caused  great  excitement  in  the  public  mind  ;  and 
had  the  President  then  declared  war  against  Great  Britain,  it  would  doubtless 
have  been  very  popular. 

Causes  for  irritation  between  the  two  governments  continually  increased, 
and.  for  a  time,  political  intercourse  was  suspended.  France,  too,  continued 
its  aggressions.  On  the  28(1  of  March,  1810,  Bonaparte  issued  a  decree  at 
Rambouillet,  more  destructive  in  its  operations  to  American  commerce,  than  any 
measures  hitherto  employed.  It  declared  forfeit  every  American  vessel  which 
had  entered  French  ports  since  March,  1810,  or  that  might  thereafter  enter; 
and  authorized  the  sale  of  t^e  same,  together  with  the  cargoes — the  money  to 
bo  placed  in  the  French  treasury.  Under  this  decree,  many  American  vessels 
were  lost,  for  which  only  partial  remuneration  has  since  been  obtained.4  Bona- 
parte justified  this  decree  by  the  plea,  that  it  was  made  in  retaliation  for  the 
American  decree  of  non-intercourse.5  Three  months  later  [May,  1810],  Con- 
gress offered  to  resume  commercial  intercourse  with  either  France  or  England, 
or  both,  on  condition  that  they  should  repeal  their  obnoxious  orders  and 
decrees,  before  the  3d  of  March,  1811.°  The  French  emperor,  who  was  always 
governed  by  expediency,  in  defiance  of  right  and  justice,  feigned  compliance, 
and  by  giving  assurance  [August]  that  such  repeal  should  take  effect  in  Noveni- 


was  one  of  the  wisest  and  ablest;  and  Ms  voluminous  writings,  purchased  by  Congress,  display  tho 
most  sagacious  statesmanship.  As  a  Kcpublican,  he  was  conservative.  For  eight  years  he  wan 
President  of  the  United  States,  when  ho  retired  to  private  life.  He  died  in  June,  1836,  at  the  ago 
of  eighty-fi ve  years. 

a<"  Robert  Smith,  Secretary  of  State;  Albert  Gallatin,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  William  Eustis, 
Secretary  of  War;  Paul  Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  Caesar  Rodney,  Attorney-General. 

2  Its  session  lasted  only  about  five  weeks,  because  peace  seemed  probable. 

3  Xoto  1,  page  400.  4_Page  468.  5  Page  402. 

6  The  act  provided,  that  if  either  government  should  repeal  its  obnoxious  acts,  and  if  the  other 
government  should  not  do  the  same  within  three  months  thereafter,  then  the  first  should  f*r>joy 
commercial  intercourse  with  the  United  States,  but  the  other  should  not. 


2817.]  MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  407 

ber,  caused  the  President  to  proclaim  such  resumption  of  intercourse.  It  was 
a  promise  intended  to  be  broken  at  any  moment  when  policy  should  dictate. 
American  vessels  continued  to  be  seized  by  French  cruisers,  as  usual,  and  con- 
fiscated ;  and  in  March,  1811,  Napoleon  declared  the  decrees  of  Berlin1  and 
Milan2  to  be  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  empire.  A  new  envoy  from  France, 
who  arrived  in  the  United  States  at  about  this  time,  gave  official  notice  to  the 
government;  that  no  remuneration  would  be  made  for  property  seized  and  con- 
fiscated. 

The  government  of  Great  Britain  acted  more  honorably,  though  wickedly. 
She  continued  her  hostile  orders,  and  sent  ships  of  war  to  cruise  near  the  prin- 
cipal ports  of  the  United  States,  to  intercept  American  merchant  vessels  and 
send  them  to  England  as  lawful  prizes.  While  engaged  in  this  nefarious  busi- 
ness, the  British  sloop  of  war3  Little.  Belt,  Captain  Bingham,  was  met  [April 
16,  1811],  off  the  coast  of  Virginia,  by  the  American  frigate  President,  Com- 
modore Rogers.4  That  officer  hailed  the  commander  of  the  sloop,  and  received 
a  cannon  shot  in  reply.  A  brief  action  ensued,  when  Captain  Bingham,  after 
having  eleven  men  killed  and  twenty-one  wounded,  gave  a  satisfactory  answer 
to  Rogers.  The  conduct  of  both  officers  was  approved  by  their  respective  gov- 
ernments. That  of  the  United  States  condemned  the  act  of  Bingham  as  an 
outrage  without  palliation ;  and  the  government  and  people  felt  willing  to  take 
up  arms  in  defense  of  right,  justice,  and  honor.  Powerful  as  was  the  navy  of 
Great  Britain,  and  weak  as  was  that  of  the  United  States,  the  people  of  the 
latter  were  willing  to  accept  of  war  as  an  alternative  for  submission,  and  to 
measure  strength  on  the  ocean.  The  British  navy  consisted  of  almost  nine 
hundred  vessels,  with  an  aggregate  of  one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand 
men.  The  American  vessels  of  war,  of  large  size,  numbered  only  twelve,  with 
an  aggregate  of  about  three  hundred  guns.  Besides  these,  there  were  a  great 
number  of  gun-boats,  but  these  were  hardly  sufficient  for  a  coast-guard.  Here 
was  a  great  disparity ;  and  for  a  navy  so  weak  to  defy  a  navy  so  strong, 
seemed  madness.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  British  navy  was 
necessarily  very  much  scattered,  for  that  government  had  interests  to  protect  in 
various  parts  of  the  globe. 

The  protracted  interruption  of  commercial  operations  was  attended  with 
very  serious  effect  upon  the  trade  and  revenue  of  the  United  States,  and  all 
parties  longed  for  a  change,  even  if  it  must  be  brought  about  by  war  with 
European  governments.  The  Congressional  elections  in  1810  and  1811,  proved 
that  the  policy  of  Mr.  Madison's  administration  was  sustained  by  a  large  ma- 
jority of  the  American  people,  the  preponderance  of  the  Democratic  party 
being  kept  up  in  both  branches  of  the  Federal  Legislature.  The  opposition, 
who,  as  a  party,  were  unfavorable  to  hostilities,  were  in  a  decided  minority , 
and  the  government  had  more  strength  in  its  councils  than  at  any  time  during 
Jefferson's  administration. 

For  several  years  war  with  England  had  seemed  inevitable,  and  now  [1811] 

1  Page  400.  2  Page  402.  3  Pago  415. 

4  He  died  in  the  Naval  Asylum,  Philadelphia,  in  August,  1838. 


408  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1809. 

many  causes  were  accelerating  the  progress  of  events  toward  such  a  result. 
Among  these,  the  hostile  position  of  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  north-western 
frontier  of  the  United  States,  was  one  of  the  most  powerful.  They,  too,  had 
felt  the  pressure  of  Bonaparte's  commercial  system.  In  consequence  of  the 
exclusion  of  their  furs  from  the  continental  markets,  the  Indian  hunters  found 
their  traffic  reduced  to  the  lowest  point.  The  rapid  extension  of  settlements 
north  of  the  Ohio  was  narrowing  their  hunting-grounds,  and  producing  a  rapid 
diminution  of  game ;  and  the  introduction  of  whiskey,  by  the  white  people,  was 
spreading  demoralization,  disease,  and  death  among  the  Indians.  These  evils, 
combined  with  the  known  influence  of  British  emissaries,  finally  led  to  open 
hostilities. 

In  the  spring  of  1811,  it  became  certain  that  Tecumseh,  a  Shawnee1  chief, 
who  was  crafty,  intrepid,  unscrupulous,  and  cruel,  and  who  possessed  the  qual- 
ities of  a  great  leader,  almost  equal  to  those  of  Pontiac,2  was  endeavoring  to 
emulate  that  great  Ottawa  by  confederating  the  tribes  of  the  north-west  in  a 
war  against  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Those  over  whom  himself  and 
twin-brother,  the  Prophet,3  exercised  the  greatest  control,  were  the  Delawares, 
Shawnees,  Wyandots,  Miamies,  Kickapoos,  Winnebagoes,  and  Chippewas.4 
During  the  summer,  the  frontier  settlers  became  so  alarmed  by  the  continual 
military  and  religious  exercises  of  the  savages,  that  General  Harrison,"  then 
governor  of  the  Indiana  Territory,0  marched,  with  a  considerable  force,  toward 
the  town  of  the  Prophet,  situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Tippecanoe  and 
Wabash  Rivers,  in  the  upper  part  of  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana.  The 
Prophet  appeared  and  proposed  a  conference,  but  Harrison,  suspecting  treach- 
ery, caused  his  soldiers  to  sleep  on  their  arms  [Nov.  6,  1811]  that  night.  At 
four  o'clock  the  next  morning  [Nov.  7]  the  savages  fell  upon  the  American 
camp,  but  after  a  bloody  battle  until  dawn,  the  Indians  were  repulsed.  The 
battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  one  of  the  most  desperate  ever  fought  with  the  Indians, 
and  the  loss  was  heavy  on  both  sides.7  Tecumseh  was  not  present  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  it  is  said  the  Prophet  took  no  part  in  the  engagement. 

These  events,  so  evidently  the  work  of  British  interference,  aroused  the 
spirit  of  the  nation,  and  throughout  the  entire  West,  and  in  the  Middle  and 
Southern  States,  there  was  a  desire  for  war.  Yet  the  administration  fully 
appreciated  the  deep  responsibility  involved  in  such  a  step ;  and  having  almost 
the  entire  body  of  the  New  England  people  in  opposition,  the  President  and  his 
friends  hesitated.  The  British  orders  in  council3  continued  to  be  rigorously 
enforced ;  insult  after  insult  was  offered  to  the  American  flag ;  and  the  British 
press  insolently  boasted  that  the  United  States  "could  not  be  kicked  into  a 

1  Page  19.  2  Page  204. 

3  In  1809,  Governor  Harrison  had  negotiated  a  treaty  with  the  Miamies  [page  19]  and  other 
tribes,  by  which  they  sold  to  the  United  States  a  large  tract  of  land  on  both  sides  of  the  Wabasb. 
The  Prophet  was  present  and  made  no  objection ;  but  Tecumseh,  who  was  absent,  was  greatly 
dissatisfied.     The  British  emissaries  took  advantage  of  this  dissatisfaction,  to  inflame  him  and  his 
people  against  the  Americans. 

4  Page  17.  5  Page  474.  6  Note  4,  page  390. 

7  Harrison  had  upward  of  sixty  killed,  and  more  than  a  hundred  wounded. 

8  Note  1,  page  400. 


1817.]  MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION,  409 

war."  Forbearance  became  no  longer  a  virtue ;  and  on  the  4th  of  April,  181 2, 
Congress  laid  another  embargo1  upon  vessels  in  American  waters,  for  ninety 
days.  On  the  1st  of  June,  the  President  transmitted  a  special  message  to 
Congress,  in  which  he  reviewed  the  difficulties  with  Great  Britain,  strongly 
portrayed  the  aggressions  inflicted  upon  us  by  that  nation,  and  intimated  the 
necessity  of  war.  The  message  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations,  in  the  Houso  of  Representatives,  a  majority  of  whom2  agreed  upon, 
and  reported  a  manifesto  [June  8],  as  the  basis  of  a  declaration  of  war.  On 
the  following  day  [June  4,  1812],  a  bill,  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Pinckney,  the 
Attorney-General  of  the  United  States, n  declaring  war  to  exist  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  was  presented  by  Mr.  Calhoun.  During  the 
proceedings  on  this  subject.  Congress  sat  with  closed  doors.  The  measure  was 
finally  agreed  to,  by  both  Houses,  by  fair  majorities.  It  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives  by  a  vote  of  79  to  49.  On  the  17th  it  passed  the  Senate  by  a 
vote  of  19  to  13,  and  on  that  day  it  received  the  signature  of  the  President,1 
Two  days  afterward  [June  19],  the  President  issued  a  proclamation  which 
formally  declared  war  against  Gr^at  Britain.5  This  is  known  in  history  as  Tins 
WAR  OF  1812  :  or 

THE  SECOXD  WAR  FOR  IXDEPEXDEXCE." 

Congress,  having  authorized  the  President  to  declare  war,  took  immediate 
measures  to  sustain  that  declaration.  It  passed  an  act  which  gave  him  author- 
ity to  enlist  twenty-five  thousand  men,  to  accept  fifty  thousand  volunteers,  and 
to  call  out  one  hundred  thousand  militia  for  the  defense  of  the  sea-coast  and 
frontiers.  Fifteen  millions  of  dollars  were  appropriated  for  the  army,  and 
almost  three  millions  for  the  nayy.  But  at  the  very  threshhold  of  the  new  order 


1  Pago  402. 


Four  days  after  this  [April  8]  Louisiana  was  admitted  into  tho  Union  as  a  Stat?. 

8  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina ;  Felix  Grundy,  of  Tennessee ;  John  Smilio,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  John  A.  Harper,  of  New  Hampshire ;  Joseph  Desha,  of  Kentucky ;  and  Ebenczer  Seaver, 
of  Massachus3tts.  8  Page  400. 

4  The  following  aro  tho  words  of  that  important  bill :  "Us  it  enacted,  etc..  That  war  be,  and  tho 
same  is  hereby  declared  to  exist  between  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and 
the  dependencies  thereof,  and  the  United  States  of  America  and  their  Territories ;  and  that  tho 
President  of  the  United  States  is  hereby  authorized  to  use  the  whole  land  and  naval  force  of  the 
United  States  to  carry  the  samo  into  effect,  and  to  issue  to  private  armed  vessels  of  the  United 
States,  commissions,  or  letters  of  marque,  and  general  reprisal,  in  such  form  as  he  shall  think  proper, 
and  under  the  seal  of  tho  United  States,  against  tho  vessels,  goods,  and  effects  of  the  government 
of  tho  said  United  Kingdom  of  Groat  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the  subjects  thereof." 

The  chief  c  vises  for  this  act  wero  tho  impressment  of  American  seamen  by  the  British;  tho 
blockade  of  French  ports  without  an  adequate  force  to  sustain  the  act;  arid  the  British  Orders  in 
Council  The  Federalists  in  Congress  presented  an  ably- written  protest,  which  denied  the  necessity 
or  the  expediency  of  war. 

6  This  is  an  appropriate  title,  for.  until  the  termination  of  that  war,  the  United  States  were  only 
nominally  free.  Blessed  with  prosperity,  the  people  dreaded  war,  and  submitted  to  many  acts  of 
tyranny  and  insult  from  Great  Britain  and  France,  rather  than  become  involved  in  another  conflict. 
Socially  and  commercially,  tho  United  States  were  dependent  upon  Europe,  and  especially  upon 
England ;  and  the  latter  was  rapidly  acquiring  a  dangerous  political  interest  here,  when  the  war 
broke  out.  The  war  begun  in  1775  was  really  only  the  first  great  step  toward  independence;  the 
war  begun  in  1812,  first  thoroughly  accomplished  it.  Franklin  once  heard  a  person  speaking  of 
the  Revolution  as  the  War  of  Independence,  and  reproved  him,  saying.  "Sir,  you  mean  the  Revolu- 
tion; the  war  of  Independence  is  yet  to  come.  It  was  a  war  for  Independence,  but  not  of  Inde- 
pendence." 


410  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [isoo. 

of  things,  the  administration  was  met  by  determined  opposition.  The  Federal 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  published  an  address  to  their  con- 
stituents, in  which  they  set  forth  the  state  of  the  country  at  that  time,  the 
course  of  the  administration  and  its  supporters  in  Congress,  and  the  reasons  of 
the  minority  for  opposing  the  war.  This  was  fair  and  honorable.  But  outside 
of  Congress,  a  party,  composed  chiefly  of  Federalists,  with  some  disaffected 
Democrats,  was  organized  under  the  name  of  the  Peace  party.  Its  object  was 
to  cast  such  obstructions  in  the  way  of  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  as  to  compel 
t'he  government  to  make  peace.  This  movement,  so  unpatriotic,  the  offspring 
of  the  lowest  elements  of  faction,  was  frowned  upon  by  the  most  respectable 
members  of  the  Federal  party,  and  some  of  them  gave  the  government  their 
hearty  support,  when  it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  carry  on  the  Avar  with  vigor 
and  effect. 

The  first  care  of  the  government,   in  organizing   the  army,  was  to  select 
efficient  officers.     Nearly  all  of  the  general  officers  of  the  Revolution  were  in 
their  graves,  or  were  too  old  for  service,  and  even  those  of  subordinate  rank  in 
that  war,  who  yet  remained,  were  far  advanced  in  lifo. 
Yet  upon  them  the  chief  duties  of  leadership    were 
devolved.     Henry    Dearborn1    was    appointed    major- 
general    and    commander-in- chief;   and    his    principal 
brigadiers  were  James  Wilkinson,2  Wade  Hampton,3 
William  Hull,4  and  Joseph  Bloomfield — all  of  them 
esteemed  soldiers  of  the  Revolution. 

Hull  was  governor  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan, 
and  held  the  commission  of  a  brigadier-general.     When 
war  was  declared,  he  was  marching,  with  a.  little  more 
GENERAL  DEARBORN.          than  two  thousand  troops,  from  Ohio,  to  attempt  the 
subjugation  of  the  hostile   Indians.5      Congress  gave 

him  discretionary  powers  for  invading  Canada;  but  caution  and  preparation 
were  necessary,  because  the  British  authorities,  a  long  time  in  expectation  of 
war,  had  taken  measures  accordingly.0  Feeling  strong  enough  for  the  enemy, 
Hull,  on  the  12th  of  July,  1812,  crossed  the  Detroit  River  with  his  whole 
force,  to  attack  Fort  Maiden,  a  British  post  near  the  present  village  of  Amherst- 
burg.  At  Sandwich,  he  encamped,  and  by  a  fatal  delay,  lost  every  advantage 
which  an  immediate  attack  might  have  secured.  In  the  mean  while,  Fort 

1  Henry  Dearborn  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  and  a  meritorious  officer  in  the  continental 
army.     He  accompanied  Arnold  to  Quebec,  and  was  distinguished  in  the  battles  which  ruined 
Burgoyne  [page  281].     He  held  civil  offices  of  trust  after  the  Revolution.     He  returned  to  private 
life  in  1815,  and  died  at  Roxbury.  near  Boston,  in  1829,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years. 

2  Pages  39G  and  426.          3  Note  3,  page  427.  4  Note  4,  page  411.  5  Page  408. 

6  Canada  then  consisted  of  two  provinces.  The  old  French  settlements  on  the  St.  Lawrence, 
with  a  population  of  about  three  hundred  thousand,  constituted  Lower  Canada ;  while  the  more 
recent  settlements  above  Montreal,  and  chiefly  upon  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  including 
about  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  composed  Upper  Canada,  These  were  principally  the 
families  of  American  loyalists,  who  were  compelled  to  leave  the  States  at  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. Then  each  province  had  its  own  governor  and  Legislature.  The  regular  military  force,  which 
was  scattered  over  a  space  of  more  than  a  thousand  miles,  did  not  exceed  two  thousand  men; 
hence  the  British  commanders  were  compelled  to  call  for  volunteers,  and  they  used  the  Indiana 
to  good  effect,  in  their  favor. 


1817.]  MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION".  411 

Mackinaw,  one  of  the  strongest  posts  of  the  United  States  in  the  north-west,1 
was  surprised  and  captured  [July  17,  1812]  by  an  allied  force  of  British  and 
Indians ;  and  on  the  5th  of  August,  a  detachment  under  Major  Van  Home, 
sent  by  Hull  to  escort  an  approaching  supply-party  to  camp,  were  defeated  by 
some  British  and  Indians  near  Brownstown,  on  the  Huron  River.2  These 
events,  and  the  reinforcement  of  the  garrison  at  Maiden,  by  General  Brock, 
the  British  commander-in-chief,  caused  Hull  to  recross  the  river  on  the  7th  of 
August,  abandon  the  expedition  against  Canada,  and  take  post  at  Detroit,  much 
to  the  disappointment  of  his  troops,  who  were  anxious  to  measure  strength  with 
the  enemy. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  General  Brock  crossed  the  river  with  seven  hundred 
British  troops  and  six  hundred  Indians,  and  demanded  an  instant  surrender  of 
Detroit,  threatening  at  the  same  time  to  give  free  rein  to  Indian  cruelty  in  the 
event  of  refusal.  Hull's  excessive  prudence  determined  him  to  surrender, 
rather  than  expose  his  troops  to  the  hatchet.  When  the  assailants  approached, 
and  at  the  moment  when  the  Americans  were  hoping  for  and  expecting  a  com- 
mand to  fire,  he  ordered  his  troops  to  retire  within  the  fort,  and  hung  a  white 
flag  upon  the  wall,  in  token  of  submission.  The  army,  fort,  stores,  garrison, 
and  Territory,  were  all  surrendered  [August  16,  1812],  to  the  astonishment  of 
the  victor  himself,  and  the  deep  mortification  of  the  American  troops.  Hull 
was  afterward  tried  by  a  court-martial3  [1814],  on  charges  of  treason  and  cow- 
ardice. He  was  found  guilty  of  the  latter,  and  sentenced  to  be  shot,  but  was 
pardoned  by  the  President  on  account  of  his  revolutionary  services.  The  whole 
country  severely  censured  him ;  and  the  rage  of  the  war  party,  increased  by 
the  taunts  of  the  Federalists,  because  of  the  disastrous  termination  of  one  of  the 
first  expeditions  of  the  campaign,  was  unbounded.  The  difficulties  with  which 
Hull  was  surrounded— his  small  force  (only  about  eight  hundred  effective  men)  ; 
the  inexperience  of  his  officers,  and  the  rawness  of  his  troops ;  his  lack  of  infor- 
mation, because  of  the  interception  of  his  communications  ;  and  the  number  and 
character  of  the  enemy — were  all  kept  out  of  sight,  while  bitter  denunciations 
were  poured  upon  his  head.  In  after  years,  he  was  permitted  fully  to  vindicate 
his  character,  and  the  sober  judgment  of  this  generation,  guided  by  historic 
truth,  must  acquit  him  of  all  crime,  and  even  serious  error,  and  pity  him  as  a 
victim  of  untoward  circumstances.4 


1  Formerly  spelled  Michilimackinac.     It  was  situated  upon  an  island  of  that  name,  near  the 
Straits  of  Mackinaw  or  Michilimakinac. 

2  On  the  8th,  Colonel  Miller  and  several  hundred  men,  sent  by  Hull  to  accomplish  the  object  of 
Yan  Home,  met  and  defeated  Tecumseh  [page  408]  and  his  Indians,  with  a  party  of  British,  near 
the  scene  of  Van  Home's  failure. 

3  He  was  taken  to  Montreal  a  prisoner,  and  was  afterward  exchanged  for  thirty  British  cap- 
tives.    He  was  tried  at  Albany,  New  York. 

4  Hull  published  his  Vindication  in  1824;  and  in  1848,  his  grandson  published  a  large  octavo 
volume,  giving  a  full  and  thorough  vindication  of  the  character  of  the  general,  the  material  for 
which  was  drawn  from  official  records.     Hull's  thorough  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the  foe  who 
menaced  him,  and  a  humane  desire  to  spare  his  troops,  was  doubtless  his  sole  reason  for  surrender- 
ing the  post.     A  good  and  brave  man  has  too  long  suffered  the  reproaches  of  history.     William 
Hull  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1753.     He  rose  to  the  rank  of  major  in  the  continental  army,  and 
was  distinguished  for  his  bravery.     He  was  appointed  governor  of  the  Michigan  Territory  in  1805. 
After  the  close  of  his  unfortunate  campaign,  he  never  appeared  in  public  life.     He  died  near  Boston 
in  1825. 


412  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1809. 

Ai  about  this  time,  a  tragedy  occurred  near  the  head  of  Lake  Michigan, 
which  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  through  the  land.  Captain  Heald,  with  a  com- 
pany of  fifty  regulars,  occupied  Fort  Dearborn,  on  the  site  of  the  present 
large  city  of  Chicago.1  Hull  ordered  him  to  evacuate  that  post  in  the  deep 
wilderness,  and  hasten  to  Detroit.  He  left  the  public  property  in  charge  of 
friendly  Indians,  but  had  proceeded  only  a  short  distance  from  the  fort,  along 
the  beach,  when  he  was  attacked  by  a  body  of  Indians.  Twenty-six  of  the  reg- 
ular troops,  and  all  of  tho  militia,  were  slaughtered.  A  number  of  women  and 
children  were  murdered  and  scalped ;  and  Captain  Heald,  with  his  wife,  though 
severely  wounded,  escaped  to  Michilimackinac.2  His  wife  also  received  six 
wounds,  but  none  proved  mortal.  This  event  occurred  on  the  day  before  Hull's 
surrender  [Aug.  15, 1812]  at  Detroit,  and  added  to  the  gloom  that  overspread, 
and  the  indignation  that  flashed  through,  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 

While  thcso  misfortunes  were  befalling  the  Army  of  the  North-west,3  the 
opponents  of  the  war  were  casting  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  other  divisions  of 
the  American  troops  operating  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  preparing  for 
another  invasion  of  Canada.4  The  governors  of  Massachusetts,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  Connecticut,  refused  to  allow  the  militia  of  those  States  to  march  to 
the  northern  frontier  on  the  requisition  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
They  defended  their  unpatriotic  position  by  the  plea  that  such  a  requisition  was 
unconstitutional,  and  that  the  wrar  was  unnecessary.  The  British  government, 
in  the  mean  while,  had  declared  the  whole  American  coast  in  a  state  of  block- 
ade, except  that  of  the  New  England  States,  whose  apparent  sympathy  •with 
the  enemies  of  their  country,  caused  them  to  be  regarded  as  ready  to  leave  the 
Union,  and  become  subject  to  the  British  crown.  But  there  was  sterling 
patriotism  sufficient  there  to  prevent  such  a  catastrophe,  even  if  a  movement, 
so  fraught  with  evil,  had  been  contemplated.  Yet  the  effect  was  chilling  to  the 
best  friends  of  the  country,  and  the  President  felt  the  necessity  of  extreme  cir- 
cumspection. 

Unmindful  of  tho  intrigues  of  its  foes,  however,  the  administration  perse- 
vered; and  during  the  summer  of  1812,  a  plan  was  matured  for  invading  Can- 
ada on  the  Niagara  frontier.  The  militia  of  the  State  of  New  York  were 
placed,  by  Governor  Tompkins,  under  the  command  of  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,5 

1  Chicago  is  built  upon  tho  verge  of  Lake  Michigan  and  the  borders  of  a  great  prairie,  and  is 
one  of  the  wonders  of  the  material  and  social  progress  of  the  United  States.  The  Pottawatomie 
Indians  [page  18],  by  treaty,  left  that  spot  to  the  white  people  in  1833.  The  city  was  laid  out  in 
1830,  and  lots  were  first  sold  in  1831.  In  1840,  the  population  was  4,470.  Now  [1856]  it  can  not 
be  less  than  80,000  !  2  Page  411. 

3  The  forces  under  General  Harrison  were  called  tho  Army  of  the  North-west;  those  under  Gen- 
eral Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  at  Lewiston,  on  tho  Niagara  River,  the  Army  of  the  Center ;  and 
those  under  General  Dearborn,  at  Plattsburg  and  at  Greenbush,  near  Albany,  the  Army  of  the 
North.  4  Page  410. 

6  Stephen  Yan  Rcnsselaer,  a  lineal  descendant  of  one  of  tho  earliest  and  best  known  of  the 
Patroons  [note  10,  page  139]  of  the  State  of  New  York,  was  born  at  the  manor-house,  near  Albany, 
in  November,  1764.  The  War  for  Independence  had  just  closed  when  he  came  into  possession  of 
his  immense  estate,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  He  engaged  in  politics,  was  a  warm  supporter 
of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  was  elected  Lieutenant-Governor  of  New  York  in  1795.  He  was 
very  little  engaged  in  politics  after  the  defeat  of  the  Federal  party  in  1800  [page  3C8].  After 
the  Second  "War  for  Independence,  he  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  Congress;  and,  by  his  casting  vote 
in  the  New  York  delegation,  he  gave  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States  to  John  Quincy  Adams. 


1817.] 


MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION. 


413 


who  was  commissioned  a  Major-General.  Intelligence  of  the  surrender  of  Hull1 
had  inspired  the  Americans  with  a  strong  desire  to  wipe  out  the  disgrace ;  and 
the  regiments  were  filled  without  much  difficulty.  These  forces  were  concen- 
trated chiefly  at  Lewiston,  on  the  Niagara  frontier,  under  Van  Rensselaer,  and 
at  Plattsburg,  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  Greenbush,  near  Albany,  under  General 
Dearborn. 


The  first  demonstration  against  the  neighboring  province  was  made  on  the 
Niagara,  in  mid-autumn.  In  anticipation  of  such  movement,  British  troops 
were  strongly  posted  on  the  heights  of  Queenstown,  'opposite  Lewiston ;  and  on 
the  morning  of  the  13th  of  October  [1812],  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  men, 
under  Colonel  Solomon  Van  Rensselaer,2  crossed  over  to  attack  them.  The 
commander  was  severely  wounded,  at  the  landing ;  but  his  troops  pressed  for- 
ward, under  Captains  Wool3  and  Ogilvie,  successfully  assaulted  a  battery  near 


Here  closed  his  political  life,  and  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  the  performance  of  social 
and  Christian  duties.  He  was  for  several  years  president  of  the  Board  of  Canal  Commissioners, 
and,  while  in  that  office,  he  died  in  January,  1840,  in  the  seventy-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

*  Page  411. 

2  Solomon  Van  Rensselaer  was  one  of  the  bravest  and  best  men  of  his  time;  and  to  his  efforts, 
more  than  to  those  of  any  other  man,  the  salvation  of  the  American  army  on  the  northern  frontier, 
at  this  time,  was  due.  He  died  at  Albany  on  the  3d  of  April,  1852. 

John  E.  Wool,  now  [1856]  Major-General  in  the  army  of  the  United  States. 


414  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1809. 

the  summit  of  the  hill,  and  gained  possession  of  Queenstown  Heights.  But  the 
victory  was  not  yet  complete.  General  Sir  Isaac  Brock  approached  from 
Fort  George,  with  six  hundred  men,  and  attempted  to  regain  the  battery.  The 
British  were  repulsed,  and  Brock  was  killed.1  In  the  mean  while.  General 
Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  who  had  crossed  over,  returned  to  Lewiston,  and  was 
using  his  most  earnest  efforts  to  send  reinforcements ;  but  only  about  one  thou- 
sand troops,  many  of  them  quite  undisciplined,  could  be  induced  to  cross  the 
river.  These  were  attacked  in  the  afternoon  [Oct.  18,  1812]  by  fresh  troops 
from  Fort  George,  and  a  body  of  Chippewa  Indians,  and  were  nearly  all  killed 
or  made  prisoners,  while  at  least  fifteen  hundred  of  their  companions-in-arms 
cowardly  refused  to  cross  to  their  aid.  The  latter  excused  their  conduct  by  the 
plea,  put  into  their  mouths  by  the  opponents  of  the  war.  that  they  considered  it 
wrong  to  invade  the  enemy's  country,  the  war  being  avowedly  a  defensive  one. 
The  enemies  of  the  administration  applauded  them  for  their  conscientiousness, 
while  a  victory  that  might  have  led  to  reconciliation  and  peace,  was  lost  at  the 
winning  moment.  General  Van  Rensselaer,  disgusted  with  the  inefficiency 
everywhere  displayed,  left  the  service,  and  was  succeeded  by  General  Alex- 
ander Smyth,  of  Virginia  This  officer  accomplished  nothing  of  importance 
during  the  remainder  of  the  season  :  and  when  the  troops  went  into  winter 
quarters  [Dec.],  there  appeared  to  have  been  very  few  achievements  made  by 
the  American  army  worthy  of  honorable  mention  in  history. 

While  the  army  wTas  suffering  defeats,  and  became,  in  the  mouths  of  the 
opponents  of  the  administration,  a  staple  rebuke,  the  little  navy  had  acquitted 
itself  nobly,  and  the  national  honor  and  prowess  had  been  fully  vindicated  upon 
the  ocean.  At  this  time  the  British  navy  numbered  one  thousand  and  sixty 
vessels,  while  that  of  the  United  States,  exclusive  of  gun-boats,2  numbered  only 
twenty.  Two  of  these  were  unseaworthy,  and  one  was  on  Lake  Ontario.  Nine 
of  the  American  vessels  were  of  a  class  less  than  frigates,  and  all  of  them  could 
not  well  compare  in  appointments  with  those  of  the  enemy.  Yet  the  Americans 
were  not  dismayed  by  this  disparity,  but  went  out  boldly  in  their  ships  to  meet 
the  war  vessels  of  the  proudest  maritime  nation  upon  the  earth.3  Victory  after 
victory  told  of  their  skill  and  prowess.  On  the  19th  of  August,  1812.  the 
United  States  frigate  Const  tntion,  Commodore  Isaac  Hull,4  fought  the  British 
frigate  Guerricref  Captain  Dacres.  off  the  American  coast,  in  the  present  track 
of  ships  to  Great  Britain.  The  contest  continued  about  forty  minutes,  when 

1  Sir  Isaac  Brock  was  a  brave  and  generous  officer.     There  is  a  fine  monument  erected  to  his 
memory  on  Queenstown  Heights,  a  short  distance  from  the  Niagara  River.  2  Page  401. 

3  At  the  time  of  the  declaration  of  war,  Commodore  Eogers  [page  407]  was  at  Sandy  Hook, 
N"cw  York,  with  a  small  squadron,  consisting  of  the  frigates  President,  Congress,  United  States,  and 
the  sloop-of-war  Hornet.     He  put  to  sea  on  the  21st  of  June,  in  pursuit  of  a  British  squadron  which 
had  sailed  as  a  convoy  of  the  "West  India  fleet.     After  a  slight  engagement,  and  a  chase  of  several 
hours,  the  pursuit  was  abandoned  at  near  midnight.     The  frigate  Essex  [page  430]  went  to  sea  on 
tli3  3d  of  July;  the  Constitution,  on  the  12th.  '  The  brigs  Nautilus,  Viper,  and  Vixen  were  then 
cruising  off  the  coast,  and  the  sloop  Wasp  was  at  sea  on  her  return  from  France. 

4  Isaac  Hull  was  made  a  lieutenant  in  the  navy  ia  1798.  and  was  soon  distinguished  for  skill 
and  bravery.     He  rendered  important  service  to  his  country,  and  died  in  Philadelphia  in  February, 
1843. 

6  This  vessel  had  been  one  of  a  British  squadron  which  gave  the  Constitution  a  long  and  close 
chase  about  a  month  before,  during  which  the  nautical  skill  of  Hull  was  most  signally  displayed. 


1817.]  MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  415 

Dacres  surrendered;1  and  his  vessel  was  such  a  complete  wreck,  that  the  victor 
burned  her.  The  Constitution,  it  is  said,  was  so  little  damaged,  that  she  was 
ready  for  action  the  following  day.  This  victory  had  a  powerful  effect  on  the 
public  mind  in  both  countries. 

On  the  18th  of  October,  1812,  the  United  States  sloop-of-war,  Wasp, 
Captain  Jones,  captured  the  British  brig  Frolic,  off  the 
coast  of  North  Carolina,  after  a  very  severe  conflict  for 
three-quarters  of  an  hour.  The  slaughter  on  board  the 
Frolic  was  dreadful.  Only  three  officers  and  one  seaman. 
of  eighty-four,  remained  unhurt.  The  others  were  killed 
or  badly  wounded.  The  Wasp  lost  only  ten  men.  Her 
term  of  victory  was  short,  for  the  same  afternoon,  the 
British  seventy-four  gun  ship  Poictiers  captured  both 
vessels.  A  week  afterward  [October  25],  the  frigate  ELOOLMJF- \VAII. 
United  States,  Commodore  Decatur,2  fought  the  British 

frigate  Macedonian,  west  of  the  Canary  Islands,  for  almost  two  hours.  After 
being  greatly  damaged,  and  losing  more  than  one  hundred  men,  in  killed  and 
wounded,  the  Macedonian  surrendered.  Decatur  lost  only  five  killed  and 
seven  wounded;  and  his  vessel  was  very  little  injured.  A  few  weeks  after- 
ward [December  29,  1812],  the  Constitution,  then  commanded  by  Commodore 
Bainbridge,3  became  a  victor,  after  combatting  the  British  frigate  Java  for 
almost  three  hours,  off  San  Salvador,  on  the  coast  of  Brazil.  The  Java  had 
four  hundred  men  on  board,  of  whom  almost  two  hundred  were  killed  or 
wounded.  The  Constitution  was  again  very  little  injured  ;  but  she  made  such 
havoc  with  the  Java,  that  Bainbridge,  finding  her  incapable  of  floating  long, 
burned  her  [January  1,  1813],  three  days  after  the  action. 

The  Americana  were  greatly  elated  by  these  victories.  Nor  were  they  con- 
fined to  the  national  vessels.  Numerous  privateers,  which  now  swarmed  upon 
the  ocean,  were  making  prizes  in  every  direction,  and  accounts  of  their  exploits 
filled  the  newspapers.  It  is  estimated  that  during  the  year  1812,  upward  of 
fifty  British  armed  vessels,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  merchantmen,  with  an 
aggregate  of  more  than  three  thousand  prisoners,  and  a  vast  amount  of  booty, 
were  captured  by  the  Americans.  These  achievements  wounded  British  pride 
in  a  tender  part,  for  England  claimed  the  appellation  of  "  mistress  of  the  seas." 
They  also  strengthened  the  administration ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  year,  naval 
armaments  were  in  preparation  on  the  lakes,  to  assist  the  army  in  a  projected 
invasion  of  Canada  the  following  spring. 

At  the  close  of  these  defeats  upon  land,  and  these  victories  upon  the  ocean, 
the  election  of  President  and  Vice-Presidcnt  of  the  United  States,  and  also  of 
members  of  Congress,  occurred.  The  administration  was  strongly  sustained  by 
the  popular  vote.  Mr.  Madison  was  re-elecred,  with  Elbridge  Gerry4  as  Vice- 
President — George  Clinton  having  died  at  Washington  in  April  of  that  year.5 


1  On  the  Guerriere  were  seventy-nine  killed  and  wounded.     The  Constitut  'on  lost  seven  killed 
and  seven  wounded.  2  Page  392. 

3  Page  391.  «  Note  1,  page  385.  °  Note  5,  page  350. 


416  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1813. 

A  fraction  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  most  of  the  Federalists,  voted  for  De 
Witt  Clinton1  for  President,  and  .Tared  Ingersoll,  for  Vice-President.  Not- 
withstanding the  members  of  Congress  then  elected,  were  chiefly  Democrats,  it 
was  evident  that  the  opposition  was  powerful  and  increasing,  particularly  in  the 
eastern  States,  yet  the  President  felt  certain  that  the  great  body  of  the  people 
were  favorable  to  his  war  policy. 


CHAPTER     Y. 

THE  SECOND   WAR  FOP.  INDEPENDENCE.      [1813.] 

DURING  the  autumn  of  1812,  the  whole  western  country,  incensed  by 
Hull's  surrender,  seemed  filled  with  the  zeal  of  the  old  Crusaders.2  Michigan 
h;;d  to  bo  recovered,3  and  the  greatest  warlike  enthusiasm  prevailed.  Volun- 
teers had  gathered  under  local  leaders,  in  every  settlement.  Companies  were 
formed  and  equipped  in  a  single  day,  and  were  ready  to  march  the  next,  For 
several  weeks  the  volunteers  found  employment  in  driving  the  hostile  Indians 
from  post  to  post,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  extreme  western  settlements.  They 
desolated  their  villages  and  plantations,  after  the  manner  of  Sullivan,  in  1779,4 
and  the  fiercest  indignation  against  the  white  people  was  thus  excited  among 
the  tribes,  which,  under  the  stimulus  of  their  British  allies,  led  to  terrible 
retaliations.5  So  eager  were  the  people  for  battle,  that  the  snows  of  winter  in 
the  great  wilderness,  did  not  keep  them  from  the  field.  The  campaign  of  1813 
opened  with  the  year.  Almost  the  entire  northern  frontier  of  the  United 
States  was  the  chief  theatre  of  operations.  The  army  of  the  West*  under 
General  Harrison,7  was  concentrating  at  the  head  of  Lake  Erie ;  that  of  the 
Centre*  now  under  Dearborn,  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Niagara  River;  and 
that  of  the  North*  under  Hampton,  was  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Champlain. 
Sir  George  Prevost  was  the  successor  of  Brock13  in  command  of  the  British 
army  in  Canada,  assisted  by  General  Proctor  in  the  direction  of  Detroit.51  and 
by  General  Sheaffe  in  the  vicinity  of  Montreal  and  the  lower  portions  of  Lake 
Champlain. 

Brave  and  experienced  leaders  had  rallied  to  the  standard  of  Harrison  in 
the  north-west.  Kentucky  sent  swarms  of  her  young  men.  from  every  social 


1  Page  456.  2  Note  5,  page  38.  3  Page  411.  4  Page  304. 

5  Harrison  early  took  steps  to  relieve  the  frontier  posts.  These  were  Fort  Harrison,  on  the 
Wabash;  Fort  Wayne,  on  the  Miami  of  the  lakes;  Fort  Defiance  [Note  6,  page  374];  and  Fort 
Deposit,  to  which  the  Indians  laid  siege  on  the  12th  of  September.  Generals  Winchester,  Tupper, 
and  Payne,  and  Colonels  Wells,  Scott,  Lewis,  Jennings,  and  Allen,  were  the  chief  leaders  against 
the  savages.  Operations  were  carried  on  vigorously,  further  west.  Early  in  October,  almost  four 
thousand  volunteers,  chiefly  mounted  riflemen,  under  General  Hopkins,  had  collected  at  Vincennes 
[page  303]  for  an  expedition  against  the  towns  of  the  Peoria  and  other  Indians,  in  the  Wabash 
country.  It  was  this  formidable  expedition,  sanctioned  by  Governor  Shelby,  which  produced  the 
greatest  devastation  in  the  Indian  country.  6  Note  3,  page  412.  7  Page  474. 

8  Note  3,  page  412.  9  Note  3,  page  412.  10  Page  411.  "  Page  412. 


1813.] 


THE    SECOND  WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE. 


417 


rank,  led  by  the  veteran  Shelby,1  and  the  yeomanry  of  Ohio  and  its  neighbor- 
hood hastened  to  the  field.  So  numerous  were  the  volunteers,  that  Harrison 
was  compelled  to  issue  an  order  against  further  enlistments,  and  many  a  warm 
heart,  beating  with  desire  for  military  glory,  was  chilled  by  disappointment. 
General  Harrison  chose  the  west  end  of  Lake  Erie  as  his  chief  place  of  muster, 


with  the  design  of  making  a  descent  upon  the  British  at  Maiden  and  Detroit,2 
and  by  securing  possession  of  those  posts,  recover  Michigan  and  the  forts  west 
of  it.  Early  in  January  [10th,  1813],  General  Winchester,  on  his  way  from 
the  southward,  with  eight  hundred  young  men,  chiefly  Kentuckians,  reached 
the  Maumee  Rapids.3  There  he  was  informed  [January  13,  1813]  that  a 
party  of  British  and  Indians  had  concentrated  at  Frenchtown,  on  the  river 
Raisin,4  twenty-five  miles  south  of  Detroit.  He  immediately  sent  a  detachment, 

J  Isaac  Shelby  was  born  in  Maryland,  in  1750.  He  entered  military  life  in  1774,  and  went  to 
Kentucky  as  a  land-surveyor,  in  1775.  He  engaged  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  dis- 
tinguished in  the  battle  on  King's  Mountain  [page  319]  in  1780.  He  was  made  governor  of  Ken- 
tucky in  1792,  and  soon  afterward  retired  to  private  life,  from  which  he  was  drawn,  first  in  1812,  to 
the  duties  of  Chief  Magistrate  of  his  State,  and  again,  in  1813,  to  lead  an  army  to  the  field  against 
his  old  enemy.  He  died  in  1826,  when  almost  seventy-six  years  of  age.  a  Page  412. 

3  Note  7,  page  374. 

4  Opposite  the  flourishing  village  of  Monroe,  Michigan,  two  or  three  miles  from  Lake  Erie.     The 
Raisin  derived  its  name  from  the  fact,  that  in  former  years  great  quantities  of  grapes  clustered  upon 

27 


418  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1813. 

under  Colonels  Allen  and  Lewis,  to  protect  the  inhabitants  in  that  direction. 
Finding  Frerichtown  in  the  possession  of  the  enemy,  they  successfully  attacked 
[January  18]  and  routed  them,  and  held  possession  until  the  arrival  of  Win- 
chester [January  20],  with  almost  three  hundred  men,  two  days  afterward. 

General  Proctor,  who  was  at  Maiden,  eighteen  miles  distant,  heard  of  the 
advance  of  Winchester,  and  proceeded  immediately  and  secretly,  with  a  com- 
bined force  of  fifteen  hundred  British  and  Indians,  to  attack  him.  They  fell 
upon  the  American  camp  at  dawn,  on  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  January. 
After  a  severe  battle  and  heavy  loss  on  both  sides,  Winchester,1  who  had  been 
made  a  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  surrendered  his  troops  on  the  condition,  agreed 
to  by  Proctor,  that  ample  protection  to  all  should  be  given.  Proctor,  fearing 
the  approach  of  Harrison,  who  was  then  on  the  Lower  Sandusky,  immediately 
marched  for  Maiden,  leaving  the  sick  and  wrounded  Americans  behind,  without 
a  guard.  After  following  him  some  distance,  the  Indians  turned  back  [January 
23],  murdered  and  scalped2  the  Americans  who  were  unable  to  travel,  set  fire 
to  dwellings,  took  many  prisoners  to  Detroit,  in  order  to  procure  exorbitant 
ransom  prices,  and  reserved  some  of  them  for  inhuman  torture.  The  indiffer- 
ence of  Proctor  and  his  troops,  on  this  occasion,  was  criminal  in  the  highest 
degree,  and  gave  just  ground  for  the  dreadful  suspicion,  that  they  encouraged 
the  savages  in  their  deeds  of  blood.  Oftentimes  after  that,  the  war-cry  of  the 
Kentuckians  was,  "Remember  the  River  Raisin!"  The  tragedy  was  keenly 
felt  in  all  the  western  region,  and  especially  in  Kentucky,  for  the  slain,  by  bul- 
let, arrow,  tomahawk,  and  brand,  were  generally  of  the  most  respectable  fam- 
ilies in  the  State ;  many  of  them  young  men  of  fortune  and  distinction,  with 
numerous  friends  and  relations. 

Harrison  had  advanced  to  the  Maumee  Rapids,  when  the  intelligence  of  the 
affair  at  Frenchtown  reached  him.  Supposing  Proctor  would 
press  forward  to  attack  him,  he  fell  back  [January  23,  1813] ; 
but  on  hearing  of  the  march  of  the  British  toward  Maiden,  he 
advanced  [February  1]  to  the  rapids,  with  twelve  hundred  men, 
established  a  fortified  camp  there,  and  called  it  Fort  Meigs,3  in 
honor  of  the  governor  of  Ohio.  There  he  was  besieged 
by  Proctor  several  weeks  afterward  [May  1],  who  was 
at  the  head  of  more  than  two  thousand  British  and  Indians. 
On  the  fifth  day  of  the  siege,  General  Clay4  arrived  [May  5] 
with  twelve  hundred  men,  and  dispersed  the  enemy.  A  largo 


FORT  MEIGS        portion  of  his  troops,  while  unwisely  pursuing  the  fugitives,  were 

surrounded  and  captured  ;  and  Proctor  returned  to  the  siege. 

The  impatient  Indians,  refusing  to  listen  to  Tecumseh,0  their  leader,  deserted 

1  James  Winchester  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1756.  He  was  made  brigadier-general  in  1812; 
resigned  his  commission  in  1815;  and  died  in  Tennessee  in  1826.  2  Note  4,  page  14.  ^ 

3  Fort  Meigs  was  erected  on  the  south  side  of  the  Maumee,  nearly  opposite  the  former  British 
post  [note  8,  page  374],  and  a  short  distance  from  the  present  village  of  Perry sburg. 

*  Green  Clay  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1757,  was  made  a  brigadier  of  Kentucky  volunteers  early 
in  1813,  and  died  in  October,  1826. 

6  Page  408.  Tecumseh  came  with  the  largest  body  of  Indians  ever  collected  on  the  northern 
frontier. 


1813.]  THE    SECOND   WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.  419 

the  British  on  the  eighth  day  [May  8] ;  and  twenty-four  hours  afterward, 
Proctor  abandoned  the  siege  and  returned  to  Maiden  [May  9],  to  prepare  for 
a  more  formidable  invasion.  Thus  terminated  a  siege  of  thirteen  days,  during 
which  time  the  fortitude  and  courage  of  the  Americans  were  wonderfully  dis- 
played in  the  presence  of  the  enemy.  The  Americans  lost  in  the  fort,  eighty- 
one  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  wounded. 

For  several  weeks  after  the  siege  of  Fort  Meigs,  military  operations  were 
suspended  by  both  parties.  Here,  then,  let  us  take  a  brief  retrospective  glance. 
Congress  assembled  on  the  2d  of  November,  1812,  and  its  councils  were  divided 
by  fierce  party  spirit,  which  came  down  from  the  people.  The  Democrats  had 
a  decided  majority,  and  therefore  the  measures  of  the  administration  were  sus- 
tained. The  British  government  now  began  to  show  some  desire  for  reconcilia- 
tion. Already  the  orders  in  council  had  been  repealed,  and  the  Prince  Regent1 
demanded  that  hostilities  should  cease.  To  this  the  President  replied,  that  being 
now  at  war,  the  United  States  would  not  put  an  end  to  it,  unless  full  provisions 
were  made  for  a  general  settlement  of  differences,  and  a  cessation  of  the  practice 
of  impressment,  pending  the  negotiation.  At  about  the  same  time  a  law  was 
passed,  prohibiting  the  employment  of  British  seamen  in  American  vessels.  The 
British  also  proposed  an  armistice,  but  upon  terms  which  the  Americans  could 
not  accept.  Indeed,  all  propositions  from  that  quarter  were  inconsistent  with 
honor  and  justice,  and  they  were  rejected.  When  these  attempts  at  reconcilia- 
tion had  failed,  the  Emperor  Alexander  of  Russia  offered  his  mediation.  The 
government  of  the  United  States  instantly  accepted  it,2  but  the  British  govern- 
ment refused  it ;  and  so  the  war  went  on.  Congress  made  provision  for  prose- 
cuting it  with  vigor ;  and  the  hope  lighted  by  Alexander's  offer,  soon  faded. 

The  American  troops  in  the  West  had  remained  at  Fort  Meigs  and  vicinity. 
Toward  the  close  of  July  [July  21,  1813],  about  four  thousand  British  and 
Indians,  under  Proctor  andTecumseh,3  again  appeared  before  that  fortress,  then 
commanded  by  General  Clay.  Meeting  with  a  vigorous  re- 
sistance, Proctor  left  Tecumseh  to  watch  the  fort,  while  he 
marched  [July  28],  with  five  hundred  regulars  and  eight 
hundred  Indians,  to  attack  Fort  Stephenson,  at  Lower  San- 
dusky,4  which  was  garrisoned  by  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
young  men,5  commanded  by  Major  C:--oghan,  a  brave  soldier, 


FORT  SAXDUSKY. 


1  "When,  in  consequence  of  mental  infirmity,  George  the  Third  became  incompetent  to  reign,  in 
February,  1811,  his  son,  George,  Prince  of  Wales,  and  afterward  George  the  Fourth,  was  made 
regent,  or  temporary  ruler  of  the  realm.    He  retained  the  office  of  king,  pro  tempore.  until  the  death 
of  his  father,  in  1820. 

2  The  President  appointed,  as  commissioners,  or  envoys  extraordinary,  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  Great  Britain,  under  the  Russian  mediation,  Albert  Gallatin,  John  Quincy  Adams,  and 
James  A.  Bayar^.     Mr.  Adams  was  then  American  minister  at  the  Russian  court,  and  was  joined 
by  Messrs.  Gallatin  and  Bayard  in  June  following.  3  Page  408. 

4  On  the  west  bank  of  the  Sandusky  River,  about  fifteen  miles  south  from  Sandusky  Bay.  The 
area  within  the  pickets  [note  1,  page  127]  was  about  an  acre.  The  fort  was  made  of  regular  em- 
bankments of  earth  and  a  ditch,  with  bastions  and  block-houses  [note  3,  page  192]  and  some  rude 
log  buildings  within. 

6  The  greater  portion  of  tho  garrison  were  very  young  men,  and  some  of  them  were  mere 
youths. 


420  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1813. 

then  only  twenty-one  years  of  age.1  Proctor's  demand  for  surrender  was  accom- 
panied by  the  usual  menace  of  Indian  massacre  ;  but  it 
did  not  intimidate  Croghan.3  After  a  severe  cannonade3 
had  made  a  breach,  about  five  hundred  of  the  besiegers 
attempted  to  rush  in  and  take  the  place  by  assault  [Aug. 
2,  1813] ;  but  so  terribly  were  they  met  by  grape-shot* 
from  the  only  cannon  in  the  fort,  that  they  recoiled,  panic- 
stricken,  and  the  whole  body  fled  in  confusion,  leaving 
one  hundred  and  fifty  of  their  number  killed  or  wounded. 
The  Americans  lost  only  one  man  killed,  and  seven 
wounded.  This  gallant  defense  was  universally  ap- 
plauded,5 and  it  had  a  powerful  effect  upon  the  Indians. 
Proctor  and  Tecumseh  left  for  Detroit,  after  this  noble  defense  of  Fort 
Stephenson,  and  the  British  abandoned  all  hope  of  capturing  these  western 
American  posts,  until  they  should  become  masters  of  Lake  Erie.  But  while 
the  events  just  narrated  were  in  progress,  a  new  power  appeared  in  the  conflict 
in  the  West  and  North,  and  complicated  the  difficulties  of  the  enemy.  In  the 
autumn  of  1812.  Commodore  Chauncey  had  fitted  out  a  small  naval  armament 
at  Sackett's  Harbor,  to  dispute  the  mastery,  on  Lake  Ontario,  with  several 
British  armed  vessels  then  afloat.6  And  during  the  summer  of  1813,  Commo- 
dore Oliver  Hazzard  Perry  had  prepared,  on  Lake  Erie,  an  American  squadron 
of  nine  vessels,7  mounting  fifty-four  guns,  to  co-operate  with  the  Army  of  the 
West.  The  British  had  also  fitted  out  a  small  squadron  of  six  vessels,  carrying 
sixty- three  guns,  commanded  by  Commodore  Barclay.  Perry's  fleet  was  ready 
by  the  2d  of  August,  but  some  time  was  occupied  in  getting  several  of  his  ves- 
sels over  the  bar  in  the  harbor  of  Erie.  The  hostile  fleets  met  near  the  west- 
ern extremity  of  Lake  Erie  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  September,  1813, 
and  a  very  severe  battle  ensued.  The  brave  Perry  managed  with  the  skill  of 
an  old  admiral,  and  the  courage  of  the  proudest  soldier.  His  flag-ship,  the 
Lawrence,  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  battle,  and  very  soon  she  became  an 
unmanageable  wreck,  having  all  her  crew,  except  four  or  five,  killed  or 
wounded.  Perry  then  left  her,  in  an  open  boat,  and  hoisted  his  flag  on  the 
Niagara  at  the  moment  when  that  of  the  Lawrence  fell.  With  this  vessel  he 


1  George  Croghan  was  a  nephew  of  George  Rogers  Clarke  [page  300].     He  afterward  rose  to 
the  rank  of  colonel,  and  held  the  office  of  inspector-general.     He  died  at  New  Orleans  in  1 849. 

2  In  reply  to  Proctor's  demand  and  threat,  he  said,  in  substance,  that  when  the  fort  should  be 
taken  there  would  be  none  left  to  massacre,  as  it  would  not  be  given  up  while  there  was  a  man  left 
to  fight. 

3  The  British  employed  six  six-pounders  and  a  howitzer,  in  the  siege.     A  howitzer  is  a  piece 
of  ordnance  similar  to  a  mortar,  for  hurling  bomb-shells.  4  Note  4,  page  242. 

6  Major  Croghan  was  immediately  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant- colonel;  and  the  ladies 
of  Chillicothe  gave  him  an  elegant  sword. 

6  Chauncey's  squadron  consisted  of  six  vessels,  mounting  thirty-two  guns,  in  all.     The  British 
squadron  consisted  of  the  same  number  of  vessels,  but  mounting  more  than  a  hundred  guns.    Not- 
withstanding this  disparity,  Chauncey  attacked  them  near  Kingston  [note  5,  page  180]  early  in 
November,  damaged  them  a  good  deal,  and  captured  and  carried  into  Sackett's  Harbor,  a  schooner 
belonging  to  the  enemy.  He  then  captured  another  schooner,  which  had  $12,000  in  specie  on  board, 
and  the  baggage  of  the  deceased  General  Brock.     See  page  414. 

7  Lawrence  (flag-ship),  20  guns;  Niagara,  20;    Caledonian,  3;  shooner  Ariel,  4;  Scorpion,  2; 
Somers,  2  guns  and  2  swivels ;  sloop  Trippe,  and  schooners  Tigress  and  Porcupine,  of  1  ?run  eacn. 


PERRY  ON  LAKE  ERIE. 


1813.]  THE    SECOND    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.  423 

passed  through  the  enemy's  line,  pouring  broadsides,  right  and  left,  at  half 
pistol-shot  distance.  The  remainder  of  the  squadron  followed,  with  a  fair  wind, 
and  the  victory  was  soon  decided.  At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  every 
British  vessel  had  surrendered  to  him  j1  and  before  sunset,  he  had  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  General  Harrison  with  the  famous  dispatch,  "  We  have  met  the 
enemy,  and  they  are  ours"  This  victory  was  hailed  with  unbounded  demon- 


strations of  joy.     For  a  moment,  party  rancor  was  almost  forgotten  ;  and  bon- 
fires and  illuminations  lighted  up  the  whole  country. 

Perry's  victory  was  followed  by  immediate  and  energetic  action  on  the  part 
of  Harrfson.  The  command  of  Lake  Erie  now  being  secured,  and  a  reinforce- 
ment of  four  thousand  Kentucky  volunteers,  under  Governor  Shelby,  the  old 
hero  of  King's  Mountain,3  having  arrived  [Sept.  17,  1813],  the  general  pro- 
ceeded to  attack  Maiden  and  attempt  the  recovery  of  Detroit.  The  fleet  con- 
veyed a  portion  of  the  troops  across  the  lake  [Sept  27],  but  on  their  arrival  at 
Maiden,  it  had  been  deserted  by  Proctor,  who  was  fleeing,  with  Tecumseh  and 
his  Indians,  toward  the  Moravian  village,  on  the  Thames,  eighty  miles  from 

1  The  carnage  was  very  great,  in  proportion  to  the  numbers  engaged.  The  Americans  lost 
twenty-seven  killed,  and  ninety-six  wounded.  The  British  lost  about  two  hundred  in  killed  and 
wounded,  and  six  hundred  prisoners.  Perry's  treatment  of  his  prisoners  received  the  highest  ap- 
plause. Commodore  Barclay  declared  that  his  humane  conduct  was  sufficient  to  immortalize  him. 
That  brave  commander  was  born  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  in  1785.  He  entered  the  service  as 
midshipman,  in  1798.  He  continued  in  active  service  after  the  close  of  the  Second  War  for  Inde- 
pendence, and  died  of  yellow  fever,  in  the  West  India  seas,  in  1819.  It  was  his  brother,  Commo- 
dore M.  C.  Perry,  who  effected  a  treaty  with  Japan  in  1854.  See  page  512.  a  Page  417. 


424  THE    CONFEDERATION.  [1813. 

Detroit.1  A  body  of  Americans  took  possession  of  Detroit  on  the  29th  of  Sep- 
tember ;  and  on  the  2d  of  October,  Harrison  and  Shelby,  with  Colonel  Richard 
M.  Johnson  and  his  cavalry  (thirty-five  hundred  strong),  started  in  pursuit  of 
the  enemy.2  They  overtook  them  [Oct.  5]  at  the  Moravian  town,  when  a  des- 
perate battle  ensued.  Tecumseh  was  slain  ;3  and  then  his  dismayed  followers, 
who  had  fought  furiously,  broke  and  fled.  Almost  the  whole  of  Proctor's  com- 
mand were  killed  or  made  prisoners,  and  the  general  himself  narrowly  escaped, 
with  a  few  of  his  cavalry.  Here  the  Americans  recaptured  six  brass  field- 
pieces  which  had  been  surrendered  by  Hull,  on  two  of  which  were  engraved  the 
words,  "  Surrendered  by  Burgoyne  at  Saratoga."4  These  pieces  are  now  at 
the  United  States  military  post  of  West  Point,  on  the  Hudson.5 

The  battle  on  the  Thames  was  a  very  important  one.  By  that  victory,  all 
that  Hull6  had  lost  was  recovered ;  the  Indian  confederacy7  was  completely 
broken  up,  and  the  war  on  the  north-western  borders  of  the  Union  was  termi- 
nated. The  name  of  Harrison  was  upon  every  lip ;  and  throughout  the  entire 
Republic,  there  was  a  general  outburst  of  gratitude.  He  was  complimented  by 
Congress,  and  by  various  public  bodies ;  and  a  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives asserted,  in  his  place,  that  his  victory  was  "such  as  would  have 
secured  to  a  Roman  general,  in  the  best  days  of  the  republic,  the  honors  of  a 
triumph."  Security  now  being  given  to  the  frontier,  General  Harrison  dis- 
missed a  greater  portion  of  the  volunteers ;  and  leaving  General  Cass,  with 
about  a  thousand  regulars,  to  garrison  Detroit,  proceeded  [Oct.  23,  1813]  to 
Niagara,  with  the  remainder  of  his  troops,  to  join  the  Army  of  the  Center,8 
which  had  been  making  some  endeavors  to  invade  Canada.  In  the  mean  while, 
an  Indian  war  had  been  kindled  in  the  South  ;9  and  on  the  ocean,  the  laurel 
wreaths  of  triumph  won  by  the  Americans  during  181 2, 10  had  been  interwoven 
with  garlands  of  cypress  on  account  of  reverses.  Let  us  turn  a  moment  to  the 
operations  of  the  Army  of  the  North.11 

Hostilities  were  kept  up  on  portions  of  the'  northern  frontier,  during  the 
winter,  as  well  as  in  the  West.  In  February  [1813],  a  detachment  of  BritisL 
soldiers  crossed  the  St.  Lawrence  on  the  ice,  from  Prescott  to  Ogdensburg,  and 
under  pretense  of  seeking  for  deserters,  committed  robberies.  Major  Forsytb, 
then  in  command  of  riflemen  there,  retaliated.  This  was  resented,  in  turn,  by 

1  In  the  present  town  of  Orford,  West  Canada. 

2  Commodore  Perry,  and  General  Cass,  (now  [1856]  United  States  Senator  from  Michigan,)  ac- 
companied General  Harrison  as  volunteer  aids.     The  Americans  moved  with  such  rapidity,  that 
they  traveled  twenty-six  miles  the  first  day. 

8  Tecumseh  was  then  only  about  forty  years  of  age.  He  was  a  man  of  great  ability,  and  had 
he  been  born  and  educated  in  civilized  society,  his  powerful  intellect  would  have  made  him  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  characters  of  the  age.  He  possessed  great  dignity,  and  always  maintained 
it  in  his  deportment.  On  one  occasion  he  was  to  attend  a  conference  held  with  Harrison.  A  circle 
of  the  company  had  been  formed ;  and  when  he  came  and  entered  it,  there  was  no  seat  for  him, 
Harrison's  aid  having  taken  the  one  by  the  side  of  the  general,  intended  for  him.  Harrison  per- 
ceived that  Tecumseh  was  offended,  and  told  his  aid  to  invite  the  chief  to  the  seat  near  him.  The 
aid  politely  said  to  Tecumseh,  "Your  father  requests  you  to  take  a  seat  by  his  side."  The  offended 
chief  drew'  his  blanket  around  him,  and,  with  an  air  of  great  dignity,  said,  "  The  Great  Spirit  is  my 
father,  and  I  will  repose  on  the  bosom  of  my  mother;"  and  then  sat  down  upon  the  ground. 

4  Page  281.  6  Note  2,  page  324.  fl  Page  411.  7  Page  408. 

8  Page  412.  9  Page  428.  10  Page  415.  "  Page  412. 


1813.]  THE    SECOND    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.  425 

a  British  force  of  twelve  hundred  men,  who  crossed  on  the  21st  of  February, 
and  after  a  conflict  of  an  hour,  drove  out  the  few  military  defenders  of  Ogdens- 
burg,  plundered  and  destroyed  a  large  amount  of  property,  and  then  returned 
to  Canada.1  These  events  accelerated  the  gathering  of  the  militia  in  that  quar- 
ter. Bodies  of  new  levies  arrived,  almost  daily,  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  but  these, 
needing  discipline,  were  of  little  service,  as  a  defense  of  the  country  between 
that  point  and  Ogdensburg. 

Being  unable  to  afford  assistance  to  the  exposed  points  in  that  region,  Gen- 
eral Dearborn,  the  coinmander-in-chief,2  resolved  to  attempt  the  capture  of 
York  (now  Toronto),  the  capital  of  Upper  Canada,  and  the  principal  depository 
of  British  military  stores  for  the  supply  of  western  garrisons.  He  embarked 
seventeen  hundred  troops  on  board  the  fleet  of  Commodore  Chauncey,3  at  Sack- 
ett's Harbor,  on  the  25th  of  April ;  and  two  days  afterward  [April  27],  they 
landed  on  the  beach  at  York,  about  two  miles  west  from  the  British  works,  in 
the  face  of  a  galling  fire  from  regulars  and  Indians, 
under  General  Sheaffe.  These  were  soon  driven  back  to 
their  fortifications,  and  the  Americans,  under  General 
Pike,4  pressed  forward,  captured  two  redoubts,  and  were 
advancing  upon  the  main  work,  when  the  magazine  of  the 
fort  blew  up,&  hurling  stones  and  timbers  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  producing  great  destruction  of  life  among  the 
assailants.  General  Pike  was  mortally  wounded,  but  he 
lived  long  enough  to  know  that  the  enemy  had  fled,  and 

0  J  GEXEllAL   PIKE. 

that  the  American  flag  waved  m  triumph  over  the  fort 

at  York.0  The  command  then  devolved  on  Colonel  Pearce ;  and  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  the  town  was  in  possession  of  the  Americans.  General  Dear- 
born, who  had  remained  with  the  fleet,  landed  soon  after  the  fall  of  Pike,  but 
did  not  assume  the  immediate  command  until  after  the  surrender  of  the  town. 

When  the  victory  was  completed,  the  fleet  and  troops  returned  [May  1]  to 
Sackett's  Harbor,  but  soon  afterward  proceeded  to  attack  Fort  George,  on  the 
western  shore  of  Niagara  River,  near  its  mouth.  After  a  brief  defense  [May 
27,  1813],  the  garrison  fled  to  Burlington  Heights,  at  the  western  extremity  of 
Lake  Ontario,7  thirty-five  miles  distant,  closely  pursued  by  a  much  larger  force, 

1  The  Americans  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  twenty  men.  The  British  loss  was  about  double 
that  number.  2  Page  410.  3  Page  420. 

4  General  Dearborn  had  given  the  command  of  this  expedition  to  Brigadier-General  Zebulon  M. 
Pike,  a  brave  and  useful  officer,  who  had  been  at  the  head  of  an  expedition,  a  few  years  earlier,  to 
explore  the  country  around  the  head  waters  of  the  Mississippi.  He  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  in 
1779.  He  died  on  board  the  flag-ship  of  Commodore  Chauncey,  with  the  captured  British  flag 
under  his  head,  at  the  age  of  thirty-four  years.  In  the  burial-ground  attached  to  Madison  barracks, 
at  Sackett's  Harbor,  is  a  dilapidated  wooden  monument  erected  over  the  remains  of  General  Pike 
and  some  of  his  companions  in  arms.  When  the  writer  visited  the  spot,  in  1855,  it  was  wasting 
with  decay,  and  falling  to  the  earth.  Such  a  neglect  of  the  burial-place  of  the  illustrious  dead,  is  a 
disgrace  to  our  government. 

6  The  British  had  laid  a  train  of  wet  powder  communicating  with  the  magazine,  for  the  purpose, 
and  when  they  retreated,  they  fired  it.    * 

'  General  Sheaffe  escaped,  with  the  principal  part  of  the  troops,  but  lost  all  his  baggage,  books, 
papers,  and  a  large  amount  of  public  property. 

7  At  the  head  of  Burlington  Bay,  in  Canada. 


426  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1813. 

under  Generals  Chandler1  and  Winder.2  In  this  affair,  Colonel  (now  Lieutenant- 
General)  Scott  was  distinguished  for  his  skill  and  bravery.  On  the  night  of 
the  6th  of  June,  the  British  fell  upon  the  American  camp,  at  Stony  Creek,3  but 
were  repulsed.  It  was  very  dark,  and  in  the  confusion  both  of  the  American 
generals  were  made  prisoners. 

A  British  squadron  appeared  before  Sackett's  Harbor  on  the  same  day 
[May  27]  that  the  Americans  attacked  Fort  George  :  and  two  days  afterward 
[May  29]  Sir  George  Prevost  and  a  thousand  soldiers  landed  in  the  face  of  a 
severe  fire  from  some  regulars4  stationed  there.  The  regular  force  of  the  Amer- 
icans consisted  of  only  a  few  seamen,  a  company  of  artillery,  and  about  two 
hundred  invalids — not  more  than  five  hundred  men  in  all.  General  Jacob 
Brown,  the  commander  at  that  station,  rallied  the  militia,  and  their  rapid 
gathering,  at  and  near  the  landing-place,  back  of  Horse  Island,  so  alarmed 
Prevost,  lest  they  should  cut  off  his  retreat,  that  he  hastily  re-embarked,  leaving 
almost  the  whole  of  his  wounded  behind.  Had  he  been  aware  of  the  condition 
of  his  opposers,  he  could  have  made  an  easy  conquest  of  Sackett's  Harbor.  The 
raw  militia  had  become  panic-stricken  at  the  first,  and  when  Prevost  retreated, 
they,  too,  were  endeavoring  to  make  their  way  to  places  of  safety  in  the 
country. 

A  change  in  the  administration  of  military  affairs  occurred  soon  after  the 
event  at  Sackett's  Harbor.  For  some  time,  the  infirmities  of  General  Dearborn, 
the  commander-in-chief,5  had  disqualified  him  for  active  participation  in  the 
operations  of  the  army,  and  in  June  [1813]  he  withdrew  from  the  service.  He 
was  succeeded  in  command  by  General  James  Wilkinson,0  who,  like  Dearborn, 
had  been  an  active  young  officer  in  the  War  for  Independence.  General  John 
Armstrong,7  then  Secretary  of  War,  had  conceived  another  invasion  of  Canada, 
by  the  united  forces  of  the  armies  of  the  Center  and  North.8  For  this  purpose 
a  little  more  than  seven  thousand  men  were  concentrated  at  French  Creek  on 
the  5th  of  November,  1813,  and  on  that  morning  went  down  the  St.  Lawrence 
in  boats,  with  the  intention  of  co-operating  with  about  four  thousand  troops 
under  Hampton,9  in  an  attack  upon  Montreal.  They  landed  the  same  evening, 
a  few  miles  abave  the  British  fort  at  Prescott,  opposite  Ogdensburg.  It  being 
foggy,  Wilkinson  attempted  to  pass  down  the  river  upon  the  flotilla  commanded 
by  General  Brown.  The  fog  cleared  away,  and  the  moon  revealed  the  Amer- 


1  John  Chandler  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts.     Some  years  after  the  war  he  was  United 
States  Senator  from  Maine.     He  died  at  Augusta,  in  that  State,  in  1841.  2  Page  436. 

3  In  the  present  township  of  Saltfleet,  Canada  "West.    In  this  affair  the  Americans  lost,  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing,  one  hundred  and  fifty-four. 

4  Note  6,  page  185.  B  Page  410. 

6  James  Wilkinson  was  born  in  Maryland,  in  1757,  and  studied  medicine.     He  joined  the  con- 
tinental army  at  Cambridge,  in  1775,  and  continued  in  service  during  the  war.     He  commanded 
the  western 'division  of  the  United  States  army  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  and  became  some- 
what involved,  as  we  have  seen  [page  396],  in  Burr's  scheme,  in  1806.     He  died  near  the  city  of 
Mexico,  in  1825,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years. 

7  Note  4,  page  349.     John  Armstrong  was  a  son  of  Colonel  John  Armstrong,  of  Pennsylvania 
[page  191],  and  was  born  at  Carlisle,  in  that  State,  in  1758.     He  served  in  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion; was  Secretary  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania ;  minister  to  France  in  1804;  Secretary  of  War 
in  1813  ;  and  died. in  Dutchess  county,  New  York,  in  1843.  8  Note  3,  page  412. 

9  Page  410. 


1813.]  THE    SECOND    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.  427 

icans  to  the  garrison  of  the  fort.  The  latter  immediately  opened  a  heavy  fire, 
and  being  thus  annoyed  by  the  enemy  on  shore,  and  by  gun-boats1  in '  his  rear, 
Wilkinson  landed  Brown  and  a  strong  detachment  to  go  forward  and  disperse 
quite  a  large  force  near  Williamsburg,  and  to  cover  the  descent  of  the  boats. 
A  severe  battle  ensued  [November  11]  in  which  the  Americans  lost  more  than 
three  hundred  men  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  the  British  about  two  hundred. 
This  is  known  as  the  battle  of  Chrysler's  Field.  The  locality  is  on  the  northern 
shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  a  little  more  than  thirty  miles  below  Ogdensburg, 
and  about  ninety  above  Montreal. 

General  Wilkinson  arrived  at  St.  Regis2  the  next  day,  with  the  main  body, 
when  he  was  informed  that  no  troops  from  the  army  of  the  North  would  join 
him.3  He  therefore  abandoned  the  expedition  against  Montreal,  and  went 
into  winter  quarters  at  French  Mills  (now  Fort  Covington,  in  St.  Lawrence 
county),  about  nine  miles  east  of  St.  Regis.  A  little  later,  some  stirring  events 
occurred  on  the  Niagara  frontier.  General  M'Clure,  commander  at  Fort 
George,4  burnt  the  Canadian  village  of  Newark  on  the  10th  of  December. 
Two  days  later  [December  12,  1813]  he  was 
compelled  by  the  British  to  abandon  Fort 
George.  A  strong  force  of  British  and  Indians 
then  surprised  and  captured  [December  19] 
Fort  Niagara,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Niagara 

River,  near  its  mouth  ;5  and  in  retaliation  for  "FORT  NIAGARA,  1813. 

the  burning  of  Newark,  they  laid  Youngstown, 

Lewiston,  Manchester  (now  Niagara  Falls),  and  the  Tuscarora  Indian  village, 
in  Niagara  countv,  in  ashes.  On  the  30th,  the  little  villages  of  Black  Rock 

O  •/   /  O 

and  Buffalo8  were  also  consumed,  and  a  large  amount  of  public  and  private 
property  was  destroyed.  With  these  events  ended  the  campaign  of  1813,  in 
the  North. 

Affairs  in  the  extreme  South  assumed  a  serious  aspect  during  the  summer 
of  1813.  In  the  spring  of  that  year,  Tecumseh  (who  was  slain  on  the  Thames 
a  few  months  later)7  went  among  the  Southern  tribes,  to  arouse  them  to  wage 
war  upon  the  white  people.  The  powerful  Creeks8  yielded  to  his  persuasions ; 
and  late  in  August  [30th],  a  large  party  of  them  surprised  and  captured  Fort 
Minims,  on  the  Alabama  River,3  and  massacred  almost  three  hundred  men. 


1  Pago  401. 

2  This  is  an  old  French  and  Indian  settlement  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  at  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Regis  River,  about  fifty  miles  below  Ogdensburg.     The  dividing  line  (45th  degree)  between  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  passes  through  the  center  of  the  village. 

8  There  was  an  enmity  between  Wilkinson  and  Hampton,  and  Armstrong  resolved  to  command 
the  expedition  himself,  to  prevent  trouble  on  account  of  precedence.  He  joined  the  army  at 
Sackett's  Harbor,  but  soon  returned  to  Washington,  for  lie  and  Wilkinson  could  not  agree.  To  the 
jealousies  and  bickerings  of  these  old  officers,  must  the  disasters(of  the  land  troops  be,  in  a  great 
degree,  attributed.  General  Hampton  did  move  forward  toward  Canada,  but  finally  fell  back  to 
Plattsburg,  and  leaving  the  command  with  General  Izard,  returned  to  South  Carolina.  He  died  at 
Columbia,  South  Carolina,  in  1835,  aged  eighty-one  years.  4  Page  414.  6  Page  200. 

8  Buffalo  was  then  a  small  village,  containing  about  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  and  was  utterly 
destroyed.     It  is  now  [1856]  one  of  the  stateliest  commercial  cities  on  the  continent,  with  a  popu- 
lation of  not  much  less  than  one  hundred  thousand.  7  Page  424.  8  Page  30. 

9  On  the  east  side  of  the  Alabama,  about  ten  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Tombigbee. 


428  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1813. 

women,  and  children.  This  event  aroused  the  whole  South.  General  Andrew 
Jackson,1  accompanied  by  General  Coffee,  marched  into  the  Creek  country,  with 
twenty-five  hundred  Tennessee  militia,  and  prosecuted  a  subjugating  war  against 
them,  with  great  vigor. 

On  the  3d  of  November,  General  Coffee,2  with  nine  hundred  men,  sur- 
rounded an  Indian  force  at  Tallushatchee,3  and  killed  two  hundred  of  them. 
Not  a  warrior  escaped.  Within  ten  weeks  afterward,  bloody  battles  had  been 
fought  at  Talladega4  [November  8],  Autossee5  [November  29],  and  Emucfau6 
[January  22d,  1814],  and  several  skirmishes  had  also  taken  place.  The 
Americans  were  always  victorious,  yet  they  lost  many  brave  soldiers.  At 
length  the  Creeks  established  a  fortified  camp  at  the  Great  Horseshoe  Bend  of 
the  Tallapoosa  River,7  and  there  a  thousand  warriors,  with  their  women  and 
children,  determined  to  make  a  last  defensive  stand.  The  Americans  sur- 
rounded them,  and  Jackson,  with  the  main  body  of  his  army,  attacked  them  on 
the  27th  of  March,  1814.  The  Indians  fought  desperately,  for  they  saw  no 
future  for  themselves,  in  the  event  of  defeat.  Almost  six  hundred  warriors 
were  slain,  for  they  disdained  to  surrender.  Only  two  or  three  were  made 
prisoners,  with  about  three  hundred  women  and  children.  This  battle  crushed 
the  power  and  spirit  of  the  Creek  nation,  and  soon  afterward  the  chiefs  of  the 
remnant  signified  their  submission.8  It  was  a  sad  scene  to  the  eyes  of  the 
benevolent  and  good,  to  see  these  ancient  tribes  of  our  land,  who  were  then 
making  rapid  strides  in  the  progress  of  civilization,  so  utterly  ruined  by  the 
destroying  hand  of  war.  They  found  that  miylit  made  right,  in  the  view  of 
their  subjugators,  and  they  were  compelled  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace  upon  the 
terms  dictated  by  their  conquerors.  Thus,  time  after  time  since  the  advent  of 
the  white  people  here,  have  the  hands  of  the  stronger  been  laid  upon  the  weaker, 
until  now  nothing  but  remnants  of  once  powerful  nations  remain. 

The  naval  operations  upon  the  ocean,  during  the  year  1813,  were  very  im- 
portant. Many  and  severe  conflicts  between  public  and  private  armed  vessels 
of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  occurred  ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  year, 
the  balance-sheet  of  victories  showed  a  preponderance  in  favor  of  the  former.8 
Toward  the  end  of  February,  the  United  States  sloop  of  war  Hornet,  Cap- 

1  Pago  460. 

2  John  Coffee  was  a  native  of  Virginia.     He  did  good  service  during  the  second  "\Tar  for  Inde- 
pendence, and  in  subsequent  campaigns.     He  died  in  1834. 

3  South  side  of  Tallushatchee  Creek,  near  the  village  of  Jacksonville,  in  Benton  county,  Ala- 
bama. 

4  A  little  east  of  the  Coosa  River,  in  the  present  Talladega  county. 

6  On  the  bank  of  the  Tallapoosa,  twenty  miles  from  its  junction  with  the  Coosa,  in  Macon 
county. 

6  On  the  west  bank  of  the  Tallapoosa,  at  the  mouth  of  Emucfau  Creek,  in  Tallapoosa  county. 

7  Called  Tohopeka  by  the  Indians.     Near  the  north-east  corner  of  Tallapoosa  county. 

8  Among  those  who  bowed  in  submission  was  Weathersford,  their  greatest  leader.     He  appeared 
suddenly  before  Jackson,  in  his  tent,  and  standing  erect,  he  said:   "I  am  in  your  power;  do  with 
me  what  you  please.     I  have  done  the  white  people  all  the  harm  I  could.     I  have  fought  them, 
and  fought  them  bravely.     My  warriors  are  all  gone  now,  and  I  can  do  no  more.     When  there  was 
a  chance  for  success,  I  never  asked  for  peace.     There  is  none  now,  and  I  ask  it  for  the  remnant  of 
my  nation." 

9  More  than  seven  hundred  British  vessels  were  taken  by  the  American  navy  and  privateers, 
during  the  years  1812  and  1813. 


1813.]  THE    SECOND    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.  429 

tain  Lawrence,  fought  [Feb.  24,  1813]  the  British  brig  Peacock,  off  the 
mouth  of  Demarara  River,  South  America.  The  Peacock  surrendered,  after  a 
fierce  conflict  of  fifteen  minutes,  and  a  few  moments  afterward  she  sank,  carry- 
ino1  down  with  her  nine  British  seamen  and  three  Americans.  The  loss  of  the 

o 

Peacock,  in  killed  and  wounded,  was  thirty-seven ;  of  the  Hornet  only  five. 
The  generous  conduct  of  Captain  Lawrence,  toward  his  enemy  on  this  occasion, 
drew  from  the  officers  of  the  Peacock,  on  their  arrival  in  New  York,  a  public 
letter  of  thanks.1  This,  of  itself,  was  a  wreath  of  honor  for  the  victor,  more 
glorious  than  his  triumph  in  the  sanguinary  conflict. 

On  his  return  to  the  United  States,  Captain  Lawrence  was  promoted  to  the 
command  of  the  frigate  Chesapeake  ;  and  on  the  1st 
of  June,  1813,  he  sailed  from  Boston  harbor,  in  search 
of  the  British  frigate,  Shannon,  which  had  recently 
appeared  off  the  New  England  coast,  and  challenged 
any  vessel,  of  equal  size,  to  meet  her.  Lawrence 
found  the  boaster  the  same  day,  about  thirty  miles 
from  Boston  light;  and  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  a 
furious  action  began.  The  two  vessels  soon  became 
entangled.  Then  the  Britons  boarded  the  Chesapeake, 
and  after  a  desperate  hand-to-hand  struggle,  hoisted  CAPTAIN  LAWRENCE. 
the  British  flag.  Lawrence  was  mortally  wounded  at  the  beginning  of  the 
action ;  and  when  he  was  carried  below,  he  uttered  those  brave  words  of  com- 
mand, which  Perry  afterward  displayed  on  his  flag-ship  on  Lake  Erie,  "  Don't 
give  up  the  ship  /"  The  combat  lasted  only  fifteen  minutes ;  but  in  that  time, 
the  Chesapeake  had  forty-eight  killed  and  ninety-eight  wounded ;  the  Shannon 
twenty- three  killed,  and  fifty-six  wounded.  The  body  of  Lawrence,"  with  that 
of  Ludlow,  the  second  in  command,  was  carried  to  Halifax,  in  the  victorious 
Shannon,  and  there  buried  with  the  honors  of  war.  This  event  caused  great 
sadness  in  America,  and  unbounded  joy  in  England.3 

Another  disaster  followed  the  loss  of  the  Chesapeake.  It  was  the  capture 
of  the  American  brig  Argus,  Captain  Allen,  in  August.  The  Argus,  in  the 
spring  [1813],  had  conveyed  Mr.  Crawford,  United  States  minister,  to  France, 
and  for  two  months  had  greatly  annoyed  British  shipping  in  the  English  Chan-' 

1  They  said,  "  So  much  was  done  to  alleviate  the  uncomfortable  and  distressing  situation  in 
which  we  were  placed,  when  received  on  board  the  ship  you  command,  that  we  can  not  better 
express  our  feelings  than  by  saying,  we  ceased  to  consider  ourselves  prisoners ;  and  every  thing 
that  friendship  could  dictate,  was  adopted  by  you  and  the  officers  of  the  Hornet,  to  remedy  the 
inconvenience  we  otherwise  should  have  experienced,  from  the  unavoidable  loss  of  the  whole  of 
our  property  and  clothes,  by  the  sudden  sinking  of  the  Peacock."  The  crew  of  the  Hornet  divided 
their  clothing  with  the  prisoners. 

Captain  James  Lawrence  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  received  a  midshipman's  warrant 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  He  was  with  Decatur  at  Tripoli  [page  392].  He  died  four  days  after 
receiving  the  wound,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one  years.  A  beautiful  monument,  in  the  form  of  a  trun- 
cated column  and  pedestal,  was  erected  to  his  memory  in  Trinity  churcn-yard,  New  York.  This,  in 
time,  became  dilapidated,  and  a  few  years  since,  a  new  one,  of  another  form,  was  erected  near  the 
south  entrance  to  the  church,  a  few  feet  from  Broadway. 

3  A  writer  of  the  time  observed:  "Never  did  any  victory — not  those  of  Wellington  in  Spain, 
nor  even  those  of  Nelson — call  forth  such  expressions  of  joy  on  the  part  of  the  British ;  a  proof 
that  our  naval  character  had  risen  somewhat  in  their  estimation." 


430  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1813. 

nel.  Several  vessels  were  sent  out  to  capture  her ;  and  on  the  14th  of  August, 
the  sloop  of  war1  Pelican,  after  a  brief,  but  severe  action,  defeated  the  Argus. 
In  less  than  a  month  afterward  [Sept.  10],  Perry  gained  his  great  victory  on 
Lake  Erie  ;2  and  the  British  brig  Boxer,  Captain  Blythe,  had  surrendered 
[Sept.  5,  1813],  to  the  United  States  brig  Enterprise,  Lieutenant  Burrows, 
after  an  engagement  of  forty  minutes,  off  the  coast  of  Maine.  Blythe  and  Bur- 
rows, young  men  of  great  promise,  were  both  slain  during  the  action,  and  their 
bodies  were  buried  in  one  grave  at  Portland,  with  military  honors. 

A  distressing  warfare  upon  the  coast  between  Delaware  Bay  and  Charleston, 
was  carried  on  during  the  spring  and  summer  of  1813,  by  a  small  British 
squadron  under  the  general  command  of  Admiral  Cockburn.  His  chief  object 
was  to  draw  the  American  troops  from  the  northern  frontier  to  the  defense  of 
the  seaboard,  and  thus  lessen  the  danger  that  hung  over  Canada.  It  was  a  sort 
of  amphibious  warfare — on  land  and  water — and  was  marked  by  many  acts  of 
unnecessary  cruelty.  The  British  had  talked  of  "  chastising  the  Americans 
into  submission,"  and  the  method  now  employed  was  the  instrument.  On  the 
4th  of  February,  1813,  two  ships  of  the  line,  three  frigates,  and  other  British 
vessels,  made  their  appearance  at  the  capes  of  Virginia.3  At  about  the  same 
time,  another  British  squadron  entered  the  Delaware  River,  destroyed  the 
American  shipping  there  in  March,  and  in  April  cannonaded  the  town  of 
Lewiston.  In  May,  Frenchtown,  Havre  de  Grace,  Georgetown,  and  Frederick- 
town,  on  the  Chesapeake,  were  plundered  and  burned  ;  and  then  the  combined 
British  fleet  entered  Hampton  Roads,4  and  menaced  Norfolk.  While  attempt- 
ing to  go  up  to  that  city,  the  enemy  were  nobly  repulsed  [Jan.  22,  1813]  by 
the  Americans  upon  Craney  Island,5  under  the  command  of  Major  Faulkner, 
assisted  by  naval  officers.  The  British  then  fell  upon  Hampton  [Jan.  25] ;  and 
having  surfeited  themselves  with  plunder,  withdrew.  Cockburn6  sailed  down 
the  North  Carolina  coast,  marauding  whenever  opportunity  offered,  and  carried 
away  a  large  number  of  negroes  and  sold  them  in  the  West  Indies.  In  pleas- 
ant contrast  to  this,  was  the  deportment  of  Commodore  Hardy,  whose  squadron 
was  employed  during  the  same  season,  in  blockading  the  New  England  coast. 
Although  he  landed  upon  our  shores  frequently,  yet  his  conduct  was  always 
that  of  a  .high-minded  gentleman  and  generous  enemy.7 

During  the  year  1813,  the  United  States  frigate  Essex,  Captain  Porter, 
made  a  long  and  successful  cruise  in  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.  It  oc- 
cupied the  time  from  April  until  October.  The  Essex  carried  at  her  mast- 
head the  popular  motto,  "  Free  Trade  and  Sailor's  Rights;"  and,  while  in 

1  Page  415.  2  Page  423.  3  rage  64.  4  Note  3,  page  291.  _ 

5  Craney  Island  is  low  and  bare,  and  lies  at  the  mouth  of  the  Elizabeth  River,  about  five  miles 
below  Norfolk.     At  the  time  in  question,  there  were  some  unfinished  fortifications  upon  it,  remains 
of  which  may  yet  [1856]  be  seen. 

6  Cockburn  died  in  England  in  1853,  at  an  advanced  ajre. 

7  Congress  had  passed  an  act,  offering  a  reward  of  half  their  value  for  the  destruction  of  British 
ships,  by  other  means  than  those  of  the  armed  vessels  of  the  United  States.    This  was  to  encourage 
the  use  of  torpedoes.     The  cruel  forays  upon  the  southern  coasts  seemed  to  warrant  this  species 
of  dishonorable  warfare.     It  was  employed  against  Hardy's  squadron.     He  was  justly  indignant, 
and  protested  against  it  as  unmanly. 


1814.]  THE    SECOND    WAR    FOB    INDEPENDENCE.  431 

the  Pacific,  she  captured  twelve  British  whale-ships,  with  an  aggregate  of 
three  hundred  and  two  men,  and  one  hundred  and  seven  guns.  The  Essex 
was  finally  captured  in  the  harbor  of  Valparaiso  [March, 
28,  1814J,  on  the  western  coast  of  South  America,  by 
the  British  frigate  Phoebe,  and  sloop  of  war  Cherub, 
after  one  of  the  most  desperately  fought  battles  of  the 
war.  It  is  said  that  thousands  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Valparaiso  covered  the  neighboring  heights  as  spectators 
of  the  conflict.  Perceiving  the  overpowering  advantage 
of  the  British,  their  sympathies  were  strongly  elicited 
in  favor  of  the  Essex.  When  any  thing  in  her  favor 
appeared,  loud  shouts  went  up  from  the  multitude ;  and 
when  she  was  finally  disabled  and  lost,  they  expressed 
their  feelings  in  groans  and  tears.  The  Essex  lost  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
four,  in  killed  and  wounded.  Captain  Porter1  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  "  We  have  been  unfortunate,  but  not  disgraced." 


CHAPTER    VI. 

SECOND  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE,  CONTINUED.     [1814,  1815.] 

DURING  the  year  1814,  the  war  was  prosecuted  by  both  parties  with  more 
zeal  and  vigor  than  hitherto.  The  means  for  supporting  it  were  much  aug- 
mented by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  notwithstanding  the  public 
credit  was  much  depreciated,  and  treasury  notes  fell  as  low  as  seventeen  per 
cent,  below  par.  At  the  same  time,  Great  Britain  seemed  to  put  forth  increased 
energy,  and  her  vessels  of  war  hovered  along  our  entire  coast,  and  kept  the  sea- 
port towns  in  a  state  of  continual  alarm.  Early  in  that  year,  the  victorious 
career  of  Napoleon,  in  Europe,  was  checked  by  the  allied  powers.  Almost  all 
of  the  governments  of  continental  Europe,  with  that  of  England,  had  combined 
to  crush  him,  and  sustain  the  sinking  Bourbon  dynasty.  Their  armies  were 
allied  in  a  common  cause.  These,  approaching  from  different  directions,  reached 
Paris,  at  the  close  of  March,  1814,  when  the  Russian  and  Prussian  emperors 
entered  the  city.2  Hoping  to  secure  the  crown  to  his  son,  Napoleon  abdicated 
in  his  favor  on  the  4th  of  April,  and  retired  to  Elba.  Peace  for  Europe 

1  Commodore  David  Porter  was  among  the  most  distinguished  of  the  American  naval  com- 
manders. He  was  a  resident  minister  of  the  United  States  in  Turkey,  and  died,  near  Constantin- 
ople, in  March,  1843. 

a  Russians,  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  strong,  advanced  from  Switzerland;  Blucher  led 
one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  Prussians  from  Germany ;  Bernadotte,  the  old  companion-in-arms 
of  Napoleon,  was  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  thousand  Swedes,  and  marched  through  Holland ;  and 
the  English,  in  great  power,  advanced  from  Spain,  under  Wellington.  A  battle  at  Montmartre  left 
Paris  exposed  to  the  enemy,  and  Alexander  and  Frederic  took  possession  of  the  capital  on  the  31st 
of  March. 


432  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1814. 

seemed  certain.  British  troops  were  withdrawn  from  the  continent,  and  early 
in  the  summer  of  1814,  fourteen  thousand  of  Wellington's  veterans  were  sent 
to  Canada1  to  operate  against  the  United  States.  Considering  the  moral  and 
material  weakness  of  the  American  army,  hitherto,  the  circumstance  of  the 
continual  employment  of  the  British  troops  on  the  continent,  was  highly  favor- 
able to  the  United  States.  Had  Europe  been  at  peace,  the  result  of  this  second 
War  for  Independence  might  have  been  quite  different. 

The  favorite  project  of  the  public  authorities  continued  to  be  the  invasion  of 
Canada  •'  and  to  oppose  it,  was  the  chief  solicitude  of  the  British  officers  on 
our  northern  frontiers.     The  principal  force  of  the  enemy  in  Upper  Canada, 
was  placed  under  the  chief  command  of  Lieutenant-General  Drummond,  late  in 
the  season ;  while  the  American  army  on  the  Niagara 
frontier  was  commanded  by  General   Brown,  at  the 
same    time.       General   Wilkinson   was   still    in   the 
vicinity  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  toward  the  close  of 
February,  he  broke  up  his  camp  at  French  Mills,3  and 
retired  to  Plattsburg ;  while  General  Brown,  with  two 
thousand  men,  marched  to  Sackett's  Harbor,  prepara- 
tory to  his  departure  for  the  Niagara.     Late  in  March, 
Wilkinson  proceeded  to   erect  a  battery  at  Rouse's 
Point,   at  the   foot  of  Lake   Champlain;   and  at  La 
GENERAL  BROWN.  Colle,    three    miles    below,    he    had    an   unsuccessful 

engagement  [March  30]  with  the  British.  The  disas- 
trous result  of  this  affair  brought  Wilkinson  into  disrepute,  and  he  was  tried  by 
a  court-martial,  but  acquitted  of  all  charges  alleged  against  him.  He  had  been 
suspended  from  all  command,  in  the  mean  while,  and  the  charge  of  the  troops 
was  given  to  General  Izard. 

Preparations  had  been  making  on  Lake  Ontario,  during  the  winter  and 
spring,  by  both  parties,  to  secure  the  control  of  that  inland  sea.  Sir  James 
Yeo  was  in  command  of  a  small  British  squadron,  and  on  the  5th  of  May 
[1814],  he  appeared  before  Oswego,  accompanied  by  about  three  thousand  land 
troops  and  marines.4  Oswego  was  then  defended  by  only  about  three  hundred 
troops  under  Colonel  Mitchell,  and  a  small  flotilla  under  Captain  Woolsey. 
The  chief  object  of  the  expedition  was  to  capture  or  destroy  a  large  quantity  of 
naval  and  military  stores,  deposited  at  Oswego  Falls,5  but  the  gallant  band  of 
Americans  at  the  harbor  defeated  the  project.  They  withstood  an  attack,  by 
land  and  water,  for  almost  two  days,  before  they  yielded  to  a  superior  force. 
Afraid  to  penetrate  the  country  toward  the  Falls,  in  the  face  of  such  deter- 
mined opponents,  the  British  withdrew  on  the  morning  of  the  7th  [May,  1814], 

1  These  were  embarked  at  Bourdeaux,  in  France,  and  sailed  directly  for  the  St.  Lawrence, 
without  even  touching  the  shores  of  England. 

2  Page  410.  a  Page  427. 

4  The  fort  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  was  then  in  quite  a  dilapidated  state,  and  formed  but  a 
feeble  defense  for  the  troops.  It  was  strengthened  after  this  attack. 

6  At  the  present  village  of  Fulton,,  on  the  east  side  of  Oswego  River,  and  about  twelve  miles 
from  the  harbor.  • 


1815.]  THE    SECOND    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.  433 

after  losing  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  men,  in  killed  and  wounded.     The 
Americans  lost  sixty-nine. 

Toward  the  close  of  June,  General  Brown  marched  from  Sackett's  Harbor1 
to  the  Niagara  frontier ;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  July,  Generals  Scott 
and  Ripley'  crossed  the  river,  with  a  considerable  force,  and  captured  Fort 
Erie,  which  was  situated  on  the  Canada  side  of  the  Niagara  River,  nearly 
opposite  Black  Rock.  The  garrison  withdrew  to  the  intrenched  camp  of  the 
British  General  Riall,  then  at  Chippewa,3  a  few  miles  below.  On  the  morning 
of  the  4th  [July,  1814],  Brown  advanced,  and  on  the  5th  the  two  armies  had  a 
sanguinary  battle  in  the  open  fields  at  Chippewa.  The  British  were  repulsed, 
with  a  loss  of  about  five  hundred  men,  and  retreated  to  Burlington  Heights,4 
where  they  were  reinforced  by  troops  under  General  Drummond,  who  assumed 
the  chief  command  in  person.  The  Americans  lost  a  little  more  than  three 
hundred. 

General  Drummond  was  mortified  by  this  discomfiture  of  his  veteran  troops 
by  what  he  considered  raw  Americans,  and  he  resolved  to  wipe  out  the  stain. 
Collecting  every  regiment  from  Burlington  and  York,  with  some  from  Kingston 
and  Prescott,  he  prepared  for  a  renewal  of  combat.  With  a  force  about  one 
third  greater  than  that  of  Brown/  he  immediately  advanced  to  meet  the  Amer. 
icans.  The  latter  had  encamped  at  Bridgewater,  near  Niagara  Falls ;  and 
there,  at  the  close  of  a  sultry  day,  and  within  the  sound  of  the  great  cataract's 
thunder,  one  of  the  most  destructive  battles  of  the  war  began.6  It  commenced 
at  sunset  and  ended  at  midnight  [July  25,  1814],  Avhen  the  Americans  had 
lost  eight  hundred  and  fifty-eight  men  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  the  British 
twenty  more  than  that.  The  Americans  were  left  in  quiet  possession  of  the 
field,  but  were  unable  to  carry  away  the  heavy  artillery  which  they  had  cap- 
tured.7 Brown  and  Scott  being  wounded,8  the  command  devolved  on  Ripley. 
and  the  following  day  [July  26]  he  withdrew  to  Fort  Erie,  where  General 
Gaines,9  a  senior  officer,  who  arrived  soon  afterward,  assumed  the  chief  com- 
mand. 

Having  recovered  from  his  wound,  Drummond  again  advanced,  with  five 

1  Page  432. 

2  Winfield  Scott,  now  [1856]  Lieutenant-General,  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of  the 
United  States.     See  page  485.     General  James  Ripley  remained  in  the  army  after  the  war,  and 
iied  on  the  2d  of  March,  1839. 

3  On  the  Canada  shore,  about  two  miles  above  Niagara  Falls.  4  Page  425. 

5  Jacob  Brown  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1775.     He  engaged  in  his  country's  service  in 
1813,  and  soon  became  distinguished.     He  was  made  Major-General  in  1814.     He  was  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  United  States  army  in  1821,  and  held  that  rank  and  office  when  he  died,  in  1828. 

6  The  hottest  of  the  fight  was  in  and  near  an  obscure  road  known  as  Lundy's  Lane.     This  battle 
is  known  by  the  respective  names  of  Bridgewater,  Lundy's  Lane,  and  Niagara  Falls. 

7  After  the  Americans  had  withdrawn,  a  party  of  the  British  returned  and  carried  off  their 
artillery.     This  event  was  so  magnified,  in  the  English  accounts  of  the  battle,  as  to  make  the  victory 
to  appear  on  the  side  of  the  British. 

8  The  British  Generals  Drummond  and  Riall  were  also  wounded.     General  Scott  led  the  advance 
in  the  engagement,  and  for  an  hour  maintained  a  most  desperate  conflict,  when  he  was  reinforced. 
It  was  quite  dark,  and  General  Riall  and  his  suite  were  made  prisoners  by  the  gallant  Major  Jesup. 
A  British  battery  upon  an  eminence  did  terrible  execution,  for  it  swept  the  whole  field.     This  was 
assailed  and  captured  -by  a  party  under  Colonel  Miller,  who  replied,  when  asked  by  General  Brown 
if  he  could  accomplish  it,  "I'll  try,  sir."     Three  times  the  British  attempted  to  recapture  this  bat 
tery.     In  the  last  attempt,  Drummond  was  wounded.  °  Page  398. 

28 


434  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1814, 

thousand  men,  and  on  the  4th  of  August  appeared  before  Fort  Erie,  and  com- 
menced preparations  for  a  siege.     From  the  7th  until  the 
14th,  there  was  an  almost  incessant  cannonade  between 
the  besiegers  and  the  besieged.    On  the  15th,  Drummond 
made  a  furious  assault,  but  was  repulsed,  with  a  loss  of 
almost  a  thousand  men.     Very  little  was  done  by  either 
party  for  nearly  a  month  after  this  affair,  when  General 
Brown,  who  had  assumed  command  again,  ordered  a  sor- 
tie [Sept.  17]  from  the  fort.     It  was  successful ;  and  the 
Americans  pressed  forward,  destroyed  the  advanced  works 
of  the  besiegers,  and  drove  them  toward  Chippewa.     In- 
XIAGARA  FRONTIER.       formed,  soon  afterward,  that  General  Izard  was  approach- 
ing,1 with  reinforcements  for  Brown,  Drummond  retired 
to  Fort  George.2     The  Americans  abandoned  and  destroyed  Fort  Erie  in  No- 
vember [November  5],  and,  crossing  the  river,  went  into  winter-quarters  at 
Buffalo,  Black  Rock,  and  Batavia. 

Let  us  consider  the  military  operations  in  northern  New  York,  for  a  mo- 
ment. Very  little  of  interest  transpired  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Champlain 
until  toward  the  close  of  summer,  when  General  Izard3  marched  [August, 
1814]  from  Plattsburg,  with  five  thousand  men,  to  reinforce  General  Brown  on 
the  Niagara  frontier,  leaving  General  Macomb4  in  command,  with  only  fifteen 
hundred  men.  Taking  advantage  of  this  circumstance,  General  Prevost,  who 
led  an  army  of  fourteen  thousand  men,  chiefly  Wellington's  veterans,  to  the 
invasion  of  the  United  States,  marched  for  Plattsburg.  During  the  spring  and 
summer,  the  British  and  Americans  had  each  constructed  a  small  fleet  on  Lake 
Champlain,  and  those  were  now  ready  for  operations ;  the  former  under  Com- 
modore Downie,  and  the  latter  under  Commodore  Macdonough.5 

General  Prevost  arrived  near  Plattsburg  on  the  6th  of  September,  when 

1  Note  3,  page  427.  2  Page  425. 

3  George  Izard  was  born  in  South  Carolina,  in  1777,  and  made  military  life  his  profession. 
After  the  war  he  left  the  army.     He  was  governor  of  Arkansas  Territory  in  1825,  and  died  at 
Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  in  1828. 

4  Alexander  Macomb  was  born  in  the  fort  in  Detroit,  in  1782,  and  entered  the  army  at  the  age 
of  seventeen  years.     He  was  made  a  brigadier  in  1814.     In  1835,  he  was  commander-in-chief  of 
the  armies  of  the  United  States,  and  died  in  1841. 

6  Thomas  Macdonough  was  a  native  of  Delaware.  He  w*as  twenty-eight  years  of  age  at  the 
time  of  the  engagement  at  Plattsburg.  The  State  of  New  York  gave  him  one  thousand  acres  of 
land  on  Plattsburg  Bay,  for  his  services.  He  died  in  1825,  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine  years.  Mac- 
donough was  always  remarkable  for  cool  courage.  On  one  occasion,  while  first  lieutenant  of  a 
vessel  lying  in  the  harbor  of  Gibraltar,  an  armed  boat  from  a  British  man-of-war  boarded  an  Amer- 
ican brig  anchored  near,  in  the  absence  of  the  commander,  and  carried  off  a  seaman.  See  page 
401.  Macdonough  manned  a  gig,  and  with  an  inferior  force,  made  chase  and  recaptured  the 
seaman.  The  captain  of  the  man-of-war  came  aboard  Macdonough's  vessel,  and,  in  a  great  rage, 
asked  him  how  he  dared  to  take  the  man  from  his  majesty's  boat.  "  He  was  an  American  seaman, 
and  I  did  my  duty,"  was  the  reply.  "I  '11  bring  my  ship  alongside,  and  sink  you,"  angrily  cried 
the  Briton.  "That  you  can  do,"  coolly  responded  Macdonough  ;  "but  while  she  swims,  that  man 
you  will  not  have."  The  captain,  roaring  with  rage,  said,  "Supposing  /  had  been  in  the  boat, 
would  you  have  dared  to  commit  such  an  act?"  "I  should  have  made  the  attempt,  sir,"  was  the 
calm  reply.  "What!"  shouted  the  captain,  "if  I  were  to  impress  men  from  that  brig,  would  you 
interfere?"  "You  have  only  to  try  it,  sir,"  was  Macdonough's  tantalizing  reply.  The  haughty 
Briton  was  over-matched,  and  he  did  not  attempt  to  try  the  metal  of  such  a  brave  young  man. 
-There  were  cannon-balls  in  his  coolness,  full  of  danger. 


1815.] 


THE    SECOND    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE. 


435 


Macomb's  little  army,  and  quite  a  large  body  of  militia  under  General  Mooers, 
retired  to  the  south  side  of  the  Saranac,  and  prepared  to  dispute  its  passage  by 
the  invaders.  On  the  morning  of  the  llth,  the  British  fleet  came  around 
Cumberland  Head,  with  a  fair  wind,  and  attacked  Macdonough's  squadron  in 
Plattsburg  Bay.1  At  the  same  time,  the  British  land  troops  opened  a  heavy 
cannonade  upon  the  Americans.  After  a  severe  engagement  of  two  hours  and 


twenty  minutes,  Macdonough  became  victor,  and  the  whole  British  fleet  was 
surrendered  to  him.2  The  land  forces  fought  until  dark,  and  every  attempt  of 
the  British  to  cross  the  Saranac  was  bravely  resisted.  During  the  evening 
Prevost  hastily  retreated,  leaving  his  sick  and  wounded,  and  a  large  quantity 
of  military  stores,  behind  him.  The  British  loss,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  de- 
serted, from  the  6th  to  the  llth,  was  about  twenty-five  hundred ;  that  of  the 
Americans,  only  one  hundred  and  twenty-one.  The  victory  was  applauded  with 
the  greatest  enthusiasm  throughout  the  land,  and  gave  emphasis  to  the  effect 
of  another  at  Baltimore,  which  had  been  recently  achieved. 


TV  hen  the  British  squadron  appeared  off  Cumberland  Head,  Macdonough  knelt  on  the  deck  of 

v&  ^  Saratoga  (his  flag-ship),  in  the  midst  of  his  men.  and  prayed  to  the  God  of  Battles  for  aid.     A 

3unous  incident  occurred  during  the  engagement  that  soon  followed.     A  British  ball  demolished  a 

coop  on  board  the  Saratoga.     A  cock,  released  from  his  prison,  flew  into  the  rigging,  and 

EEi  *u      7>  at          Same  time  flaPPinS  his  winSs  with  triumphant  vehemence.     The  seamen  re- 

l  toe  event  as  a  good  omen,  and  they  fought  like  tigers,  while  the  cock  cheered  them  on  with 

nis  Growings,  until  the  British  flag  was  struck  and  the  firing  ceased, 

,1    A      *  Americans  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  one  hundred  and  sixteen;  th"  British  one  hun- 
3a  and  ninety-four.     Among  them  was  Commodore  Dowiiie,  whose  rernr.ir.3  lio  under  a  monu- 
ment at  Plattsburg. 


436  Tn]&    CONFEDERATION.  [1814. 

So  wide  was  the  theater  of  war,  that  in  our  rapid  view  of  it,  the  shifting 
scenes  carry  us  alternately  from  the  northern  frontier  to  the  western  and  south- 
ern borders,  and  then  upon  the  Atlantic  and  its  coasts.  The  latter  were  expe- 
riencing much  trouble,  while  the  whole  frontier  from  the  Niagara  to  the  St. 
Lawrence  was  in  commotion.  The  principal  ports  from  New  York  to  Maine 
were  blockaded  by  British  war- vessels  ;  and  early  in  the  spring,  a  depredating 
warfare  again1  commenced  on  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake.  These  were  but 
feebly  defended  by  a  small  flotilla,2  under  the  veteran,  Commodore  Barney  ;3  and 
when,  about  the  middle  of  August,  a  British  squadron,  of  almost  sixty  sail, 
arrived  in  the  bay,  with  six  thousand  troops,  under  General  Ross,  destined  for 
the  capture  of  Washington  city,  it  proved  of  little  value.  Ross  landed  [Aug. 
19,  1814]  at  Benedict,  on  the  Patuxent  (about  twenty-five  miles  from  its 
mouth),  with  five  thousand  men,  and  marched  toward  Washington  city.4  Bar- 
ney's flotilla,  lying  higher  up  the  stream,  was  abandoned  and  burned,  and  his 
marines  joined  the  gathering  land  forces,  under  General  Winder.  Ross  was 
one  of  Wellington's  most  active  commanders,  and  Winder  had  only  three  thou- 
sand troops  to  oppose  him,  one  half  of  whom  were  undisciplined  militia.  A 
sharp  engagement  took  place  [Aug.  24]  at  Bladensburg,6  a  few  miles  from 
Washington  city,  when  the  militia  fled,  and  Barney,  fighting  gallantly  at  the 
head  of  his  seamen  and  marines,  was  made  prisoner.8  Ross  pushed  forward  to 
Washington  city  the  same  day,  burned  the  capitol,  President's  house,  and 
other  public  and  private  buildings  [August  24],  and  then  hastily  retreated 
[August  25]  to  his  shipping.7 

The  British  ministry  were  greatly  elated  by  the  destruction  of  the  public 
buildings  and  property  at  Washington,  but  their  jubilant  feelings  were  not 
shared  by  the  best  of  the  English  people  at  large.  The  act  was  denounced,  in 
severe  terms,  on  the  floor  of  the  British  House  of  Commons ;  and  throughout 
civilized  Europe,  it  was  considered  a  disgrace  to  the  perpetrators  and  abettors. 
General  Ross,  however,  seemed  to  glory  in  it  as  heartily  as  d;d  the  marauder, 
Cockburn ;  and,  flushed  with  success,  he  proceeded  to  attack  Baltimore,  where 
the  veteran,  General  Smith,8  was  in  command.  That  officer,  in  connection  with 

1  Page  430. 

2  It  consisted  of  a  cutter  (a  vessel  with  one  mast),  two  gun-boats  [page  401],  and  nine  barges, 
or  boats  propelled  by  oars. 

3  He  was  born  in  Baltimore  in  1759.     He  entered  the  naval  service  of  the  Revolution  in  1775, 
and  was  active  during  the  whole  war.     He  bore  the  American  flag  to  the  French  National  Con- 
vention in  1796,  and  entered  the  French  service.     He  returned  to  America  in  1800,  took  part  in 
the  War  of  1812,  and  died  at  Pittsburg  in  1818. 

4  Another  small  squadren  was  sent  up  the  Potomac,  but  effected  little  else  than  plunder. 
6  Note  1,  page  392. 

6  Until  the  latest  moment,  it  was  not  known  whether  Washington  or  Baltimore  was  to  be  at- 
tacked.    Winder's  troops,  employed  for  the  defense  of  both  cities,  were  divided.     The  loss  of  the 
British,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  by  desertion,  was  almost  a  thousand  men  ;  that  of  the  Americans 
was  about  a  hundred  killed  and  wounded,  and  a  hundred  and  twenty  taken  prisoners.     The  Pres- 
ident and  his  Cabinet  were  at  Bladensburg  when  the  British  approached,  but  returned  to  the  city 
when  the  conflict  began,  and  narrowly  escaped  capture. 

7  Washington  then  contained  about  nine  hundred  houses,  scattered,  in  groups,  over  a  surface 
of  three  miles.     The  Great  Bridge  across  the  Potomac  was  also  burnt.     The  light  of  the  conflagra- 
tion was  distinctly  seen  at  Baltimore,  forty  miles  distant. 

8  Samuel  Smith,  the  brave  commander  of  Fort  Mifflin  [page  275]  in  1777.      He  was  born  in 


1815.]  THE    SECOND    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.  437 

General  Strieker,  rallied  the  militia  of  the  city  and  vicinity,  and  soon  almost  fif- 
teen thousand  men  were  under  arms,  to  defend  the  town.  Ross  landed  [Sept.  12, 
1814],  with  almost  eight  thousand  troops,  at  North  Point,  fourteen  miles  from 
the  city,  while  a  portion  of  the  fleet  went  up  the  Patapsco  to  bombard  Fort 
M 'Henry.  He  immediately  pressed  forward,  but  was  soon  met  by  the  advanced 
corps  of  General  Strieker,  and  a  slight  skirmish  ensued.  Ross  was  killed,  and 
the  command  devolved  on  Colonel  Brooke,  who  continued  to  advance.  A  severe 
battle  now  commenced,  which  continued  an  hour  and  a  quarter,  when  the 
Americans  fell  back,  in  good  order,  toward  the  city.  In  this  engagement  the 
British  lost  about  three  hundred  men ;  the  Americans,  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
three.  Both  parties  slept  on  their  arms  that  night ;  and  the  following  morn- 
ing [Sept.  13],  the  British  advanced,  as  if  to  attack  the  city.  The  fleet,  in  the 
mean  while,  had  opened  its  bombs  and  cannons  upon  the  fort,  whose  garrison, 
under  Major  Armistead,  made  a  most  gallant  defense.  The  bombardment  con- 
tinued most  of  the  day  and  night,  and  no  less  than  fifteen  hundred  bombshells 
were  thrown.  The  people  in  the  city  felt  in  immediate  danger  of  an  attack 
from  the  land  troops ;  but  toward  the  morning  of  the  14th,  these  silently  em- 
barked, and  the  disheartened  and  discomfited  enemy  withdrew.1  This  defense 
was  hailed  as  an  important  victory.2 

The  whole  Atlantic  coast,  eastward  from  Sandy  Hook,3  was  greatly  annoyed 
by  small  British  squadrons,  during  the  summer  of  1814.  These  captured 
many  American  coasting  vessels,  and  sometimes  menaced  towns  with  bombard- 
ment. Finally,  in  August,  Commodore  Hardy4  appeared  before  Stonington, 
and  opened  a  terrible  storm  of  bombshells  and  rockets5  upon  the  town.  The 
attack  continued  four  successive  days  [August  9-12],  and  several  times  land 
forces  attempted  to  debark,  but  were  always  driven  back  by  the  militia.  The 
object  of  this  unprovoked  attack  seems  to  have  been,  to  entice  the  American 
forces  from  New  London,  so  that  British  shipping  might  go  up  the  Thames, 
and  destroy  some  American  frigates,  then  near  Norwich.  The  expedient  sig- 
nally failed,  and  no  further  attempt  of  a  similar  kind  was  made  on  the  Connecti- 
cut coast. 

Further  eastward,  that  part  of  Maine  which  lies  between  the  Penobscot 
River  and  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  became  a  scene  of  stirring  events.  On  the  first 

Pennsylvania  in  1752 ;  entered  the  revolutionary  army  in  17 7G  ;  afterward  represented  Baltimore 
in  Congress  many  years;  and  died  in  April  1839. 

1  General  Smith  estimated  the  entire  loss  of  the  British,  in  their  attack  upon  Baltimore,  at 
"between  six  and  seven  hundred." 

3  An  event,  connected  with  this  attack  on  Baltimore,  was  the  origin  of  the  stirring  song,  The 
Star- Spangled  Banner,  which  was  written  by  Francis  S.  Key,  of  that  city,  to  the  air  of  "  Anacreon 
in  Heaven."  A  gentleman  left  Baltimore  with  a  flag  of  truce,  to  attempt  the  release  of  a  friend  on 
board  the  British  fleet.  He  was  not  allowed  to  return,  lest  he  should  disclose  the  intended  attack 
on  the  city.  From  a  British  vessel  he  was  compelled  to  see  the  bombardment  of  Fort  M 'Henry. 
He  watched  the  American  flag  over  the  fort,  all  day,  with  great  anxiety.  The  darkness  of  the 
night  hid  it  from  view.  With  eager  eyes,  he  looked  in  that  direction  at  dawn,  and,  to  his  great 
joy,  he  saw  the  star-spangled  banner  yet  waving  over  the  ramparts. 

e8  Page  289.  *  Page  430. 

6  Rockets  used  for  setting  fire  to  towns  and  shipping,  are  made  similar  to  the  common  "  sky- 
rockets," but  filled  with  inflammable  substances,  which  are  scattered  over  buildings  and  the  rigging 
of  ships. 


438  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1814. 

of  September  [1814],  the  governor  of  Nova  Scotia  and  Admiral  Griffith 
entered  the  Penobscot  River,  seized  the  town  of  Castine,  and,  by  proclamation, 
took  possession  of  the  country,  then  inhabited  by  about  thirty  thousand  people. 
A  few  days  afterward,  the  United  States  frigate  John  Adams  entered  the 
Penobscot  after  a  successful  cruise,  and  ran  upon  the  rocks.  While  having 
her  injuries  repaired,  she  was  attacked  by  several  of  the  British  sailing  vessels 
and  barges,  manned  by  about  a  thousand  men.  Finding  resistance  to  be  vain, 
Captain  Morris,  her  commander,  fired  her  magazine,  and  blew  her  up. 

Difficulties  again  appeared  in  the  south-west.  We  have  already  considered 
Jackson's  successful  warfare  upon  the  Creek  Indians.1  In  the  course  of  the 
summer  of  1814,  he  wrung  from  them  a  treaty,  which  completed  their  downfall, 
as  a  nation,  and  the  war  at  the  South  was  considered  ended.  They  agreed  to 
surrender  a  large  portion  of  their  beautiful  and  fertile  country,  as  indemnity 
for  the  expenses  of  the  war ;  to  allow  the  United  States  to  make  roads  through 
the  remainder ;  and  also  not  to  hold  intercourse  with  any  British  or  Spanish 
posts.  But  the  common  enemy,  favored  by  the  Spaniards  at  Pensacola,  soon 
appeared,  and  the  Creeks  again  lifted  their  heads  in  hope,  for  a  moment.  A 
British  squadron,  cruising  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  took  possession  of  the  forts 
at  Pensacola,  by  permission  of  the  Spanish  authorities,  and  there  fitted  out  an 
expedition  against  Fort  Bower  (now  Fort  Morgan),  at  the  entrance  to  Mobile 
Bay,2  then  commanded  by  Major  Lawrence.  General  Jackson  then  had  his 
head-quarters  at  Mobile.  The  enemy  appeared  off  Mobile  Point  on  the  15th 
of  September,  and  commenced  the  attack,  by  land  and  water,  at  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Fort  Bower  was  garrisoned  by  resolute  men,  and  was 
armed  with  twenty  pieces  of  cannon.  Lawrence  and  his  little  band  made  a 
gallant  defense ;  and  soon  the  British  were  repulsed,  with  the  loss  of  a  ship 
of  war  and  many  men.  Among  the  British  land  troops  on  the  occasion,  were 
two  hundred  Creek  warriors. 

Jackson,  now  a  Major-General  in  the  army,  and  commander  of  the  south- 
western military  district,  assuming  all  the  authority  he  was  entitled  to,  held 
the  Spanish  governor  of  Florida  responsible  for  the  act  of  giving  shelter  to  the 
enemies  of  the  United  States.  Failing  to  obtain  any  satisfactory  guaranty  for 
the  future,  he  marched  from  Mobile  with  about  two  thousand  Tennessee  militia 
and  some  Choctaw  warriors,  against  Pensacola.  On  the  7th  of  November 
[1814]  he  stormed  the  town,  drove  the  British  to  their  shipping,  and  finally 
from  the  harbor,  and  made  the  governor  beg  for  mercy,  and  surrender  Pensa- 
cola and  all  its  military  works,  unconditionally.  The  British  fleet  disappeared 
the  next  day  [November  8],  and  the  victor  retraced  his  steps  [November  9]. 
His  return  was  timely,  for  he  was  needed  where  extreme  danger  was  menacing 
the  whole  southern  country.  On  his  arrival  at  Mobile,  he  found  messages  from 
New  Orleans,  begging  his  immediate  march  thither,  for  the  British  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  reinforced  by  thousands  of  troops  from  England,  were  about  to 
invade  Louisiana.  Jackson  instantly  obeyed  the  summons,  and  arrived  there 

1  Page  427.  2  On  the  east  side,  about  thirty  miles  south  from  Mobile. 


1815.]  THE   SECOND   WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.  439 

on  the  2d  of  December.  He  found  the  people  of  New  Orleans  in  the  greatest 
alarm,  but  his  presence  soon  restored  quiet  and  confidence.  By  vigorous,  and 
even  rigorous  measures  (for  he  declared  martial  law),1  he  soon  placed  the  city 
in  a  state  of  comparative  security,2  and  when  the  British  squadron,  bearing 
General  Packenham  and  about  twelve  thousand  troops,  many  of  them  Welling- 
ton's veterans,  entered  Lake  Borgne,  he  felt  confident  of  success,  even  against 
such  fearful  odds. 

On  the  14th  of  December,  a  British  fleet  of  barges,  about  forty  in  number, 
and  conveying  twelve  hundred  men,  captured  a  flotilla  of  five  American  gun- 
boats, in  Lake  Borgne,  which  were  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  (late  Com- 
modore) Thomas  Ap  Catesby  Jones.  In  the  engagement  the  Americans  lost, 
in  killed  and  wounded,  about  forty ;  the  British  loss  was  about  three  hundred. 
The  destruction  of  these  gun-boats  gave  the  enemy  power  to  choose  his  point  of 
attack  ;  and  eight  days  afterward  [Dec.  22],  about  twenty-four  hundred  of,  the 
British,  under  General  Keane,  reached  the  Mississippi,  nine  miles  below  New 
Orleans.  An  American  detachment,  led  by  Jackson  in  person,  fell  upon  their 
camp  the  following  night  [Dec.  23,  1814],  but  withdrew  to  a  stronger  position, 
after  killing  or  wounding  four  hundred  of  the  British.  The  Americans  lost 
about  one  hundred. 

And  now  preparations  were  instantly  made  for  the  great  battle  which  soon 
afterward  ensued.  Jackson  concentrated  his  troops  (about  three  thousand  in 
number,  and  mostly  militia)  within  a  line  of  intrenchments3  cast  up  four  miles 
below  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  where  they  were  twice  cannonaded  by  the  Brit- 
ish, but  without  much  effect.  Finally,  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  January, 
1815,  General  Packenham,  the  Brit- 
ish commander-in-chief,  advanced  with 
his  whole  force,  numbering  more  than 
twelve  thousand  men,  to  make  a  gen- 
eral assault.  Having  been  reinforced 
by  about  three  thousand  militia  (chief- 
ly Kentuckians),  Jackson  now  had 
six  thousand  expert  marksmen  con- 
cealed behind  his  intrenchments,  or 
stationed  at  the  batteries  on  his  ex- 

-,-,,.  .        ,  ,  .  BATTLE   OF   NEW   ORLEANS. 

tended  line.      A  deep  and  ominous 

silence  prevailed  behind  these  defenses,  until  the  British  had  approached  within 
reach  of  the  batteries,  when  the  Americans  opened  a  terrible  cannonade.  Yet 
the  enemy  continued  to  advance  until  within  range  of  the  American  muskets 
and  rifles.  Volley  after  volley  then  poured  a  deadly  storm  of  lead  upon  the 

1  Note  8,  page  170. 

2  All  the  inlets,  or  bayous,  were  obstructed,  and  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  were  so  fortified 
as  to  prevent  the  ascent  of  vessels.     A  battery  was  erected  on  Chef  Menteur,  at  the  entrance  to 
Lake  Pontchartrain. 

These  intrenchments  were  a  mile  in  length,  extending  from  the  river  so  far  into  the  swamp, 
as  to  be  impassable  at  the  extremity.  Along  this  line  were  eight  distinct  batteries,  with  heavy 
cannons;  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  was  a  battery  with  fifteen  cannons. 


LAVAL ra 

_?£'n  AM.  RESERVE 

Jackson's  H.2,rs. 


440  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1814. 

invaders.  The  British  column  soon  -wavered ;  General  Packenham  fell  in  front 
of  his  troops,  with  not  less  than  a  thousand  dead  and  wounded  lying  around 
him ;  and,  utterly  amazed  by  the  terrible  fire  of  the  Americans,  the  entire 
army  fled  in  confusion,  leaving  seven  hundred  dead,  and  more  than  a  thousand 
wounded,  on  the  field.  The  fugitives  hastened  to  their  encampment  [Jan.  9], 


and  finally  to  their  ships  [Jan.  18],  and  escaped.1  The  Americans  were  so 
safely  intrenched,  that  they  lost  only  seven  killed  and  six  wounded,  in  this 
victorious  battle.  It -was  the  crowning  victory,2  and  last  land  battle  of  moment, 
of  the  SECOND  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE.3 

While  the  victory  of  the  Americans  at  New  Orleans  saved  that  city  from 
plunder  and  destruction,4  and  the  whole  Southern  country  from  invasion,  the 

1  "While  these  operations  were  in  progress  on  the  Mississippi,  the  British  fleet  had  not  been  in- 
active.    Some  vessels  bombarded  Fort  St.  Philip,  below  New  Orleans,  on  the  llth  of  January,  and 
continued  the  attack  for  eight  days  without  success.     In  the  mean  while,  Admiral  Cockburn  [page 
430]  was  pursuing  his  detestable  warfare  along  the  Carolina  and  Georgia  coasts,  menacing  Charles- 
ton and  Savannah  with  destruction,  and  landing  at  obscure  points  to  plunder  the  inhabitants. 

2  During  1814,  the  war  continued  on  the  ocean,  yet  there  were  no  battles  of  great  importance. 
The  Peacock  captured  the  British  brig  Epervier,  on  the  29th  of  April,  off  the  coast  of  Florida.    The 
Wasp,  Captain  Blakely,  also  made  a  successful  cruise,  but  after  capturing  her  thirteenth  prize,  dis- 
appeared, and  was  never  heard  of  again.     Probably  lost  in  a  storm.     The  President,  Commodore 
Decatur,  was  captured  off  Long  Island,  on  the  16th  of  January,  1815;  and  on  the  20th  of  February 
following,  the  Constitution,  Commodore  Stewart,  had  a  severe  action  with  the  British  frigate  Cyane, 
and  sloop-of-war  Levant,  and  captured  both.    Soon  after  this,  the  British  brig  Penguin  was  captured, 
but  the  proclamation  of  peace  had  then  ended  the  war.  3  Page  409. 

4  It  is  asserted,  upon  good  authority,  that  Packenham's  watchword,  as  he  led  his  troops  toward 
the  city,  was  "Booty  and  Beauty,"  thereby  indicating  that  plunder  and  ravishment  should  be  the 
soldiers'  reward !  We  can  hardly  believe  Sir  Edward  really  contemplated  such  barbarity. 


1815.]  THE    SECOND    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.  443 

brave  Jackson,  whose  skill  and  prowess  had  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  pro- 
ducing that  result,  was  mercilessly  assailed  by  some  persons  in  official  station, 
who  could  not  appreciate  his  pure  motives  and  sturdy  patriotism.  Perceiving 
the  necessity  of  prompt  and  vigorous  action,  Jackson  had  taken  all  power  into 
his  hands,  on  his  arrival  at  New  Orleans,  and  declared  martial  law.1  Governor 
Claiborne2  wisely  and  generously  seconded  the  measure,  and  surrendering  all 
authority  into  the  hands  of  General  Jackson,  led  a  large  body  of  the  militia  of 
his  State  to  the  field.  Three  days  after  the  battle,  the  news  of  peace  arrived ; 
and  Judge  Hall  immediately  ordered  the  arrest  of  Jackson,  on  a  charge  of  con- 
tempt of  court.3  He  was  tried  ;  and  the  j udge  fined  him  a  thousand  dollars. 
The  people  hissed  the  official ;  bore  the  brave  general  upon  their  shoulders  from 
the  court-room  to  the  street,  and  then  the  immense  crowd  sent  up  a  shout,  such 
as  went  over  the  land  with  emphasis  thirteen  years  later,  when  he  was  a  candi- 
date for  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  the  nation4 — " Hurrah  for  Jackson!"  The 
blow  aimed  at  him  recoiled  with  fearful  force  upon  his  persecutors. 

The  country  was  made  vocal  with  rejoicings  on  account  of  the  victory 
at  New  Orleans  ;  and  Congress  honored  General  Jackson  with  thanks  and  a 
gold  medal.  A  little  more  than  a  month  after  the  battle,  a  proclamation  by 
the  President  [Feb.  18,  1815],  that  peace  had  been  secured  by  treaty,  spread  a 
smile  of  tranquillity  and  happiness  over  the  whole  Union.5  For  more  than  a 
year,  efforts  toward  that  end  had  been  put  forth.  As  early  as  December,  1813, 
the  British  government  had  sent  overtures  of  peace  to  that  of  the  United 
States.  They  were  forwarded  by  the  British  schooner  Bramble,  which  arrived 
at  Annapolis,  in  Maryland,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1814,  bearing  a  flag  of 
truce.  The  President  at  once  informed  Congress  of  the  fact,  and  immedi- 
ate action  was  had.  The  overtures  were  promptly  met,  in  a  conciliatory 
spirit,  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  two  powers  to  negotiate  a  treaty.0  For  a  long  time  the  Amer- 
ican commissioners  were  treated  with  neglect  by  the  British  government.  They 

1  Note  8,  page  170. 

8  William  C.  C.  Claiborne  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1775,  and  was  educated  at  William  and  Mary 
College.  He  became  an  assistant  clerk  of  the  Federal  House  of  Representatives  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen years ;  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine,  President  Jefferson  appointed  him  governor  of  the 
Louisiana  Territory.  He  had  already  become  conspicuous  as  a  lawyer  in  the  West ;  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two  he  was  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Tennessee.  He  was  elected  to  Congress  the 
following  year,  and  was  a  distinguished  man  in  that  body.  He  was  elected  governor  of  Louisiana 
when  it  became  a  State  in  1812,  and  was  acting  in  that  capacity  when  the  British  menaced  New 
Orleans.  He  left  that  office  in  1817,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate.  But  his 
death  was  near,  and  he  never  entered  that  assembly.  He  died  in  November,  1817,  in  the  forty- 
second  year  of  his  age. 

3  A  member  of  the  Louisiana  Legislature  assailed  Jackson  by  a  newspaper  publication.  Jack- 
son ordered  his  arrest.  Judge  Hall  granted  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  Jackson,  in  the  proper  exer- 
cise of  his  power  under  martial  law,  not  only  refused  obedience  to  the  mandates  of  the  writ,  but 
arrested  the  judge,  and  sent  him  out  of  the  city.  For  this  "  contempt  of  court"  Jackson  himself 
was  arrested.  His  noble  defense  was  written  by  Edward  Livingston.  4  Page  459. 

6  As  we  have  observed,  intelligence  of  the  signing  of  the  treaty  reached  New  Orleans  three 
days  after  the  battle.  It  was  not  formally  proclaimed  until  more  than  a  month  afterward. 

6  The  United  States  commissioners  were  John  Quincy  Adams,  James  A.  Bayard,  Henry  Clay, 
John  Russel,  and  Albert  Gallatin.  Those  of  Great  Britain  were  Admiral  Lord  Gambier,  Henry 
Goulbourn,  and  William  Adams.  These  commissioners  are  all  dead.  Mr.  Clay,  who  died  in  1852, 
was  the  last  survivor. 


444  THE    CONFEDERATION.  [1814. 

were  suffered  to  remain  in  England  unnoticed,  for  months,  and  then  the  ministry, 
proposing  first  one  place,  and  then  another,  for  the  negotiations,  exhibited  a  trifling 
spirit,  derogatory  to  true  dignity.  For  half  a  year  the  treaty  was  prolonged 
in  this  way,  until,  finally,  the  commissioners  of  the  two  governments  met  in  the 
city  of  Ghent,  in  Belgium,  in  the  month  of  August,  1814.  On  the  24th  of 
December  following,  a  treaty  was  signed,  which  both  governments  speedily 
ratified.  It  stipulated  a  mutual  restoration  of  all  places  and  possessions  taken 
during  the  war,  or  which  might  be  taken  after  signing  the  treaty ;  declared  that 
all  captures  at  sea  should  be  relinquished,  if  made  within  specified  times  there- 
after, in  different  parts  of  the  world ;  and  that  each  party  should  mutually  put 
a  stop  to  Indian  hostilities,  and  endeavor  to  extinguish  the  traffic  in  slaves. 
The  boundaries,  imperfectly  adjusted  by  the  treaty  of  1783, '  were  all  settled; 
but  the  subject  of  impressment  of  seamen,  which  was  the  chief  cause  of  the  war,3 
of  paper  blockades/  and  orders  in  council,4  were  all  passed  by  without  specific 
notice,  in  the  treaty.  With  this  treaty  ended  the  war,  which  had  been  in  prog- 
ress for  two  years  and  eight  months ;  and  the  proclamation  of  the  fact  was  an 
occasion  of  the  most  sincere  rejoicing  throughout  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  for  it  was  an  unnatural  contest — a  conflict  between  brethren  of  the 
same  blood,  the  same  religion,  the  same  laws,  and  the  same  literature. 

During  these  negotiations,  the  war,  as  we  have  seen,  was  vigorously  prose- 
cuted, and  the  opposition  of  the  Federalists  grew  more  intense.5  It  reached  its 
culmination  in  December,  when  delegates,  appointed  by  several  New  England 
Legislatures,6  met  [Dec.  15,  1814]  in  convention  at  Hartford,  for  the  purposes 
of  considering  the  grievances  of  the  people,  caused  by  a  state  of  war,  and  to  de- 
vise speedy  measures  for  its  termination.7  This  convention,  whose  sessions  w^ere 
secret,  was  denounced  as  treasonable  by  the  administration  party ;  but  patriot- 
ism appears  to  have  prevailed  in  its  councils,  whatever  may  have  been  the  de- 
signs of  some.  Its  plans  for  disunion  or  secession,  if  any  were  formed,  were 
rendered  abortive  soon  after  its  adjournment,  by  the  proclamation  of  peace,  fol- 
lowed by  the  appointment  of  a  day  for  national  thanksgiving  to  the  Almighty 
for  the  blessed  event.  That  day  was  observed  throughout  the  Union. 

The  short  time  which  remained  of  the  session  of  Congress,  after  the  proclam- 
ation of  peace,  was  occupied  by  that  body  in  adapting  the  affairs  of  the  govern- 
ment to  the  new  condition  of  things.  The  army  was  reduced  to  a  peace  ostab- 
ment  of  ten  thousand  men,  and  various  acts,  necessary  for  the  public  good 
during  a  state  of  war,  were  repealed.  The  naval  establishment,  however,  was 
kept  up  ;  and  the  depredations  of  Algerine  cruisers  caused  Congress  to  author- 

1  Page  348.  2  Note  5,  page  409. 

3  A  port  being  blockaded  by  proclamation,  without  ships  of  war  being  there  to  maintain  it. 
This  practice  is  no  longer  in  vogue.  4  Note  1,  page  400.  5  Page  410. 

6  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  were  unrepresented,  except  by  three  county  delegates.     The 
Federalists  in  Vermont,  especially,  were  now  in  a  weak  majority ;  and  Governor  Oilman,  of  New 
Hampshire,  the  members  of  whose  council  were  Democratic,  could  not  call  a  meeting  of  the  Legis- 
lature to  appoint  delegates. 

7  George  Cabot  was  appointed  President  of  the  Convention,  and  Theodore  Dwight,  a  former 
member  of  Congress  from  Connecticut,  and  then  editor  of  the  Hartford  Union,  was  its  secretary. 
The  Convention  was  composed  of  twenty-six  members. 


1815.]  THE    SECOND    WAR    FOR    INDEPENDENCE.  445 

ize  the  President  to  send  a  squadron  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  The  results  of 
the  war,  though  apparently  disastrous  to  all  concerned  at  the  time,  were  seen, 
subsequently,  to  have  been  highly  beneficial  to  the  United  States,  not  so  much 
in  a  material  as  in  a  moral  aspect.  The  total  cost  of  the  war  to  the  United 
States  was  about  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  loss  of  lives,  by  bat- 
tles and  other  casualties  incident  to  the  war,  has  been  estimated  at  thirty  thou- 
sand persons.  The  cost  of  blood  and  treasure  to  the  British  nation  was  much 
greater.  During  the  war,  the  Americans  captured,  on  the  ocean  and  on  the 
lakes,  fifty-six  British  vessels  of  war,  mounting  886  cannons  ;  and  2,360  mer- 
chant vessels,  mounting  8,000  guns.  There  were  also  lost  on  the  American 
coast,  during  the  war,  by  wrreck  or  otherwise,  twenty-nine  British  ships  of  war, 
mounting  about  800  guns.  The  Americans  lost  only  twenty-five  vessels  of  war' 
and  a  much  less  number  of  merchant-ships  than  the  British. 

The  clouds  of  an  almost  three  years'  war  had  scarcely  disappeared  from  the 
firmament,  when  others  suddenly  arose.  The  contest  with  England  had  but 
just  ended,  when  the  United  States  were  compelled  to  engage  in  a  brief 

WAR     WITH     ALGIERS. 

As  we  have  observed,1  the  United  States  had  paid  tribute  to  Algiers  since 
1795.  Every  year,  as  his  strength  increased,  the  ruler  of  that  Barbary  State 
became  more  insolent,2  and,  finally,  believing  that  the  United  States  navy  had 
been  almost  annihilated  by  the  British  in  the  late  contest,  he  made  a  pretense 
for  renewing  depredations  upon  American  commerce,  in  violation  of  the  treaty. 
The  American  government  determined  to  pay  tribute  no  longer,  accepted  the 
challenge,  and  in  May,  1815,  Commodore  Decatur3  proceeded  with  a  squadron 
to  the  Mediterranean,  to  humble  the  pirate.  Fortunately,  the  Algerine  fleet 
was  cruising  in  the  Mediterranean,  in  search  of  American  vessels.  On  the  17th 
of  June  [1815],  Decatur  met  and  captured  the  flag-ship  (a  frigate)  of  the  Al- 
gerine admiral,  and  another  vessel  with  almost  six  hundred  men,  and  then  sailed 
for  the  Bay  of  Algiers.  He  immediately  demanded  [June  28]  the  instant  sur- 
render of  all  American  prisoners,  full  indemnification  for  all  property  destroyed, 
and  absolute  relinquishment  of  all  claims  to  tribute  from  the  United  States,  in 
future.  Informed  of  the  fate  of  a  part  of  his  fleet,  the  Dey4  yielded  to  the 
humiliating  terms,  and  signed  a  treaty  [June  30]  to  that  effect.  Decatur  then 
sailed  for  Tunis,  and  demanded  and  received  [July,  1815]  from  the  bashaw, 
forty-six  thousand  dollars,  in  payment  for  American  vessels  which  he  had 
allowed  the  English  to  capture  in  his  harbor.  The  same  demand,  on  the  same 
account,  was  made  upon  the  bashaw  of  Tripoli,6  and  Decatur  received  [August] 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  from  him  and  the  restoration  of  prisoners.  This 
cruise  in  the  Mediterranean  gave  full  security  to  American  commerce  in  those 

1  Page  381. 

2  Page  381.     In  1812,  the  Dey  compelled  Mr.  Lear,  the  American  consul  [page  395],  to  pay 
him  $27,000  for  the  safety  of  himself,  family,  and  a  few  Americans,  under  the  penalty  of  all  being 
made  slaves. 

3  Page  392.  *  Note  3,  page  392.  6  Page  392. 


446  THE    CONFEDERATION.  [1817. 

seas,  and  greatly  elevated  the  character  of  the  government  of  the  United  States 
in  the  opinion  of  Europe.  Now  was  accomplished,  during  a  single  cruise,  what 
the  combined  powers  of  Europe  dared  not  to  attempt. 

Now  the  eventful  administration  of  Mr.  Madison  drew  to  a  close,  and  very 
little  of  general  interest  occurred,  except  the  chartering  of  a  new  United  States 
Bank,1  with  a  capital  of  $35,000,000,  to  continue  twenty  years ;  and  the  admis- 
sion of  Indiana  [December,  1816]  into  the  union  of  States.  On  the  16th  of 
March,  1816,  a  caucus  of  Democratic  members  of  Congress,  nominated  James 
Monroe  of  Virginia  (who  had  been  Madison's  Secretary  of  War  for  a  few  months), 
for  President  of  the  United  States,  and  Daniel  D.  Tompkins2  of  New  York, 
for  Vice- President.  The  Federalists,  wrhose  power,  as  a  party,  was  now 
rapidly  passing  away,  nominated  Rufus  King3  for  President,  and  votes  were 
given  to  several  persons  for  Vice-President.  Monroe  and  Tompkins  were  elected 
by  large  majorities.  Mr.  Monroe's  election  wTas  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote 
of  the  electoral  college.4  Only  one  (in  New  Hampshire)  was  cast  against  him. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

MONROE'S    ADMINISTRATION.     [1817—1825]. 

ON  the  4th  of  March,  1817,  James  Monroe,5  the  fifth  President  of  the 
United  States,  was  inaugurated  at  Washington  City.  The  oath  of  office  was 
administered  by  Chief  Justice  Marshall,6  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Madison,  the 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  a  large  congregation  of  citizens.  His  address 
on  that  occasion  was  liberal  and  temperate  in  its  tone,  and  gave  general  satis- 
faction to  the  people.  The  commencement  of  his  administration  was  hailed  as 
the  dawn  of  an  era  of  good  feeling  and  national  prosperity.7  He  selected  his 
cabinet  from  the  Republican  party,  and  never  since  the  formation  of  the  gov- 

1  Page  372, 

2  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  was  born  in  1774.     He  was  a  prominent  Democrat  when  Jefferson  was 
elected  [page  389]  President  of  the  United  States.     He  was  chief  justice  of  New  York  and  also 
Governor  of  the  State.     He  died  on  Staten  Island,  in  1825. 

3  Page  395.  «  Note  1,  page  361. 

5  James  Monroe  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Virginia,  in  April,  1759.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  William  and  Maty  College,  and  his  youth  was  spent  amid  the  political  excitements,  when 
the  War  for  Independence  was  kindling.  He  joined  the  Continental  army,  under  Washington,  in 
1776,  and  during  the  campaigns  of  1777  and  1778,  he  was  aid  to  Lord  Stirling.  After  the  battle 
of  Monmouth,  he  left  the  army  and  commenced  the  study  of  law  under  Jefferson.  He  was  again 
in  the  field  when  Arnold  and  Phillips  invaded  his  State,  in  1781  [page  330].  The  next  year, 
tie  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  was  elected  a  delegate 
to  the  Continental  Congress.  He  was  in  active  life  as  a  legislator,  foreign  minister,  Governor  of 
Virginia,  and  President  of  the  United  States,  until  his  retirement  from  the  latter  office  in  1825. 
He  died  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1831,  when  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his 
age.  His  remains  lie  unmarked  by  any  monument,  except  a  simple  slab,  in  a  cemetery  on  the 
north  side  of  Second-street,  in  the  city  of  New  York.  6  Page  351. 

7  President  Monroe,  soon  after  his  inauguration,  made  a  long  tour  of  observation,  extending  to 
Portland,  in  Maine,  on  the  east,  and  to  Detroit,  on  the  west,  in  which  he  was  occupied  more  than  three 
months.  He  was  everywhere  received  with  the  kindest  attentions  and  highest  honors,  and  his 
journey  was  conducive  to  the  national  good. 


1825.]  MONROE'S    ADMINISTRATION".  447 

eminent,  had  a  President  been  surrounded  with  abler  counselors.1  Monroe 
was  a  judicious  and  reliable  man ;  and  when  we  reflect  upon  the  condition  of  the 
country  at  that  time — in  a  transition  state  from  war  and  confusion  to  peace  and 
order — his  elevation  to  the  presidency  seems  to  have  been  a  national  blessing. 


The  administration  of  Mr.  Monroe  was  marked  by  immense  expansion  in 
the  material  growth  of  the  United  States.  During  the  war,  a  large  number  of 
manufacturing  establishments  had  been  nurtured  into  vigorous  life  by  great 
demands  and  high  prices ;  but  when  peace  returned,  and  European  manufac- 
tures flooded  the  country  at  very  low  prices,  wide-spread  ruin  ensued,  and 
thousands  of  men  were  compelled  to  seek  other  employments.  The  apparent 
misfortune  was  a  mercy  in  disguise,  for  the  nation.  Beyond  the  Alleghanies, 
millions  of  fertile  acres,  possessing  real  wealth,  were  awaiting  the  tiller's  indus- 
try and  skill.2  Agriculture  beckoned  the  bankrupts  to  her  fields.  Homes  in 

1  His  cabinet  consisted  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  Secretary  of  State ;  "William  H.  Crawford,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury;  John  C.  Calhoun,  Secretary  of  War;  Benjamin  Crowninshield,  Secretary  of 
the  Navy ;  and  William  Wirt,  Attorney-General.  He  offered  the  War  Department  to  the  venerable 
G-overnor  Shelby,  of  Kentucky  [page  417],  who  declined  it.  Calhoun  was  appointed  in  December, 
1817.  Crowninshield,  who  was  in  Madison's  cabinet,  continued  in  office  until  the  close  of  Novem- 
ber, 1818,  when  Smith  Thompson,  of  New  York,  was  appointed  in  his  place. 

a  The  progress  of  the  States  and  Territories  west  of  the  Alleghanies  [note  3,  page  19],  in  wealth 
and  population,  is  truly  wonderful.  A  little  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  those  immense  lakes,  Onta- 
rio, Erie,  Michigan,  Huron,  and  Superior,  were  entirely  without  commerce,  and  an  Indian's  canoe 
was  abnosUhe  only  craft  seen  upon  them.  In  1853,  the  value  of  traffic  upon  these  waters  and  the 
navigable  rivers,  was  estimated  at  five  hundred  and  sixty-two  millions  of  dollars.  See  note  4,  page 
53t.  Twenty-five  years  ago  [1831]  there  were  less  than  five  thousand  white  people  in  the  vast 


448  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1817. 

the  East  were  deserted ;  emigration  flowed  over  the  mountains  in  a  broad  and 
vigorous  stream ;  and  before  the.  close  of  Monroe's  administration,  four  new 
sovereign  States  had  started  into  being1  from  the  wilderness  of  the  great  West, 
and  one  in  the  East.2 

The  first  year  of  Monroe's  administration  was  chiefly  distinguished  by  the 
admission  [December  10,  1817]  of  a  portion  of  the  Mississippi  Territory  into 
the  Union,  as  a  State,3  and  the  suppression  of  two  piratical  and  slave-dealing 
establishments  near  the  southern  and  south-western  borders  of  the  Republic. 
One  of  them  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Mary's,  Florida,  and  the  other  at 
Galveston,  Texas.  In  addition  to  a  clandestine  trade  in  slaves,  these  bucca- 
neers,4 under  pretense  of  authority  from  some  of  the  Spanish  republics  of 
South  America,5  were  endeavoring  to  liberate  the  Floridas  from  the  dominion 
of  Spain.  In  November,  1817,  United  States  troops  proceeded  to  take  pos- 
session of  Amelia  Island,  the  rendezvous  of  the  pirates  on  the  Florida  coast,  and 
the  Galveston  establishment  soon  disappeared  for  want  of  support. 

Other  serious  difficulties  arose  at  about  the  same  time.  A  motley  host, 
composed  chiefly  of  Seminole  Indians,6  Creeks  dissatisfied  with  the  treaty  of 
1814, 7  and  runaway  negroes,  commenced  murderous  depredations  upon  the 
frontier  settlements  of  Georgia  and  the  Alabama  Territory,  toward  the  close  of 
1817.  General  Gaines8  was  sent  to  suppress  these  outrages,  and  to  remove 
every  Indian  from  the  territory  which  the  Creeks  had  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  in  1814.  His  presence  aroused  the  fiercest  ire  of  the  Indians,  who,  it 
was  ascertained,  were  incited  to  hostilities  by  British  subjects,  protected  by  the 
Spanish  authorities  in  Florida.  Gaines  was  placed  in  a  perilous  position,  when 
General  Jackson,  with  a  thousand  mounted  Tennessee  volunteers,  hastened 
[December,  1817]  to  his  aid.  In  March,  1818,  he  invaded  Florida,  took  pos- 
session [April]  of  the  weak  Spanish  post  of  St.  Mark,  at  the  head  of  Apa- 
lachee  Bay,9  and  sent  the  civil  authorities  and  troops  to  Pensacola.10  At  St. 
Mark  he  secured  the  persons  of  Alexander  Arbuthnot  and  Robert  C.  Ambrister, 
who,  on  being  tried  [April  26]  by  a  court  martial,  were  found  guilty  of  being 
the  principal  emissaries  among  the  southern  Indians,  inciting  them  to  hostilities. 

region  between  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  ;  now  [1856]  the  number  is  probably  two  and 
a  half  millions.  Chicago  was  then  a  mere  hamlet;  now  [1856]  it  is  a  fine  city,  with  not  less  than 
eighty  thousand  inhabitants.  And  never  was  the  growth  of  the  Great  West  more  rapid  than  at 
the  present. 

1  Mississippi,  December  10,  1817;  Illinois,  December  3,  1818;  Alabama,  December  14,  1819; 
and  Missouri,  March  2,  1821.  2  Maine,  March  3,  1820. 

3  The  Territory  was  divided.  The  western  portion  was  made  a  State,  and  the  eastern  was 
erected  into  a  Territory,  named  Alabama,  after  its  principal  river.  It  included  a  portion  of  Georgia, 
given  for  a  consideration.  See  page  455.  4  Note  6,  page  149. 

6  During  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century,  nearly  all  of  the  countries  in  Central  and  South 
America,  which,  since  the^  conquests  of  Cortez  [page  43]  and  Pizarro  [note  4,  page  44],  had  been 
under  the  Spanish  yoke,  rebelled,  and  forming  republics,  became  independent  of  Spain.  It  was  the 
policy  of  our  government  to  encourage  these  republics,  by  preventing  the  establishment  of  monarch- 
ical power  on  the"  American  continent.  This  is  known  as  the  "  Monroe  doctrine,"  a  term  frequently 
used  in  political  circles. 

6  Page  30.  7  Note  8,  page  428. 

8  Page  398.  Edmund  P.  Gaines  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  1777.  He  entered  the  army  in  1799, 
and  rose  gradually  until  he  was  made  Major-General  for  his  gallantry  at  Fort  Erie  [page  433]  in 
1814.  He  remained  in  the  army  until  his  deathr  in  1849.  9  Page  44.  J0  Page  438. 


1825.]  MONROE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  451 

They  were  both  executed  on  the  30th  of  the  same  month.1  Jackson  soon  after- 
ward marched  for  Pensacola,  it  being  known  that  the  Spanish  authorities  there 
had  encouraged  the  Indians  in  making  depredations  in  Alabama.  The  Spanish 
governor  protested  against  this  invasion  of  his  territory  ;  but  Jackson,  satisfied 
of  his  complicity  with  the  Indians,  pushed  forward  and  seized  Pensacola  on  the 
24th  of  May.  The  governor  and  a  few  followers  fled  on  horseback  to  Fort 
Barrancas,  at  the  entrance  to  Pensacola  Bay.  This  fortress  was  captured  by 
Jackson  three  days  afterward  [May  27],  and  the  Spanish  authorities  and  troops 
were  sent  to  Havana. 

For  this  invasion  of  the  territory  of  a  friendly  power,  and  his  summary  pro- 
ceedings there,  General  Jackson  was  much  censured.  His  plea,  in  justification, 
was  the  known  interference  of  the  Spanish  authorities  in  Florida,  in  our  domes- 
tic affairs,  by  sheltering  those  who  were  exciting  the  Indians  to  bloody  deeds ; 
and  the  absolute  necessity  of  prompt  and  efficient  measures  at  the  time.  He 
was  sustained  by  the  government  and  the  voice  of  the  people.  These  measures 
developed  the  necessity  for  a  general  and  thorough  settlement  of  affairs  on  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  Republic,  and  led  to*  the  important  treaty2  concluded 
at  Washington  City,  in  February,  1819,  by  which  Spain  ceded  to  the  United 
States  the  whole  of  the  Floridas,  and  the  adjacent  islands.  That  country  was 
erected  into  a  Territory  in  February,  1821 ;  and  in  March  ensuing,  General 
Jackson  was  appointed  the  first  governor  of  the  newly-acquired  domain. 

We  have  observed  that  the  vast  region  of  Louisiana,  purchased  from  France 
in  1803,  was  divided  into  two  Territories.3  The  Louisiana  Territory  was 
admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State,  in  1812  ;4  and  while  the  treaty  concerning 
Florida  was  pending,  the  southern  portion  of  the  remainder  of  the  Territory 
extending  westward  of  that  State  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  which  was  erected  into 
the  "Missouri  Territory"  in  1812,  was  formed  into  a  separate  government 
in  1819,  and  called  Arkansas.  In  December,  the  same  year,  Alabama  was 

1  Arbuthnot  was  a  Scotch  trader  from  New  Providence,  one  of  the  Bermuda  Islands.  He  had 
a  store  on  the  Suwaney  River,  where  many  of  the  hostile  Indians  and  negroes  congregated.  Am- 
brister  was  a  young  Englishman,  about  twenty-one  years  of  age,  who  had  borne-  a  lieutenant's 
commission  in  the  British  service.  He  was  also  at  the  Suwaney  settlements,  and  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  Indians  and  negroes. 

a  Made  by  John  Quincy  Adams  for  the  United  States,  and  Don  Onis,  the  Spanish  embassador 
at  Washington.  Hitherto,  the  United  States  had  claimed  a  large  portion  of  Texas,  as  a  part  of 
Louisiana.  By  this  treaty,  Texas  was  retained  by  the  Spaniards.  The  cession  was  made  as  an 
equivalent  for  all  claims  against  Spain  for  injury  done  the  American  commerce,  to  an  amount  not 
exceeding  five  millions  of  dollars.  The  treaty  was  not  finally  ratified  until  February,  1821. 

3  Page  390. 

4  The  admirable  penal  code  of  Louisiana,  which  has  ever  stood  the  test  of  severe  criticism,  is 
the  work  of  Edward  Livingston,  who  was  appointed  the  principal  of  a  commission  appointed  to 
codify  the  laws  of  that  State.     The  code,  of  which  he  was  the  sole  author,  was  adopted  in  1824. 
Mr.  Livingston  was  born  upon  the  "Manor,"  in  Columbia  county,  New  York,  in  1764.     He  was 
educated  at  Princeton,  studied  law  under  Chancellor  Lansing,  and  became  eminent  in  his  profession. 
He  became  a  member  of  Congress  in  1794,  then  attorney  for  the  district  of  New  York,  and  finally, 
he  went  to  New  Orleans  to  retrieve  a  broken  fortune.     He  was  an  aid  to  General  Jackson,  in  the 
battle  at  New  Orleans,  in  January,  1815,  and  his  pen  wrote  the  noble  defense  of  that  soldier,  when 
he  was  persecuted  by  civil  officers  in  that  city.     See  page  443.     When  the  last  page  of  his  manu- 
script code  of  laws  for  Louisiana  was  ready  for  the  press,  a  fire  consumed  the  whole,  and  he  was 
two  years  reproducing  it.     That  work  is  his  monument.     Mr.  Livingston  was  Secretary  of  State 
under  President  Jackson ;  and  in  1833,  he  was  sent  to  France,  as  the  resident  minister  of  the 
United  States.     He  died  in  Dutchess  county,  New  York,  in  May,  1837. 


452 


THE     CONFEDERATION. 


[1817. 


admitted  into  the  Union;  and  at  the  same  time,  Missouri  and  Maine  were 
making  overtures  for  a  similar  position.  Maine  was  admitted  in  March,  1820, l 
but  the  entrance  of  Missouri  was  delayed  until  August,  1821,  by  a  violent  and 
protracted  debate  which  sprung  up  between  the  Northern  and  the  Southern 
members  of  Congress  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  elicited  by  the  proposition  for 
its  admission. 


s 


It  was  during  the  session  of  1818-19,  that  a  bill  was  introduced  into  Con- 
gress, which  contained  a  provision  forbidding  the  existence  of  slavery  or  invol- 
untary servitude  in  the  new  State  of  Missouri,  when  admitted.  Heated  debates 
immediately  occurred,  and  the  subject  was  postponed  until  another  session. 
The  whole  country,  in  the  mean  while,  was  agitated  by  disputes  on  the  subject ; 
and  demagogues,  as  usual  at  the  North  and  at  the  South,  raised  the  cry  of  Dis- 
unlon  of  the  Confederation !  Both  parties  prepared  for  the  great  struggle ; 
and  when  the  subject  was  again  brought  before  Congress  [November  23,  1820], 
angry  disputes  and  long  discussions  ensued.  A  compromise  was  finally  agreed 
to  [February  28,  1821],  by  which  slavery  should  be  allowed  in  Missouri  and 
in  all  territory  south  of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes  north  latitude 
(southern  boundary  of  Missouri),  and  prohibited  in  all  the  territory  northerly 
and  westerly  of  these  limits.  This  is  known  as  The  Missouri  Compromise.3 
Under  this  compromise,  Missouri  was  admitted  on  the  21st  of  August,  1821,  and 


Page  129. 


Page  501. 


1825.]  MONROE'S     ADMINISTRATION".  453 

the  excitement  on  the  subject  ceased.     The  Confederation  was  now  composed 
of  twenty-four  sovereign  States. 

While  the  Missouri  question  was  pending,  a  new  election  for  President  and 
Yice-President  of  the  United  States,  took  place.  Never,  since  the  foundation 
of  the  government,  had  there  been  an  election  so  quiet,  and  so  void  of  party 
virulence.  Mr.  Monroe  was  re-elected  President,  and  Mr.  Tompkins1  Vice- 
President  [November,  1820],  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote — the  old  Federal 
party,2  as  an  organization,  being  nearly  extinct.  The  administration  had  been 
very  popular,  and  the  country  was  blessed  with  general  prosperity.  Two  other 
measures,  besides  those  already  noticed,  received  the  warmest  approbation  of  the 
people.  The  first  was  an  act  of  Congress,  passed  in  March,  1818,  in  pursu- 
ance of  Monroe's  recommendation,  making  provision,  in  some  degree,  for  the 
surviving  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Revolution.  It  was  subsequently  extended, 
so  as  to  include  the  widows  and  children  of  those  who  were  deceased.  The 
other  was  an  arrangement  made  with  Great  Britain,  in  October,  1818,  by 
which  American  citizens  were  allowed  to  share  with  those  of  that  realm,  in  the 
valuable  Newfoundland  fisheries.  At  the  same  time,  the  northern  boundary 
of  the  United  States,  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
was  defined.3 

Few  events  of  general  importance,  aside  from  the  rapid  progress  of  the 
country  in  all  its  industrial  and  governmental  operations,  occurred  during  the 
remainder  of  Monroe's  administration,  except  the  suppression  of  piracy  among 
the  West  India  Islands,  and  the  visit  of  General  La  Fayette4  to  the  United 
States,  as  the  nation's  guest.  The  commerce  of  the  United  States  had  been 
greatly  annoyed  and  injured  by  swarms  of  pirates  who  infested  the  West  India 
seas.  A  small  American  squadron,  under  Commodore  Perry,6  had  been  sent 
thither  in  1819,  to  chastise  the  buccaneers.  Perry  died  of  the  yellow  fever  in 
the  performance  of  his  duty,  and  very  little  was  done  at  that  time.  About  four 
years  later  [1822],  a  small  American  squadron  destroyed  more  than  twenty 
piratical  vessels  on  the  coast  of  Cuba;  and  the  following  year  the  work  was 
completed  by  a  larger  force,  under  Commodore  Porter.8  The  second-named 
event  was  of  a  more  pleasing  character.  La  Fayette,  the  companion-in-arms 
of  Washington7  during  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  arrived  at  New  York,  from 
France,  in  August,  1824,  and  during  about  eleven  succeeding  months,  he  made 
a  tour  of  over  five  thousand  miles,  throughout  the  United  States.  He  was 
everywhere  greeted  with  the  warmest  enthusiasm,  and  was  often  met  by  men 
who  had  served  under  him  in  the  first  War  for  Independence.  When  he  was 
prepared  to  return,  an  American  frigate,  named  Brandywine,  in  compliment 
to  him,8  was  sent  by  the  United  States  government  to  convey  him  back  to 
France. 

Mr.  Monroe's  administration  now  drew  toward  a  close,  and  in  the  autumn 

1  Page  446.  2  Page  374.  3  Page  479. 

4  Page  273.  B  Page  423.  6  Page  431.  7  Page  273. 

8  La  Fayette's  first  battle  for  freedom  in  America,  was  that  on  the  Brandywine  Creek,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1777,  where  he  was  wounded  in  the  leg.     See  note  5r  page  273. 


454  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1825. 

of  1824,  the  people  were  called  upon  to  select  his  successor.  It  soon  became 
evident  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  old  politicians  of  the  Democratic  party 
had  decided  to  support  William  H.  Crawford,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
for  the  succession.  Four  candidates,  representing  the  different  sections  of  the 
Union,1  were  finally  put  in  nomination.  The  result  was,  that  the  choice  de- 
volved upon  the  House  of  Representatives,  for  the  second  time.2  That  body, 
by  an  election  held  in  February,  1825,  chose  John  Quincy  Adams  for  Presi- 
dent. John  C.  Calhoun  had  been  chosen  Vice-President  by  the  people.  The 
election  and  final  choice  produced  great  excitement  throughout  the  country, 
and  engendered  political  rancor  equal  to  that  which  prevailed  during  the  admin- 
istration of  the  elder  Adams.  Mr.  Monroe's  administration  closed  on  the  4th 
of  March  ensuing,  and  he  resigned  to  his  successor  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  a 
highly-prosperous  nation. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS'S  ADMINISTRATION.      [1825—1829.] 

AT  about  half-past  twelve  o'clock,  on  the  4th  day  of  March,  1825,  John 
Quincy  Adams,3  son  of  the  second  President  of  the  United  States,  entered  the 
hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  took  his  seat  in  the  chair  of  the 
Speaker.  He  was  dressed  in  a  suit  of  black  cloth,  and,  being  small  in  stature, 
did  not  present  a  more  dignified  appearance  than  hundreds  of  his  fellow-citizens 
around  him.  He  appeared,  as  he  really  was,  a  plain  Republican — one  of  the 
people.  When  silence  was  obtained,  he  arose  and  delivered  his  inaugural  ad- 
dress ;  then  descending,  he  placed  himself  on  the  right  hand  of  a  table,  and 
took  the  oath  of  office,  administered  by  Chief-Justice  Marshall.  The  Senate 
being  in  session,  Mr.  Adams  immediately  nominated  his  cabinet  officers,4  and 

1  John  Quincy  Adams  in  the  East,  William  H.  Crawford  in  the  South,  Andrew  Jackson  and 
Henry  Clay  in  the  West.  2  Page  388. 

3  John  Quincy  Adams,  the  sixth  President  of  the  United  States,  was  born  at  Quincy,  Massa- 
chusetts, on  the  llth  of  July,  1767.     He  went  to  Europe,  with  his  father,  at  the  age  of  eleven 
years ;  and,  in  Paris,  he  was  much  in  the  society  of  Franklin  and  other  distinguished  men.    At  the 
age  of  fourteen  years  he  accompanied  Mr.  Dana  to  St.  Petersburg,  as  private  secretary  to  that  em- 
bassador.     He  traveled  much  alone,  and  finally  returned,  and  finished  his  education  at  Harvard 
College.     He  became  a  lawyer,  but  public  service  kept  him  from  that  pursuit.     He  was  made 
United  States  minister  to  the  Netherlands  in  1794,  and  afterward  held  the  same  office  at  Lisbon 
and  Berlin.     He  was  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate  in  1803  ;  and  in  1809  he  was  sent  as 
minister  to  the  Russian  court.     After  negotiating  a  treaty  of  peace  at  Ghent  [page  443],  he  was  ap- 
pointed minister  to  the  English  court.     In  1817  he  was  made  Secretary  of  State,  by  Mr.  Monroe. 
Having  served  one  term  as  President  of  the  United  States,  he  retired;  and  from  1831,  he  was  a 
member  of  Congress  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  the  Speaker's  room,  at  the  Federal  Capitol, 
on  the  22d  of  February,  1848,  when  in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age. 

4  Henry  Clay,  Secretary  of  State ;  Richard  Rush,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  James  Barbour, 
Secretary  of  War ;  Samuel  L.  Southard  (continued  in  office),  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  and  William 
Wirt  (continued),  Attorney-General.     There  was  considerable  opposition  in  the  Senate  to  the  con- 
firmation of  Henry  Clay's  nomination.    He  had  been  charged  with  defeating  the  election  of  General 
Jackson,  by  giving  his  influence  to  Mr.  Adams,  on  condition  that  he  should  be  appointed  his  Secre- 


1829.]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS'S   ADMINISTRATION.  455 

all  but  one  were  confirmed  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  that  body.  His  political 
views  were  consonant  with  those  of  Mr.  Monroe,  and  the  foreign  and  domestic 
policy  of  his  administration  were  generally  conformable  to  those  views.  The 
amity  which  existed  between  the  United  States  and  foreign  governments,  and 
the  absence  of  serious  domestic  troubles,  made  the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams 


a  remarkably  quiet  one,  and  gave  the  executive  opportunities  for  adjusting  the 
operations  of  treaties  with  the  Indian  tribes,  and  the  arrangement  of  measures 
for  the  promotion  of  those  great  staple  interests  of  the  country — agriculture, 
commerce,  and  manufactures.  Discords,  which  the  election  had  produced,  ex- 
cited the  whole  country  during  Mr.  Adams's  administration,  with  the  agitations 
incident  to  excessive  party  zeal,  and  bitter  party  rancor ;  yet  the  President, 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  the  public  interests,  and  as  thoroughly  skilled 
in  every  art  of  diplomacy  and  jurisprudence,  managed  the  affairs  of  State  with 
a  fidelity  and  sagacity  which  command  our  warmest  approbation. 

One  of  the  most  exciting  topics,  for  thought  and  discussion,  at  the  beginning 
of  Adams's  administration  [1825],  was  a  controversy  between  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment and  the  chief  magistrate  of  Georgia,  concerning  the  lands  of  the  Creek 
Indians,  and  the  removal  of  those  aboriginals  from  the  territory  of  that  State. 
When  Georgia  relinquished  her  claims  to  considerable  portions  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Territory,1  the  Federal  Government  agreed  to  purchase,  for  that  State, 

i 

tary  of  State.  This,  however,  was  only  a  bubble  on  the  surface  of  political  strife,  and  had  no  truth- 
ful substance.  In  the  Senate,  there  were  twenty-seven  votes  in  favor,  and  fourteen  against  con- 
firming the  nomination  of  Mr.  Clay.  1  Note  2,  page  447. 


456 


THE   CONFEDERATION. 


[132; 


the  Indian  lands  within  its  borders,  "  whenever  it  could  be  peaceably  done  upon 
reasonable  terms."  The  Creeks,  who,  with  their  neighbors,  the  Cherokees, 
were  beginning  to  practice  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  refused  to  sell  their  lands. 
Troup,  the  governor  of  Georgia,  demanded  the  immediate  fulfillment  of  the  con- 
tract. He  caused  a  survey  of  the  lands  to  be  made,  and  prepared  to  distribute 


them  by  lottery,  to  the  citizens  of  that  State.  Impatient  at  the  tardiness  of  the 
United  States  in  extinguishing  the  Indian  titles  and  removing  the  remnants  of 
the  tribes,  according  to  stipulation,  the  governor  assumed  the  right  to  do  it  him- 
self. The  United  States  took  the  attitude  of  defenders  of  the  Indians,  and,  for 
a  time,  the  matter  bore  a  serious  aspect.  The  difficulties  were  finally  settled, 
and  the  Creeks1  and  Cherokecs'  gradually  removed  to  the  rich  wilderness  be- 
yond the  Mississippi. 

At  about  this  time  a  great  work  of  internal  improvement  was  completed. 
The  Erie  Canal,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  was  finished  in  1825.  It  was  the 
most  important  and  stupendous  public  improvement  ever  undertaken  in  the 
United  States  ;  and,  though  it  was  the  enterprise  of  the  people  of  a  single  State, 
that  originated  and  accomplished  the  labor  of  forming  the  channel  of  a  river 
through  a  large  extent  of  country,  it  has  a  character  of  nationality.  Its  earli- 
est advocate  was  Jesse  Hawley,  who,  in  a  series  of  articles  published  in  1807 
and  1808,  signed  Hercules,  set  forth  the  feasibility  and  great  importance  of 
such  a  connection  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie  and  the  Hudson  Kiver.3  His 


30.  "  Page  27. 

In  a  manuscript  letter  now  before  the  writer,  dated  "Albany,  4th  March,  1822,"  Dewitt  Clin- 
ton says  to  Jess o  Hawley,  to  whom  the  letter  is  addressed :   "In  answer  to  your  letter,  I  have  no 


1829.]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS'S  ADMINISTRATION.  457 

views  were  warmly  seconded  by  Gouverneur  Morris,1  Dewitt  Clinton,  and  a 
few  others,  and  its  final  accomplishment  was  the  result,  chiefly,  of  the  untir- 
ing efforts,  privately  and  officially,  of  the  latter  gentleman,  while  a  member 
of  the  Legislature  and  governor  of  the  State  of  New  York.  It  is  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty- three  miles  in  length,  and  the  first  estimate  of  its  cost  was 
§5,000,000.  Portions  of  it  have  since  been  enlarged,  to  meet  the  increasing 
demands  of  its  commerce ;  and  in  1853,  the  people  of  the  State  decided,  by  a 
general  vote,  to  have  it  enlarged  its  entire  length.  That  work  is  now  [1856] 
in  progress. 

A  most  remarkable  coincidence  occurred  on  the  4th  of  July,  1826,  the  fif- 
tieth anniversary  of  American  Independence.  On  that  day,  and  almost  at  the 
same  hour,  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson  expired.  They  were  both  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  who  had  framed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,2  both 
signed  it,3  both  had  been  foreign  ministers,4  both  had  been  Vice-Presidents,  and 
then  Presidents  of  the  United  States,  and  both  had  lived  to  a  great  age.6  These 
coincidences,  and  the  manner  and  time  of  their  death,  produced  a  profound  im- 
pression upon  the  public  mind.  In  many  places  throughout  the  Union,  eulogies 
or  funeral  orations  were  pronouncod,  and  these,  collected,  form  ono  of  the  most 
remarkable  contributions  to  our  historical  and  biographical  literature. 

After  the  difficulties  with  Georgia  were  settled,  the  remaining  years  of  Mr. 
Adams's  administration  were  so  peaceful  and  prosperous,  that  public  affairs 
present  very  few  topics  for  the  pen  of  the  general  historian.6  The  most  import- 
ant movement  in  foreign  policy,  was  the  appointment,  early  in  1826,  of  com- 
missioners7 to  attend  a  congress  of  representatives  of  the  South  American  Re- 
publics,3 held  at  Panama  [July,  1826],  on  the  Pacific  coast.  This  appointment 


hesitation  in  stating  that  the  first  suggestion  of  a  canal  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Hudson  River,  which 
came  to  my  knowledge,  was  communicated  in  essays  under  the  signature  of  Hercules,  on  Internal 
Navigation,  published  in  the  Ontario  Messenger,  at  Canandaigua.  The  first  number  appeared  on 
the  27th  of  October,  1807,  and  the  series  of  numbers  amounted,  I  believe,  to  fourteen.  The  board 
of  Canal  Commissioners,  which  made  the  first  tour  of  observation  and  survey,  in  1810,  were  pos- 
sessed of  the  writings  of  Hercules,  which  were  duly  appreciated,  as  the  work  of  a  sagacious  in- 
ventor and  elevated  mind.  And  you  were  at  that  time,  and  since,  considered  the  author."  Dewitt 
Clinton  was  a  son  of  General  James  Clinton,  of  Orange  county,  New  York.  He  was  born  in 
March,  1769.  He  was  mayor  of  New  York  ten  years,  and  was  elected  governor  of  the  State  in 
1817,  and  again  in  1820  and  1826.  He  died  suddenly  while  in  that  office,  in  February,  1828. 

1  Page  364.  -  Note  2,  page  251. 

8  Jefterson  was  its  author,  and  Adams  its  principal  supporter,  in  the  Continental  Congress. 

4  Note  2,  page  383,  and  note  5,  page  388. 

6  Mr.  Adams  died  at  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  at  the  age  of  almost  ninety-one  years.  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son died  at  Monticello,  Virginia,  at  the  age  of  almost  eighty-three  years. 

6  An  event  occurred  in  1826  which  produced  great  excitement  throughout  the  country,  and  led 
to  the  formation  of  a  new,  and  for  a  time,  quite  a  powerful  political  party.  William  Morgan,  of 
Western  New  York,  announced  his  intention  to  publish  a  book,  in  which  the  secrets  of  Free 
Masonry  were  to  be  disclosed.  He  was  suddenly  seized  at  Canandaigua  one  evening,  placed  in  a 
carriage,  and  was  never  heard  of  afterward.  Some  Free  Masons  were  charged  with  his  murder, 
and  the  report  of  an  investigating  committee,  appointed  by  the  New  York  State  Legislature,  con- 
firmed the  suspicion.  The  public  mind  was  greatly  agitated,  and  there  was  a  disposition  to  exclude 
Free  Masons  from  office.  An  Anti-Masonic  party  was  formed,  and  its  organization  spread  over 
several  States.  In  1831,  a  national  anti-Masonic  convention  was  held  at  Philadelphia,  and  William 
Wirt,  of  Virginia,  was  nominated  for  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States.  Although  the 
party  polled  a  considerable  vote,  it  soon  afterward  disappeared. 

*  R.  C.  Addison,  and  John  Sargeant,  commissioners ;  and  William  B.  Rochester,  of  New  York, 
their  secretary. 

8  Note  5,  page  448.     As  early  as  1823,  General  Bolivar,  while  acting  as  President  of  Colombia, 


458 


THE   CONFEDERATION. 


[182i 


produced  much  discussion  in  Congress,  chiefly  on  party  grounds.  The  result 
of  the  congress  at  Panama  Was  comparatively  unimportant,  so  far  as  the  United 
States  was  concerned,  and  appears  to  have  had  very  little  influence  on  the 
affairs  of  South  America. 

Durino-  the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams,  the  policy  of  protecting  home 


manufactures,  by  imposing  a  heavy  duty  upon  foreign  articles  of  the  same  kind, 
assumed  the  shape  of  a  settled  national  policy,  and  the  foundations  of  the 
American  System,  as  that  policy  is  called,  was  then  laid.  The  illiberal  commer- 
cial policy  of  Great  Britain,  caused  tariff  laws  to  be  enacted  by  Congress  as 
early  as  1816,  as  retaliatory  measures.1  In  1824,  imposts  were  laid  on  foreign 
fabrics,  with  a  view  to  encourage  American  manufactures.  In  July.  1827,  a 
national  convention  was  held  at  Harrisburg,  in  Pennsylvania,  to  discuss  the 
subject  of  protective  tariffs.  Only  four  of  the  slave  States  sent  delegates.  The 
result  of  the  convention  was  a  memorial  to  Congress,  asking  an  augmentation 
of  duties  on  several  articles  then  manufactured  in  the  United  States.  The  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  called  attention  to  the  subject  in  his  report  in  Decem- 

invited  the  governments  of  Mexico,  Peru,  Chili,  and  Buenos  Ayres,  to  unite  with  him  in  forming  a 
general  congress  at  Panama,  and  the  same  year  arrangements  between  Colombia,  Mexico,  and 
Peru  were  made,  to  effect  that  object.  In  the  spring  of  1825,  the  United  States  government  was 
invited  to  send  a  delegation  to  the  proposed  congress.  The  objects  of  the  congress  were,  to  settle 
upon  some  line  of  policy  having  the  force  of  international  law,  respecting  the  rights  of  those  repub- 
lics ;  and  to  consult  upon  measures  to  be  taken  to  prevent  further  colonization  on  the  American 
continent  by  European  powers,  and  .their  interference  in  then  existing  contests. 
J'  Page.  367, 


1829.]  JACKSON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  459 

ber  following.  Congress,  at  an  early  period  of  the  session  of  1827-' 28,  took 
up  the  matter,  and  a  Tariff  Bill  became  a  law  in  May  following.  The  Amer- 
ican System  was  very  popular  with  the  manufacturers  of  the  North,  but  the 
cotton-growing  States,  which  found  a  ready  market  for  the  raw  material  in  En- 
gland, opposed  it.  The  tariff  law,  passed  on  the  15th  of  May,  1828,  was  very 
obnoxious  to  the  Southern  people.1  They  denounced  it  as  oppressive  and  un- 
constitutional, and  it  led  to  menaces  of  serious  evils  in  1831  and  1832. 2 

The  Presidential  election  took  place  in  the  autumn  of  1828,  when  the  pub- 
lic mind  was  highly  excited.  For  a  long  time  the  opposing  parties  had  been 
marshaling  their  forces  for  the  contest.  The  candidates  were  John  Quincy 
Adams  and  General  Andrew  Jackson.  The  result  was  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Adams, 
and  the  election  of  General  Jackson.  John  C.  Calhoun,3  of  South  Carolina, 
was  elected  Vice-President,  and  both  had  very  large  majorities.  During  the 
contest,  the  people  appeared  to  be  on  the  verge  of  civil  war,  so  violent  was  the 
party  strife,  and  so  malignant  were  the  denunciations  of  the  candidates.  When 
it  was  over,  perfect  tranquillity  prevailed,  the  people  cheerfully  acquiesced  in 
the  result,  and  our  sytem  of  government  was  nobly  vindicated  before  the  world. 

President  Adams  retired  from  office  on  the  4th  of  March,  1829.  He  left 
to  his  successor  a  legacy  of  unexampled  national  prosperity,  peaceful  relations 
with  all  the  world,  a  greatly  diminished  national  debt,  and  a  surplus  of  more 
than  five  millions  of  dollars  in  the  public  treasury.  He  also  bequeathed  to  the 
Republic  the  tearful  gratitude  of  the  surviving  soldiers  of  the  Revolution, 
among  whom  had  been  distributed  in  pensions,4  during  his  administration,  more 
than  five  millions  of  dollars. 


CHAPTER     IX. 

JACKSON'S    ADMINISTRATION.     [1829  —  1837] 

THERE  were  incidents  of  peculiar  interest  connected  with  the  inauguration 
of  Andrew  Jackson,6  the  seventh  President  of  the  United  States.     President 

1  The  chief  articles  on  which  heavy  protective  duties  were  laid,  were  woolen  and  cotton  fab- 
rics. At  that  time,  the  value  of  annual  imports  of  cotton  goods  from  Great  Britain  was  about 
$8,000,000  ;  that  of  woolen  goods  about  the  same.  The  exports  to  Great  Britain,  of  cotton,  rice, 
and  tobacco,  alone  (the  chief  products  of  the  Southern  States),  was  about  $24,000,000  annually. 
These  producers  feared  a  great  diminution  of  their  exports,  by  a  tariff  that  should  almost  wholly 
prohibit  the  importation  of  three  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  British  cotton  and  woolen  fabrics, 
annually.  a  Page  463. 

3  John  C.  Calhoun  was  born  in  South  Carolina  in  1782.  He  first  appeared  in  Congress  in  1811, 
and  was  always  distinguished  for  his  consistency,  especially  in  his  support  of  the  institution  of 
slavery,  and  the  doctrine  of  State  rights.  He  was  a  sound  and  incorruptible  statesman,  and  com- 
manded the  thorough  respect  of  the  whole  country.  He  died  at  Washington  city,  while  a  member 
of  the  United  States  Senate,  in  March,  1850.  4  Page  453. 

5  Andrew  Jackson  was  born  in  Mecklenberg  county,  North  Carolina,  in  March,  1767.  His 
parents  were  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  belonged  to  that  Protestant  community  known  as 
Scotch-Irish.  In  earliest  infancy,  he  was  left  to  the  care  of  an  excellent  mother,  by  the  death  of 
his  father.  He  first  saw  the  horrors  of  war,  and  felt  the  wrongs  of  oppression,  when  Colonel 


460  THE     CONFEDERATION".  [1829. 

Adams  had  convened  the  Senate  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  March,  1829, 
and  at  twelve  o'clock  that  body  adjourned  for  an  hour.  During  that  time,  the 
President  elect  entered  the  Senate  chamber,  having  been  escorted  from  Gadsby's 
Hotel,  by  a  few  surviving  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  old  War  for  Independence. 
These  had  addressed  him  at  the  hotel,  and  now,  in  presence  of  the  chief  officers 
of  government,  foreign  ministers,  and  a  large  number  of  ladies,  he  thus  replied 
to  them : 


"  RESPECTED  FRIEXDS — Your  aifectionate  address  awakens  sentiments  and 
recollections  which  I  feel  with  sincerity  and  cherish  with  pride.  To  have 
around  my  person,  at  the  moment  of  undertaking  the  most  solemn  of  all  duties 
to  my  country,  the  companions  of  the  immortal  Washington,  will  afford  me 
satisfaction  and  grateful  encouragement.  That  by  my  best  exertions,  I  shall  be 
able  to  exhibit  more  than  an  imitation  of  his  labors,  a  sense  of  my  own  imper- 

Buford's  troops  were  massacred  [page  313,  and  note  1,  page  314]  in  his  neighborhood,  in  1780. 
He  entered  the  army,  and  suffered  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  by  imprisonment,  and  the  death  of  his 
mother  while  she  was  on  an  errand  of  mercy.  He  studied  law,  and  became  one  of  the  most 
eminent  men  in  the  Western  District  of  Tennessee,  as  an  advocate  and  a  judge.  He  was  ever  a 
controlling  spirit  in  that  region.  He  assisted  in  framing  a  State  constitution  for  Tennessee,  and  was 
the  first  representative  of  that  State  in  the  Federal  Congress.  He  became  United  States  senator  in 
1797,  and  was  soon  afterward  appointed  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  his  State.  He  settled  near 
Nashville,  and  for  a  long  time  was  chief  military  commander  in  that  region.  "When  the  War  of 
1812  broke  out,  he  took  the  field,  and  in  the  capacity  of  Major-General,  he  did  good  service  in  the 
southern  country,  till  its  close.  He  was  appointed  the  first  Governor  of  Florida,  in  1821,  and  in 
1823,  was  again  in  the  United  States  Senate.  He  retired  to  private  life  at  the  close  of  his  presi- 
dential term,  and  died  at  his  beautiful  residence,  The  Hermitage,  near  Nashville,  in  June,  1845,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-eight  years. 


1837.]  JACKSON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  461 

fections,  and  the  reverence  I  entertain  for  his  virtues,  forbid  me  to  hope.  To 
you,  respected  friends,  the  survivors  of  that  heroic  band  who  followed  him,  so 
long  and  so  valiantly,  in  the  path  of  glory,  I  offer  my  sincere  thanks,  and  to 
Heaven  my  prayers,  that  your  remaining  years  may  be  as  happy  as  your  toils 
and  your  lives  have  been  illustrious."  The  whole  company  then  proceeded  to 
the  eastern  portico  of  the  capitol,  where,  in  the  presence  of  a  vast  assembly  of 
citizens,  the  President  elect  delivered  his  inaugural  address,  and  took  the  oath 
of  office,  administered  by  Chief  Justice  Marshall.1  That  jurist  again  adminis- 
tered the  same  oath  to  President  Jackson  on  the  4th  of  March,  1835,  and  a 
few  months  afterward  went  down  into  the  grave. 

President  Jackson  was  possessed  of  strong  passions,  an  uncorrupt  heart,  and 
an  iron  will.  Honest  and  inflexible,  he  seized  the  helm  of  the  ship  of  state 
with  a  patriot's  hand,  resolved  to  steer  it  according  to  his  own  conceptions  of 
the  meaning  of  his  guiding  chart,  The  Constitution,  unmindful  of  the  inter- 
ference of  friends  or  foes.  His  instructions  to  the  first  minister  sent  to  England, 
on  his  nomination — "  Ask  nothing  but  what  is  right;  submit  to  nothing 
wrong" — indicate  the  character  of  those  moral  and  political  maxims  by  which 
he  was  governed.  His  audacity  amazed  his  friends  and  alarmed  his  opponents  ; 
and  no  middle  men  existed.  He  was  either  thoroughly  loved  or  thoroughly 
hated;  and  for  eight  years  he  braved  the  fierce  tempests  of  party  strife,2 
domestic  perplexities,3  and  foreign  arrogance,4  with  a  skill  and  courage  which 
demands  the  admiration  of  his  countrymen,  however  much  they  may  differ  with 
him  in  matters  of  national  policy.  The  gulf  between  him  and  his  political  oppo- 
nents was  so  wide,  that  it  was  difficult  for  the  broadest  charity  to  bridge  it.  To 
those  who  had  been  his  true  friends  during  the  election  struggle,  he  extended  the 
grateful  hand  of  recognition,  and  after  having  his  inquiries  satisfied,  "Is  he 
capable  ?  is  he  honest?"  he  conferred  official  station  upon  the  man  who  pleased 
him,  with  a  stoical  indifference  to  the  clamor  of  the  opposition.  The  whole  of 
President  Adams's  cabinet  officers  having  resigned,  Jackson  immediately  nom- 
inated his  political  friends  for  his  counselors,  and  the  Senate  confirmed  his 
choice.5 

Among  the  first  subjects  of  general  and  commanding  interest  which  occu- 
pied the  attention  of  President  Jackson,  at  the  commencement  of  his  administra- 
tion, were  the  claims  of  Georgia  to  lands  held  by  the  powerful  Cherokee  tribe 
of  Indians,  and  lying  within  the  limits  of  that  State.  Jackson  favored  the  views 
of  the  Georgia  authorities,  and  the  white  people  proceeded  to  take  possession  of 
the  Indians'  land.  Trouble  ensued,  and  the  southern  portion  of  the  Republic  was 

1  Page  351. 

^  2  Following  the  precedent  of  Jefferson  [page  389],  he  filled  a  large  number  of  the  public  offices 
with  his  political  friends,  after  removing  the  incumbents.  These  removals  were  for  all  causes;  and 
during  his  administration,  they  amounted  to  six  hundred  and  ninety  out  of  several  thousands,  who 
were  removable.  The  entire  number  of  removals  made  by  all  the  preceding  Presidents,  from  1790 
to  1829,  was  seventy-four.  3  Page  464.  4  Page  468. 

6  Martin  Van  Buren,  Secretary  of  State;  Samuel  D.  Ingham,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury-  John 
H.  Eaton,  Secretary  of  War;  John  Branch,  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  and  John  McPherson  Berrian, 
Attorney-General.  It  having  been  determined  to  make  the  Postmaster-General  a  cabinet  officer, 
William  T.  Barry  was  appointed  to  that  station. 


462  THE     CONFEDERATION".  [1829. 

again  menaced  with  civil  war.  The  matter  was  adjudicated  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  and  on  the  30th  of  March,  1832,  that  tribunal 
decided  against  the  claims  of  Georgia.  But  that  State,  favored  by  the  Presi- 
dent, resisted  the  decision.  The  difficulty  was  finally  adjusted;  and  in  1838, 
General  Winfield  Scott1  was  sent  thither,  with  several  thousand  troops,  to 
remove  the  Cherokees,  peaceably  if  possible,  but  forcibly  if  necessary,  beyond 
the  Mississippi.  Through  the  kindness  and  conciliation  of  Scott,  they  were 
induced  to  migrate.  They  had  become  involved  in  the  difficulties  of  their  Creek 
neighbors,2  but  were  defended  against  the  encroachments  of  the  Georgians 
during  Adams's  administration.  But  in  December,  1829,  they  were  crushed,  as 
a  nation,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  and  another  of  the  ancient  communities  of  the 
New  World  was  wiped  from  the  living  record  of  empire.  The  Cherokees3  were 
more  advanced  in  the  arts  of  civilized  life  than  the  Creeks.4  They  had  churches, 
schools,  and  a  printing-press,  and  were  becoming  successful  agriculturists.  It 
appeared  cruel  in  the  extreme  to  remove  them  from  their  fertile  lands  and  the 
graves  of  their  fathers,  to  the  wilderness  ;  yet  it  was,  doubtless,  a  proper  meas- 
ure for  insuring  the  prosperity  of  both  races.  But  now  [1856],  again,  the  tide 
of  civilization  is  beating  against  their  borders.  Will  they  not  be  borne  upon  its 
powerful  wave,  further  into  the  wilderness  ? 

Another  cause  for  public  agitation  appeared  in  1832.  In  his  first  annual 
message  [December,  1829]  Jackson  took  strong  ground  against  the  renewal  of 
the  charter  of  the  United  States  Bank,5  on  the  ground  that  it  had  failed  in  the 
great  end  of  establishing  a  uniform  and  sound  currency,  and  that  such  an  insti- 
tution was  not  authorized  by  the  Federal  Constitution.  He  again  attacked  the 
bank  in  his  annual  message  in  1830,  and  his  objections  were  renewed  in  that 
of  1831.  At  the  close  of  1831,  the  proper  officers  of  the  bank,  for  the  first 
time,  petitioned  for  a  renewal  of  its  charter.  That  petition  was  presented  in 
the  Senate  on  the  9th  of  January,  1832,  and  on  the  13th  of  March,  a  select  com- 
mittee to  whom  it  was  referred,  reported  in  favor  of  renewing  the  charter  for 
fifteen  years.  Long  debates  ensued ;  and,  finally,  a  bill  for  re-chartering  the 
bank  passed  both  Houses  of  Congress :  the  Senate  on  the  llth  of  June,  by 
twenty-eight  against  twenty  votes ;  and  by  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the 
3d  of  July,  by  one  hundred  and  seven  against  eighty-five.  Jackson  vetoed6  it 
on  the  10th  of  July,  and  as  it  failed  to  receive  the  support  of  two  thirds  of  the 
members  of  both  Houses,  the  bank  charter  expired,  by  limitation,  in  1886. 
The  commercial  community,  regarding  a  national  bank  as  essential  to  their 
prosperity,  were  alarmed ;  and  prophecies  of  panics  and  business  revulsions, 
everywhere  uttered,  helped  to  accomplish  their  own  speedy  fulfillment. 

An  Indian  war  broke  out  upon  the  north-western  frontier,  in  the  spring  of 
1832.  Portions  of  some  of  the  western  tribes,7  residing  within  the  domain 

1  Page  485.  2  Page  427.  3  Page  27.  4  Page  30.  6  Page  446. 

6  That  is,  refused  to  sign  it,  and  returned  it  to  Congress,  with  his  reasons,  for  reconsideration  by 
that  body.  The  Constitution  gives  the  President  this  power,  and  when  exercised,  a  bill  can  not 
become  law  without  his  signature,  unless  it  shall,  on  reconsideration,  receive  the  votes  of  two  thirds 
of  the  members  of  both  Houses  of  Congress.  See  Article  I,  Section  7,  of  the  Constitution,  in  the 
Supplement.  7  Sacs,  Foxes,  and  Winnebagoes.  See  page  18. 


1837.]  JACKSON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  463 

of  the  present  State  of  Wisconsin,1  led  by  Black  Hawk,8  a  fiery  Sac  chief, 
commenced  warfare  upon  the  frontier  settlers  of  Illinois,  in  April  of  that  year. 
After  several  skirmishes  with  United  States  troops  and  Illinois  militia,  under 
General  Atkinson,3  the  Indians  were  driven  beyond  the  Mississippi.  Black 
Hawk  was  captured  in  August,  1832,  and  taken  to  Washington  City ;  and  then, 
to  impress  his  mind  with  the  strength  of  the  nation  he  had  foolishly  made  war 
with,  he  was  conducted  through  several  of  the  eastern  cities.  This  brief  strife, 
which  appeared  quite  alarming  at  one  time,  is  known  in  history  as  the  "Black 
Hawk  War."  4 

This  cloud  in  the  West  had  scarcely  disappeared,  when  one  loomed  up  in 
the  South  far  more  formidable  in  appearance,  and  charged  with  menacing  thun- 


der  that,  for  a  while,  shook  the  entire  fabric  of  the  Confederation.  The  dis- 
contents of  the  cotton-growing  States,  produced  by  the  tariff  act  of  1828, 5 
assumed  the  form  of  rebellion  in  South  Carolina,  toward  the  close  of  1832. 
An  act  of  Congress,  imposing  additional  duties  upon  foreign  goods,  passed  in 

That  domain  was  not  erected  into  a  Territory  until  four  years  after  that  event ;  now  it  is  a  rich, 
populous,  and  nourishing  State.  3  Page  18. 

3  Henry  Atkinson  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and  entered  the  army  as  captain,  in  1808. 
He  was  retained  in  the  army  after  the  second  War  for  Independence,  was  made  Adjutant-Genera], 
and  was  finally  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Western  Army.  He  died  at  Jefferson  Barracks, 
in  June,  1842. 

^  *  Black  Hawk  returned  to  his  people,  but  was,  with  difficulty,  restored  to  his  former  dignity  of 
chief.     He  died  in  October,  1840,  and  was  buried  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.        6  Page  459. 


464  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1829. 

the  spring  of  1832,  led  to  a  State  convention  in  South  Carolina,  in  November 
following.  It  assembled  on  the  19th  of  that  month,  and  the  Governor  of  South 
Carolina  was  appointed  its  president.  That  assembly  declared  the  tariff  acts 
unconstitutional,  and  therefore  null  and  void.  It  resolved  that  duties  should 
not  be  paid ;  and  proclaimed  that  any  attempt  to  enforce  the  collection  of  duties 
in  the  port  of  Charleston,  by  the  general  government,  would  be  resisted  by 
arms,  and  would  produce  the  withdrawal  of  South  Carolina  from  the  Union. 
The  State  Legislature,  which  met  directly  after  the  adjournment  of  the  con- 
vention, passed  laws  in  support  of  this  determination.  Military  preparations 
were  immediately  made,  and  civil  war  appeared  inevitable.  Then  it  was  that 
the  executive  ability  of  the  President,  so  much  needed,  was  fully  displayed. 
Jackson  promptly  met  the  crisis  by  a  proclamation,  on  the  10th  of  December, 
which  denied  the  right  of  a  State  to  nullify  any  act  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment ;  and  warned  those  who  were  engaged  in  fomenting  a  rebellion,  that  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  would  be  strictly  enforced  by  military  power,  if 
necessary.  This  proclamation  met  the  hearty  response  of  every  friend  of  the 
Union,  of  whatever  party,  and  greatly  increased  that  majority  of  the  President's 
supporters,  who  had  just  re-elected  him  to  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  the  Repub- 
lic.1 The  nullifiers2  of  South  Carolina,  though  led  by  such  able  men  as  Cal- 
houn3  and  Hayne/  were  obliged  to  yield  for  the  moment ;  yet  their  zeal  and 
determination  in  the  cause  of  State  Rights,  were  not  abated.  Every  day  the 
tempest-cloud  of  civil  commotion  grew  darker  and  darker ;  until,  at  length, 
Henry  Clay,5  a  warm  friend  of  the  American  system,6  came  forward,  in  Con- 
gress [February  12,  1833],  with  a  bill,  which  provided  for  a  gradual  reduction 
of  the  obnoxious  duties,  during  the  succeeding  ten  years.  This  compromise 
measure  was  accepted  by  both  parties.  It  became  a  law  on  the  3d  of  March, 
and  discord  between  the  North  and  the  South  soon  ceased,  but  only  for  a 


1  Jackson  was  re-elected  by  a  large  majority,  in  November,  1832,  over  Henry  Clay,  the  oppos- 
ing candidate.  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  was  elected  Vice-President. 

3  Those  who  favored  the  doctrine  that  a  State  might  nullify  the  acts  of  the  Federal  government, 
were  called  nullifiers,  and  the  dangerous  doctrine  itself  was  called  nullification. 

3  Page  458.     Mr.  Calhoun,  who  had  quarreled,  politically,  with  Jackson,  had  recently  resigned 
the  office  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  and  was  one  of  the  ablest  men  in  Congress. 
He  asserted  the  State  Rights  doctrine  boldly  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  and  held  the  same  opinion 
until  his  death. 

4  Robert  Y.  Hayne  was  one  of  the  ablest  of  southern  statesmen.     The  debate  between  Hayne 
and  "Webster,  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  during  the  debates  on  this  momentous  subject,  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  eminent,  for  sagacity  and  eloquence,  that  ever  marked  the  proceedings 
of  that  body.     Mr.  Hayne  was  born  near  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  November,  1791.     He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1812,  and  the  same  year  volunteered  his  sendees  for  the  defense  of  the  sea- 
board, and  entered  the  army  as  lieutenant.     He  arose  rapidly  to  the  rank  of  Major-Gcneral  of  tuG 
militia  of  his  State,  and  was  considered  one  of  the  best  disciplinarians  of  the  South.     He  ha;l  exten- 
sive practice  at  the  bar,  before  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  it  was  always  lucrative.     He 
was  a  member  of  the  South  Carolina  Assembly  in  Io14,  where  he  was  distinguished  for  eloquence. 
He  was  chosen  Speaker  in  1818.     For  ten  j^ears  he  represented  South  Carolina  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States ;  and  he  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  Convention  of  South  Carolina,  which 
reported  the  "ordinance  of  nullification."     He  was  soon  afterward,  chosen  Governor  of  his  State. 
He  died  in  September,  1841,  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age.  5  Page  500.  °  Page  459. 

7  It  is  said  that  Mr.  Clay  introduced  the  Compromise  Bill  with  the  concurrence  of  Mr.  Calhoun. 
The  latter  had  proceeded  to  the  verge  of  treason,  in  his  opposition  to  the  general  government,  and 
President  Jackson  had  threatened  him  with  arrest,  if  he  moved  another  step  forward.  Knowing 


1837.]  JACKSON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  465 

President  Jackson's  hostility  to  the  United  States  Bank  was  again  mani- 
fested in  his  annual  message  to  Congress,  in  December,  1832,  when  he  recom- 
mended the  removal  of  the  public  funds  from  its  custody,  and  a  sale  of  the 
stock  of  the  bank,  belonging  to  the  United  States.1  Congress,  by  a  decided 
vote,  refused  to  authorize  the  measure ;  but  after  its  adjournment,  the  Presi- 
dent assumed  the  responsibility  of  the  act,  and  directed  William  J.  Duane,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  withdraw  the  government  funds  (then  almost 
$10,000,000),  and  deposit  them  in  certain  State  banks.  During  a  northern 
tour  which  the  President  had  made  in  the  summer  of  1833,  he  had  urged  Mr. 
Duane  (then  in  Philadelphia)  to  make  the  removal,  but  he  would  only  consent 
to  the  appointment  of  an  agent  to  inquire  upon  what  terms  the  local  banks 
would  receive  the  funds  on  deposit.  The  President  then  ordered  him,  perem- 
torily,  to  remove  them  from  the  bank.  The  Secretary  refused  compliance,  and 
was  dismissed  from  office.  His  successor,  Roger  B.  Taney  (the  present  [1856] 
Chief- Justice  of  the  United  States)  obeyed  the  President;  and  in  October, 
1833,  the  act  was  accomplished.  The  effect  produced  was  sudden  and  wide- 
spread commercial  distress.  The  business  of  the  country  was  plunged  from  the 
height  of  prosperity  to  the  depths  of  adversity,  because  its  intimate  connection 
with  the  National  Bank  rendered  any  paralysis  of  the  operations  of  that  insti- 
tution fatal  to  commercial  activity.  The  amount  of  loans  of  the  bank,  on  the 
1st  of  October,  was  over  sixty  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  amount  of  the  funds 
of  the  United  States,  then  on  deposit  in  the  bank,  was  almost  ten  millions  of 
dollars.  The  fact,  that  the  connection  of  the  bank  with  the  business  of  the 
country  was  so  vital,  confirmed  the  President  in  his  opinion  of  the  danger  of 
such  an  enormous  moneyed  institution. 

A  large  portion  of  the  government  funds  were  removed  in  the  course  of  four 
months,  and  the  whole  amount  in  about  nine  months.  Intense  excitement  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  country ;  yet  the  President,  supported  by  the  House  of 
Representatives,  persevered  and  triumphed.  Numerous  committees,  appointed 
by  merchants,  mechanics,  manufacturers,  and  others,  wraited  upon  him,  to  ask 
him  to  take  some  measures  for  relief.  He  was  firm  ;  and  to  all  of  them  he  re- 
plied, in  substance,  that  "the  government  could  give  no, relief,  and  provide  no 
remedy ;  that  the  banks  were  the  occasion  of  all  the  evils  which  existed,  and  that 

the  firmness  and  decision  of  the  President,  Mr.  Calhoun  dared  not  take  the  fatal  step.  He  could 
not  recede,  nor  even  stand  still,  without  compromising  his  character  with  his  southern  friends.  In 
this  extremity,  he  arranged  with  Mr.  Clay  to  propose  a  measure  which  would  satisfy  both  sides, 
and  save  both  his  neck  and  his  reputation.  In  justice  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  it  is  proper  to  say,  that 
in  the  discussion  of  the  matter  in  the  Senate,  he  most  earnestly  disclaimed  any  hostile  feelings 
toward  the  Union,  on  the  part  of  South  Carolina.  The  State  authorities,  he  asserted,  had  looked 
only  to  a  judicial  decision  upon  the  question,  until  the  concentration  of  the  United  States  troops  at 
Charleston  and  Augusta,  by  order  of  the  President,  compelled  them  to  make  provision  to  defend 
themselves.  Several  of  the  State  Legislatures  hastened  to  condemn  the  nullification  doctrine  as 
destructive  to  the  Federal  Constitution.  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York,  Delaware,  Indi- 
ana, Missouri,  and  Georgia,  all  thus  spoke  out  plainly  in  favor  of  the  Union.  Georgia,  however,  at 
the  same  time,  expressed  its  reprobation  of  the  tariff  system,  which  had  brought  about  the  move- 
ment in  South  Carolina,  and  proposed  a  convention  of  the  States  of  Virginia,  North  and  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Tennessee,  and  Mississippi,  to  devise  measures  to  obtain  relief  from  it. 
1  By  the  law  of  1816,  for  chartering  the  bank,  the  funds  of  the  United  States  were  to  be  depos- 
ited with  that  institution,  and  to  be  withdrawn  only  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

SO 


466  THE    CONFEDERATION.  [1829. 

those  who  suffered  by  their  great  enterprise  had  none  to  blame  but  themselves ; 
that  those  who  traded  on  borrowed  capital  ought  to  break."  The  State  banks 
received  the  government  funds  on  deposit,  and  loaned  freely.  Confidence  was 
gradually  restored,  and  apparent  general  prosperity1  returned.  Now  [1856], 
after  the  lapse  of  more  than  twenty  years,  the  wisdom  and  forecaste  of  General 
Jackson,  evinced  by  his  distrust  of  the  United  States  Bank,  appears  to  be  uni- 
versally acknowledged.  The  necessity  for  such  an  institution  is  no  longer 
admitted,  and  its  dangerous  power,  if  wickedly  exercised,  may  be  plainly 
seen.2 

Trouble  again  appeared  on  the  southern  borders  of  the  Union.     Toward  the 
close  of  1835,  the  Seminole  Indians,  in  Florida,  guided  by  their  head  sachem, 

Micanopy,  and  led  by  their  principal  chief,  Osceola,3 
commenced  a  distressing  warfare  upon  the  frontier 
settlements  of  Florida.  The  cause  of  the  outbreak 
was  an  attempt  to  remove  them  to  the  wilderness 
bepond  the  Mississippi.  In  his  annual  message  in 
December,  1830,  President  Jackson  recommended 
the  devotion  of  a  large  tract  of  land  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  to  the  use  of  the  Indian  tribes  yet  re- 
maining east  of  that  stream,  forever.  Congress 
passed  laws  in  accordance  with  the  proposition,  and 
the  work  of  removal  commenced,  first  by  the  Chick- 

asaws  and  Choctaws.4  We  have  seen  that  trouble  ensued  with  the  Creeks  and 
Cherokees,5  and  the  Seminoles  in  East  Florida  were  not  disposed  to  leave  their 
ancient  domain.  Some  of  the  chiefs  in  council  made  a  treaty  in  May,  1832, 
and  agreed  to  remove  ;  but  other  chiefs,  and  the  great  body  of  the  nation,  did 
not  acknowledge  the  treaty  as  binding.  In  1834,  the  President  sent  General 
Wiley  Thompson  to  Florida,  to  prepare  for  a  forcible  removal  of  the  Seminoles, 
if  necessary.  The  tone  and  manner  assumed  by  Osceola,  at  that  time,  dis- 
pleased Thompson,  and  he  put  the  chief  in  irons  and  in  prison  for  a  day.  The 
proud  leader  feigned  penitence,  and  was  released.  Then  his  wounded  pride 
called  for  revenge,  and  fearfully  he  pursued  it,  as  we  shall  observe  presently. 
The  war  that  ensued  was  a  sanguinary  one,  an!  almost  four  years  elapsed  before 
it  was  wholly  terminated.  Osceola,  with  all  the  cunning  of  a  Tecumseh,6  and 
the  heroism  of  a  Philip,7  was  so  successful  in  stratagem,  and  brave  in  conflict, 
that  he  baffled  the  skill  and  courage  of  the  United  States  troops  for  a  long  time. 
He  had  agreed  to  fulfill  treaty  stipulations,8  in  December  [1835],  but  instead 

1  Page  470. 

2  The  course  of  President  Jackson,  toward  the  bank,  was  popular  in  many  sections,  but  in  the 
commercial  States  it  caused  a  palpable  diminution  of  the  strength  of  the  administration.     This  was 
shown  by  the  elections  in  1834.     Many  of*his  supporters  joined  the  Opposition,  and  this  combined 
force  assumed  the  name  of  "  Whigs" — the  old  party  name  of  the  Eevolution — while  the  adminis- 
tration party  adhered  to  the  name  of  "  Democrats." 

3  Page  468.  4  Page  30.  fi  Page  27.  6  Page  424.  7  Page  124. 

8  Osceola  had  promised  General  Thompson  that  the  delivery  of  certain  cattle  and  horses  belong- 
ing to  the  Indians  should  be  made  during  the  first  fortnight  of  December,  1835.  and  so  certain  was 
Thompson  of  the  fulfillment  of  this  stipulation,  that  he  advertised  the  animals  for  sale. 


1837.]  JACKSON'S     ADMINISTRATION.  467 

of  compliance,  lie  was  then  at  the  head  of  a  war  party,  murdering  the  unsus- 
pecting inhabitants  on  the  borders  of  the  everglade  haunts  of  the  savages. 

At  that  time  General  Clinch  was  stationed  at  Fort  Drane,1  in  the  interior 
of  Florida,  and  Major  Dade  was  dispatched  from  Fort  Brooke,  at  the  head  of 
Tampa  Bay,  with  more  than  a  hundred  men,  for  his 
relief.  That  young  commander,2  and  all  but  four  of 
his  detachment,  were  massacred  [Dec.  28,  1835] 
near  Wahoo  Swamp.3  On  the  same  day,  and  only 
a  few  hours  before,  Osceola,  and  a  small  war  party, 
killed  and  scalped  General  Thompson,  and  five  of  his 
friends,  who  were  dining  at  a  store  a  few  yards  from 
Fort  King.4  The  assailants  disappeared  in  the  for- 
est before  the  deed  was  known  at  the  fort.  Two 
days  afterward  [Dec.  31],  General  Clinch  and  his 
troops  had  a  battle  with  the  Seminoles  on  the  With- 

lacoochee;  and  in  February  [Feb.  29,  1836],  General  Gaines5  was  assailed 
near  the  same  place,6  and  several  of  his  men  were  killed.  The  battle-ground 
is  about  fifty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

The  Creeks  aided  their  brethren  in  Florida,  by  attacking  white  settlers 
within  their  domain,7  in  May,  1836.  Success  made  them  bold,  and  they  at- 
tacked mail-carriers,  stages,  steamboats,  and  finally  villages,  in  Georgia  and 
Alabama,  until  thousands  of  white  people  were  fleeing  for  their  lives  from 
place  to  place,  before  the  savages.  General  Winfield  Scott8  was  now  in  chief 
command  in  the  South,  and  he  prosecuted  the  war  with  vigor.  The  Creeks  were 
finally  subdued ;  and  during  the  summer,  several  thousands  of  them  were  re- 
moved to  their  designated  homes  beyond  the  Mississippi.  In  October,  Governor 
Call,  of  Georgia,  marched  against  the  Seminoles  with  almost  two  thousand  men. 
A  detachment  of  upward  of  five  hundred  of  these,  had  a  severe  contest  [Nov. 
21]  with  the  Indians  at  Wahoo  Swamp,  near  the  scene  of  Dado's  massacre ;  yet, 
like  all  other  engagements  with  the  savages  in  their  swampy  fastnesses,  neither 
party  could  claim  a  positive  victory.9  The  year  [1836]  closed  with  no  prospect 


1  About  forty  miles  north-east  from  the  mouth  of  the  Withlacoochee  River,  and  eight  south- 
west from  Orange  Lake. 

3  Francis  L.  Dade  was  a  native  of  Virginia.  After  the  "War  of  1812-15,  he  was  retained  in  the 
army,  having  risen  from  third  lieutenant  to  major.  A  neat  monument  has  been  erected  to  the 
memory  of  himself  and  companions  in  death,  at  West  Point,  on  the  Hudson. 

3  Near  the  upper  waters  of  the  Withlacoochee,  about  fifty  miles  north  from  Fort  Brooke.   Three 
of  the  four  survivors  soon  died  of  their  wounds,  and  he  who  lived  to  tell  the  fearful  narrative  (Ran- 
som Clarke),  afterward  died  from  the  effects  of  his  injuries  on  that  day. 

4  On  the  southern  borders  of  Alachua  county,  about  sixty  miles  south-west  from  St.  Augustine. 
Osceola  scalped  [note  4,  page  14]  General  Thompson  with  his  own  hands,  and  thus  enjoyed  his  re- 
venge for  the  indignity  he  had  suffered. 

5  Page  433.     Edmund  P.  Gaines  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1777,  and  entered  the  army  in  1799. 
He  was  breveted  a  major-general  in  1814,  and  presented  by  Congress  with  a  gold  medal  for  his  gal- 
lantry at  Fort  Erie.     He  died  in  1849. 

6  South  side  of  the  river,  in  Dade  county.     The  place  where  Gaines  was  assaulted  is  on  the 
north  side,  in  Alachua  county.  7  Page  30.  8  Page  433. 

In  this  warfare  the  American  troops  suffered  dreadfully  from  the  poisonous  vapors  of  the 
swamps,  the  bites  of  venomous  serpents,  and  the  stings  of  insects.  The  Indians  were  inaccessible 
in  then-  homes  amid  the  morasses,  for  the  white  people  could  not  follow  them. 


468  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1829. 

of  peace,  either  by  treaty  or  by  the  subjugation  of  the  Indians.  The  war  con- 
tinued through  the  winter.  Finally,  after  some  severe  encounters  with  the 
United  States  troops,  several  chiefs  appeared  in  the  camp  of  General  Jessup1 
(who  was  then  in  supreme  command)  at  Fort  Dade,2  and  on  the  6th  of  March, 
1837,  they  signed  a  treaty  which  guarantied  immediate  peace,  and  the  instant 
departure  of  the  Indians  to  their  new  home  beyond  the  Mississippi.  But  the 
lull  was  temporary.  The  restless  Osceola  caused  the  treaty  to  be  broken ;  and 
during  the  summer  of  1837,  many  more  soldiers  perished  in  the  swamps  while 
pursuing  the  Indians.  At  length,  Osceola,  with  several  chiefs  and  seventy 
warriors,  appeared  [Oct.  21]  in  Jessup's  camp  under  the  protection  of  a  flag. 
They  were  seized  and  confined  ;3  and  soon  afterward,  the  brave  chief  was  sent 
to  Charleston,  where  he  died  of  a  fever,  while  immured  in  Fort  Moultrie.4 
This  was  the  hardest  blow  yet  dealt  upon  the  Seminoles ;  but  they  continued  to 
resist,  notwiths*  inding  almost  nine  thousand  United  States  troops  were  in  their 
territory  at  the  lose  of  1837. 

On  the  25th  of  December,  a  large  body  of  Indians  suffered  a  severe  repulse 
on  the  northern  border  of  Macaco  Lake,6  from  six  hundred  troops  under  Colonel 
Zachary  Taylor.6  That  officer  had  succeeded  General  Jessup,  and  for  more  than 
two  years  afterward,  he  endured  every  privation  in  efforts  to  bring  the  war  to  a 
close.  In  May,  1839,  a  treaty  was  made  which  appeared  to  terminate  the  war ; 
but  murder  and  robberies  continued,  and  it  was  not  until  1842  that  peace  was 
finally  secured.  This  war,  which  lasted  seven  years,  cost  the  United  States 
many  valuable  lives,  and  millions  of  treasure. 

In  the  autumn  of  1836,  the  election  of  a  successor  to  President  Jackson 
took  place,  and  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New  York. 
Energy  had  marked  every  step  of  the  career  of  Jackson  as  Chief  Magistrate, 
and  at  the  close  of  his  administration,  the  nation  stood  higher  in  the  esteem  of 
the  world  than  it  had  ever  done  before.  At  the  close  of  his  first  term,  our 
foreign  relations  were  very  satisfactory,  except  with  France.  That  government 
had  agreed  to  pay  about  $5,000,000,  by  instalments,  as  indemnification  for 
French  spoliations  on  American  commerce,  under  the  operation  of  the  several 
decrees  of  Napoleon,  from  1806  to  1811. 7  The  French  government  did  not 
promptly  comply  with  the  agreement,  and  the  President  assumed  a  hostile  tone, 
which  caused  France  to  perform  her  duty.  Similar  claims  against  Portugal 

1  Thomas  S.  Jessup  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1788.     He  was  a  brave  and  useful  officer  during 
the  war  of  1812-15,  and  was  retained  in  the  army.      He  was  breveted  major-general  in  1828,  and 
was  succeeded  in  command  in  Florida  by  Colonel  Zachary  Taylor,  in  1838.     He  is  now  [1856]  a 
resident  of  Washington  city. 

2  On  the  head  waters  of  the  "Withlachoochee,  about  forty  miles  north-east  from  Fort  Brooke,  at 
the  head  of  Tampa  Bay.     See  map  on  page  467. 

3  General  Jessup  was  much  censured  for  this  breach  of  faith  and  the  rules  of  honorable  warfare. 
His  excuse  was  the  known  treachery  of  Osceola,  and  a  desire  to  put  an  end  to  bloodshed  by  what- 
ever means  he  might  be  able  to  employ. 

4  On  Sullivan's  Island,  upon  the  site  of  Fort  Sullivan  of  the  Eevolution  [page  249].     Near  the 
entrance  gate  to  the  fort  is  a  small  monument  erected  to  the  memory  of  Osceola. 

5  Sometimes  called  Big  "Water  Lake.     The  Indian  name  is  0-ke-cho-bee,  and  by  that  title  the 
battle  is  known. 

6  The  brave  leader  in  the  Mexican  "War  [page  481],  and  afterward  President  of  the  United 
States..    Seo  page  498.  7  See  pages  400  to  407,  inclusive. 


1837.]  VAN    BUREN'S    ADMINISTRATION.  469 

were  made,  and  payment  obtained.  A  treaty  of  reciprocity  had  been  concluded 
with  Russia  and  Belgium,  and  everywhere  the  American  flag  commanded  the 
highest  respect.  Two  new  States  (Arkansas  and  Michigan)  had  been  added  to 
the  Union.  The  original  thirteen  had  doubled,  and  great  activity  prevailed  in 
every  part  of  the  Republic.  Satisfaction  with  the  administration  generally  pre- 
vailed, and  it  was  understood  that  Van  Buren  would  continue  the  policy  of  his 
predecessor,  if  elected.  He  received  a  large  majority ;  but  the  people,  having 
failed  to  elect  a  Vice-President,  the  Senate  chose  Richard  M.  Johnson,  of  Ken- 
tucky, who  had  been  a  candidate  with  Van  Buren,  to  fill  that  station. 

Much  excitement  was  produced,  and  bitter  feelings  were  engendered,  toward 
President  Jackson,  by  his  last  official  act.  A  circular  was  issued  from  the 
Treasury  department  on  the  llth  of  July.  1886,  requiring  all  collectors  of  the 
public  revenue  to  receive  nothing  but  gold  and  silver  in  payment.  This  was 
intended  to  check  speculations  in  the  public  lands,  but  it  also  bore  heavily 
upon  every  kind  of  business.  The  "specie  circular"  wras  denounced  ;  and  so 
loud  was  the  clamor,  that  toward  the  close  of  the  session  in  1837,  both  Houses 
of  Congress  adopted  a  partial  repeal  of  it.  Jackson  refused  to  sign  the  bill, 
and  by  keeping  it  in  his  possession  until  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress, 
prevented  it  becoming  a  law.  On  the  4th  of  March,  1837,  he  retired  from  pub- 
lic life,  to  enjoy  that  repose  which  an  exceedingly  active  career  entitled  him  to. 
He  was  then  seventy  years  of  age. 


CHAPTER    X. 

VAN    BUREN'S    ADMINISTRATION.     [1837  —  1841.] 

MARTIX  VAN  BUREN/  the  eighth  President  of  the  United  States,  seemed 
to  stand,  at  the  time  of  his  inauguration — on  the  4th  of  March,  1837 — at  the 
opening  of  a  new  era.  All  of  his  predecessors  in  the  high  office  of  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  Republic,  had  been  descended  of  Britons,  and  were  engaged 
in  the  old  struggle  for  Independence  Van  Buren  was  of  Dutch  descent,  and 
was  born  after  the  great  conflict  had  ended,  and  the  birth  of  the  nation  had 
occurred.  The  day  of  his  inauguration  was  a  remarkably  pleasant  one.  Seated 
by  the  side  of  the  venerable  Jackson,  in  a  phaeton  made  from  the  wood  of  the 
frigate  Constitution,  which  had  been  presented  to  the  President  by  his  political 


1  Martin  Van  Buren  was  bom  at  Kinderhook,  Columbia  county,  New  York,  in  December,  1782. 
He  chose  the  profession  of  law.  In  1815,  he  became  Attorney-General  of  his  native  State,  and  in 
1828  was  elected  Governor  of  the  same.  Having  served  his  country  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  he  was  appointed  minister  to  England  in  1831,  and  was  "elected  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States  in  the  autumn  of  1832.  Since  his  retirement  from  the  presidency  in  1841,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  has  spent  a  greater  portion  of  his  time  on  his  estate  in  his  native  town.  He  visited  Europe 
at  the  close  of  1853,  and  was  the  first  of  the  chief  magistrates  of  the  Republic  who  crossed  the 
Atlantic  after  their  term  of  office  had  expired.  Ex-President  Fillmore  followed  his  example  in 
1855,  and  spent  several  months  abroad.  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  still  [December,  1856]  living,  at  the 
ripe  age  of  seventy-four  years.  His  residence  is  Kinderhook,  New  York. 


470  '^HE    CONFEDERATION".  [1831 

friends  in  New  York,  he  was  escorted  from  the  presidential  mansion  to  the 
capitol  by  a  body  of  infantry  and  cavalry,  and  an  immense  assemblage  of  citi- 
zens. Upon  a  rostrum,  erected  on  the  ascent  to  the  eastern  portico  of  the  cap- 
itol, he  delivered  his  inaugural  address,  and  took  the  prescribed  oath  of  office, 
administered  by  Chief  Justice  Taney.1 


At  the  moment  when  Mr.  Van  Buren  entered  the  presidential  mansion  as 
its  occupant,  the  business  of  the  country  was  on  the  verge  of  a  terrible  convul- 
sion and  utter  prostration.  The  distressing  effects  of  the  removal  of  the  public 
funds  from  the  United  States  Bank,2  in  1883  and  1834,  and  the  operations  of 
the  ''  specie  circular,"  3  had  disappeared,  in  a  measure,  but  as  the  remedies  for 
the  evil  were  superficial,  the  cure  was  only  apparent.  The  chief  remedy 
had  been  the  free  loaning  of  the  public  money  to  individuals  by  the  State 
deposit  banks  ;4  but  a  commercial  disease  was  thus  produced,  more  disastrous 
than  the  panic  of  1833-34.  A  sudden  expansion  of  the  paper  currency 
was  the  result.  The  State  banks  which  accepted  these  deposits,  supposed 
they  would  remain  undisturbed  until  the  government  should  need  them 
for  its  use.  Considering  them  as  so  much  capital,  they  loaned  their  own 
funds  freely.  But  in  January,  1836.  Congress  authorized  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  to  distribute  all  the  public  funds,  except  five  millions  of  dollars, 
among  the  several  States,  according  to  their  representation.  The  funds  were 

1  He  appointed  John  Forsyth  Secretary  of  State;  Levi  Woodbury.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury; 
Joel  R  Poinsett  Secretary  of  War ;  Mahlon  Dickinson,  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  Amos  Kendall, 
Postmaster-General ;  and  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Attorney-General.     All  of  them,  except  Mr.  Poinsett, 
held  their  respective  offices  under  President  Jackson. 

2  Page  465.  8  Page  469.  4  Page  466. 


1841.]  YAN    BUREN'S    ADMINISTRATION.  471 

accordingly  taken  from  the  deposit  banks,  after  the  1st  of  January,  1837,  and 
these  banks  being  obliged  to  curtail  their  loans,  a  serious  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ment was  produced.  The  immediate  consequences  of  such  multiplied  facilities 
for  obtaining  bank  loans,  were  an  immensely  increased  importation  of  foreign 
goods,  inordinate  stimulation  of  all  industrial  pursuits  and  internal  improve- 
ments, and  the  operation  of  a  spirit  of  speculation,  especially  in  real  estate. 
which  assumed  the  features  of  a  mania,  in  1886.  A  hundred  cities  were 
founded,  and  a  thousand  villages  were  "  laid  out"  on  broad  sheets  of  paper,  and 
made  the  basis  of  vast  money  transactions.  Borrowed  capital  was  thus  diverted 
from  its  sober,  legitimate  uses,  to  the  fostering  of  schemes  as  unstable  as  water, 
and  as  unreal  in  their  fancied  results  as  dreams  of  fairy-land.  Overtrading 
and  speculation,  which  had  relied  for  support  upon  continued  bank  loans,  was 
suddenly  checked  by  the  necessary  bank  contractions,  on  account  of  the  removal 
of  the  government  funds  from  their  custody  ;  and  during  March  and  April. 
1837,  there  were  mercantile  failures  in  the  city  of  New  York  alone,  to  the 
amount  of  more  than  a  hundred  millions  of  dollars.1  Fifteen  months  before 
[December,  1835],  property  to  the  amount  of  more  than  twenty  millions  of 
dollars  had  been  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  city  of  New  York,  when  five  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  buildings  were  consumed.  The  effects  of  these  failures  and 
losses  were  felt  to  the  remotest  borders  of  the  Union,  and  credit  and  con- 
fidence were  destroyed. 

Early  in  May,  1837,  a  deputation  from  the  merchants  and  bankers  of  New 
York,  waited  upon  the  President,  and  solicited  him  to  defer  the  collection  of 
duties  on  imported  goods,  rescind  the  "specie  circular,"  and  to  call  an  extra- 
ordinary session  of  Congress  to  adopt  relief  measures.  The  President  declined 
to  act  on  their  petitions.  When  his  determination  was  known,  all  the  banks 
in  New  York  suspended  specie  payments  [May  10,  1837],  and  their  example 
was  speedily  followed  in  Boston,  Providence,  Hartford,  Albany,  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore,  and  in  smaller  towns  throughout  the  country.  On  the  16th  of  May 
the  Legislature  of  New  York  passed  an  act,  authorizing  the  suspension  of 
specie  payments  for  one  year.  The  measure  embarrassed  the  general  govern- 
ment, and  it  was  unable  to  obtain  gold  and  silver  to  discharge  its  own  obliga- 
tions. The  public  good  now  demanded  legislative  relief,  and  an  extraordinary 
session  of  Congress  was  convened  by  the  President  on  the  4th  of  September. 
During  a  session  of  forty-three  days,  it  did  little  for  the  general  relief,  except 
the  passage  of  a  bill  authorizing  the  issue  of  treasury  notes,  not  to  exceed  in 
amount  ten  millions  of  dollars.2 

During  the  year  1837,  the  peaceful  relations  which  had  long  existed  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  were  somewhat  disturbed  by  a  revolution- 

1  In  two  days,  houses  in  New  Orleans  stopped  payment,  owing  an  aggregate  of  twenty-seven 
millions  of  dollars ;  and  in  Boston  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  failures  took  place  in  six  months. 

2  In  his  message  to  Congress  at  this  session,  the  President  proposed  the  establishment  of  an 
independent  treasury,  for  the  safe  keeping  of  the  public  funds,  and  their  entire  and  total  separation 
from  banking  institutions.     This  scheme  met  with  vehement  opposition.     The  bill  passed  the  Sen- 
ate, but  was  lost  in  the  House.     It  was  debated  at  subsequent  sessions,  and  finally  became  a  law 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1840.     This  is  known  as  the  Sub-Treasury  Scheme. 


472  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1837. 

ary  movement  in  Canada  which,  at  one  time,  seemed  to  promise  a  separation  of 
that  province  from  the  British  crown.  The  agitation  and  the  outbreak  appeared 
simultaneously  in  Upper  and  Lower  Canada.  In  the  former  province,  the  most 
conspicuous  leader  was  William  Lyon  M'Kenzie,  a  Scotchman,  of  rare  abilities 
as  a  political  writer  and  an  agitator,  and  a  republican  in  sentiment ;  and  in  the 
latter  province,  Louis  Joseph  Papineau,  a  large  land-owner,  and  a  very  influ- 
ential man  among  the  French  population.  The  movements  of  the  Revolution- 
ary party  wrere  well  planned,  but  local  jealousies  prevented  unity  of  action,  and 
the  scheme  failed.  It  was  esteemed  a  highly  patriotic  effort  to  secure  independ- 
ence and  nationality  for  the  people  of  the  Canadas,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  Cuba, 
at  a  later  period,1  the  warmest  sympathies  of  the  Americans  wrerc  enlisted, 
especially  at  the  North.  Banded  companies  and  individuals  joined  the  rebels;3 
and  so  general  became  this  active  sympathy  on  the  northern  frontier,  that  peace 
between  the  two  governments  was  jeoparded.  President  Van  Burcn  issued  a 
proclamation,  calling  upon  all  persons  engaged  in  the  schemes  of  invasion  of 
Canada,  to  abandon  the  design,  and  warning  them  to  beware  of  the  penalties 
that  must  assuredly  follow  such  infractions  of  international  laws.  In  1838, 
General  Scott  was  sent  to  the  frontier  to  preserve  order,  and  was  assisted  by 
proclamations  of  the  Governor  of  New  York.  Yet  secret  revolutionary  associ- 
ations, called  "  Hunter's  Lodges,"  continued  for  a  long  time.  For  about  four 
years,  that  cloud  hung  upon  our  northern  horizon,  when,  in  September,  1841, 
President  Tyler  issued  an  admonitory  proclamation,  specially  directed  to  the 
members  of  the  Hunter's  Lodges,  which  prevented  further  aggressive  move- 
ments. The  leaders  of  the  revolt  were  either  dead  or  in  exile,  and  quiet  was 
restored. 

While  this  excitement  was  at  its  height,  long  disputes  concerning  the  bound- 
ary between  the  State  of  Maine  and  the  British  province  of  New  Brunswick, 
ripened  into  armed  preparations  for  settling  the  matter  by  combat.  This,  too, 
threatened  danger  to  the  peaceful  relations  between  the  two  governments.  The 
President  sent  General  Scott  to  the  theater  of  the  dispute,  in  the  winter  of 
1839,  and  by  his  wise  and  conciliatory  measures,  he  prevented  bloodshed,  and 
produced  quiet.  The  whole  matter  was  finally  settled  by  a  treaty  [August  20, 
1842],  negotiated  at  Washington  City,  by  Daniel  Webster  for  the  United 
States,  and  Lord  Ashburton  for  Great  Britain.  The  latter  had  been  sent  as 
special  minister  for  the  purpose.  Besides  settling  the  boundary  question,  this 
agreement,  known  as  the  Ashburton  Treaty,  provided  for  the  final  suppression 
of  the  slave-trade,  and  for  the  giving  up  of  criminal  fugitives  from  justice,  in 
certain  cases. 

A  new  presidential  election  now  approached.     On  the  5th  of  May,  1840,  a 

1  Page  502. 

2  A  party  of  Americans  took  possession  of  Navy  Island,  situated  in  the  Niagara  River  about 
two  miles  above  the  Falls,  and  belonging  to  Canada.     They  numbered  seven  hundred  strong,  well 
provisioned,  and  provided  with  twenty  pieces  of  cannon.     They  had  a  small  steamboat  named 
Caroline,  to  ply  between  Schlosscr,  on  the  American  side,  and  Navy  Island.     On  a  dark  night  in 
December,  1837,  a  party  of  royalists  from  the  Canada  shore  crossed  over,  cut  the  Caroline  loose, 
set  her  on  fire,  and  she  went  over  the  great  cataract  while  in  full  blaze.     It  was  believed  that  some 
persons  were  on  board  the  vessel  at  the  time. 


1841.]  HARRISON'S    AND    TYLER'S    ADMINISTRATION.  473 

national  Democratic  convention  assembled  at  Baltimore,  and  unanimously  nom- 
inated Mr.  Van  Buren  for  President.  No  nomination  was  made  for  Vice-Pres- 
ident,  but  soon  afterward,  Richard  M.  Johnson1  and  James  K.  Polk  were 
selected  as  candidates  for  that  office,  in  different  States.  A  national  Whig1  con- 
vention had  been  held  at  Harrisburg,  in  Pennsylvania,  on  the  4th  of  December 
previous  [1839],  when  General  William  H.  Harrison,  of  Ohio,  the  popular 
leader  in  the  North-West,  in  the  War  of  1812, 3  was  nominated  for  President, 
and  John  Tyler,  of  Virginia,  for  Vice-President.  Never,  before,  was  the 
country  so  excited  by  an  election,  and  never  before  was  a  presidential  contest 
characterized  by  such  demoralizing  proceedings.4  The  government,  under  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  being  held  responsible  by  the  opposition  for  the  business  depres- 
sion which  yet  brooded  over  the  country,  public  speakers  arrayed  vast  masses 
of  the  people  against  the  President,  and  Harrison  and  Tyler  were  elected  by 
overwhelming  majorities.  And  now,  at  the  close  of  the  first  fifty  years  of  the 
Republic,  the  population  had  increased  from  three  and  a  half  millions,  of  all 
colors,  to  seventeen  millions.  A  magazine  writer  of  the  day,5  in  comparing 
several  administrations,  remarked  that  "The  great  events  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
administration,  by  which  it  will  hereafter  be  known  and  designated,  is  the 
divorce  of  bank  and  State'  in  the  fiscal  affairs  of  the  Federal  government,  and 
the  return,  after  half  a  century  of  deviation,  to  tho  original  design  of  the  Con- 
stitution.7J 


CHAPTER    XI. 

HARRISON'S  AND  TYLER'S  ADMINISTRATION.      [1841—1845.] 

THE  city  of  Washington  was  thronged  with  people  from  every  State  in  the 
Union,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1841,  to  witness  the  ceremonies  of  the  inauguration  of 
General  William  Henry  Harrison,7  the  ninth  President  of  the  United  States.  He 

1  Page  424  a  Note  2,  page  466.  3  Pages  416  to  424.  inclusive. 

4  Because  General  Harrison  lived  in  the  West,  and  his  residence  was  associated  with  pioneer 
life,  a  log-cabin  became  the  symbol  of  his  party.  These  cabins  were  erected  all  over  the  country, 
in  which  meetings  were  held ;  and,  as  the  hospitality  of  the  old  hero  was  symbolized  by  a  barrel 
of  cider,  made  free  to  all  visiters  or  strangers,  who  "  never  found  the  latch-string  of  his  log-cabin 
drawn  in,"  that  beverage  was  dealt  out  unsparingly  to  all  who  attended  the  meetings  in  the  cabins. 
These  meetings  were  scenes  of  carousal,  deeply  injurious  to  all  who  participated  in  them,  and 
especially  to  the  young.  Thousands  of  drunkards,  in  after  years,  dated  their  departure  from  sobri- 
ety to  the  "Hard  Cider"  campaign  of  1840. 

6  Democratic  Review,  April,  1840. 

0  This  is  in  allusion  to  the  sub-treasury  scheme.  Mr.  Van  Buren  remarked  to  a  friend,  just 
previous  to  sending  his  message  to  Congress,  in  which  he  proposed  that  plan  for  collecting  and 
keeping  the  public  moneys :  "  "We  can  not  know  how  the  immediate  convulsion  may  result ;  but 
the  people  will,  at  all  events,  eventually  come  right,  and  posterity  at  least  will  do  me  justice.  Bo 
the  present  issue  for  good  or  for  evil,  it  is  for  posterity  that  I  will  write  this  message." 

7  William  Henry  Harrison,  son  of  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was 
born  near  the  banks  of  the  James  River,  in  Charles  City  county,  Virginia,  in  February,  1773.     He 
was  educated  at  Hampden  Sydney  College,  and  was  prepared,  by  studies,  for  a  physician,  but  en- 
tered the  army  as  ensign  in  the  United  States  artillery,  in  1791.     He  was  Secretary  of  the  North- 


474  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1841. 

was  then  an  old  man,  having  passed  almost  a  month  beyond  the  age  of  sixty-eight 
years.  Yet  there  was  a  vigor  in  his  movements  quite  remarkable  for  one  of 
that  age,  and  who  had  passed  through  so  many  hardships  and  physical  labors. 
From  a  platform  over  the  ascent  to  the  eastern  portico  of  the  Capitol,  where 
Mr.  Van  Buren  delivered  his  inaugural  address,  General  Harrison,  in  a  clear 


voice,  read  his.  He  was  frequently  interrupted  by  cheers  during  the  reading. 
When  it  was  concluded,  Chief  Justice  Taney  administered  the  oath  of  office,  and 
three  successive  cannon  peals  announced  the  fact  that  the  Republic  had  a  new 
President.  Harrison  immediately  nominated  his  cabinet  officers.1  and  these 
were  all  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  then  in  session. 

President  Harrison's  inaugural  speech  was  well  received  by  all  parties,  and 
the  dawn  of  his  administration  gave  omens  of  a  brighter  day  for  the  country. 
When  his  Address  went  over  the  land,  and  the  wisdom  of  his  choice  of  cabinet 


western  Territory  in  1797 ;  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years,  was  elected  the  first  delegate  to 
Congress  from  that  domain.  He  was  afterward  appointed  governor  of  Indiana  Territory,  and  was 
very  active  during  the  War  of  1812.  Seepages  416  to  424  inclusive.  At  its  close  he  retired  to 
his  farm  at  North  Bend,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  He  served  in  the  national  council  for  four 
years  [1824  to  1828]  as  United  States  senator,  when  he  was  appointed  minister  to  Colombia,  one  of 
the  South  American  republics.  He  was  finally  raised  to  the  highest  post  of  honor  in  the  nation. 
His  last  disease  was  pneumonia,  or  bilious  pleurisy,  which  terminated  his  life  in  a  few  days.  His 
last  words  were  (thinking  he  was  addressing  his  successor  in  office) :  "  Sir,  I  wish  you  to  under- 
stand the  principles  of  the  government.  I  wish  them  carried  out.  I  ask  nothing  more." 

1  Daniel  Webster,  Secretary  of  State  ;  Thomas  Ewing,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  John  Bell, 
Secretary  of  War ;  George  E.  Badger,  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  Francis  Granger,  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral ;  and  J.  J.  Crittenden,  Attorney-General. 


1845.]  TYLER'S    ADMINISTRATION.  475 

counselors  was  known,  prosperity  was  half  restored,  for  confidence  was  re- 
enthroned  in  the  commercial  world.  But  all  the  hopes  which  centered  in  the 
new  President  were  soon  extinguished,  and  the  anthems  of  the  inaugural  day 
were  speedily  changed  to  solemn  requiems.  Precisely  one  month  after  he  uttered 
his  oath  of  office,  the  new  President  died.  That  sad  event  occurred  on  the  4th 
day  of  April,  1841.  Before  he  had  fairly  placed  his  hand  upon  the  machinery  of 
the  government,  it  was  paralyzed,  and  the  only  official  act  of  general  importance 
performed  by  President  Harrison  during  his  brief  administration,  was  the  issu- 
ing of  a  proclamation,  on  the  17th  of  March,  calling  an  extraordinary  session 
of  Congress,  to  commence  at  the  close  of  the  following  May,  to  legislate  upon 
the  subjects  of  finance  and  revenue.1 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution,  the  Vice-President 
became  the  official  successor  of  the  deceased  President ;  and  on  the  6th  of  April 
the  oath  of  office  was  administered  to 

JOHN     TYLER.2 

He  retained  the  cabinet  appointed  by  President  Harrison  until  September  fol- 
lowing, when  all  but  the  Secretary  of  State  resigned.3 

The  extraordinary  session  of  Congress  called  by  President  Harrison,  com- 
menced its  session  on  the  appointed  day  [May  31,  1841],  and  continued  until 
the  13th  of  September  following.  The  Sub-Treasury  act1  was  repealed,  and  a 
general  Bankrupt  law  was  enacted.  This  humane  law  accomplished  a  material 
benefit.  Thousands  of  honest  and  enterprising  men  had  been  crushed  by  the 

1  The  predecessors  of  Harrison  had  called  extraordinary  sessions  of  Congress,  as  follows :  John 
Adams,  on  the  16th  of  May,  1797;  Thomas  Jefferson,  on  the  17th  of  October,  1808,  to  provide  lor 
carrying  the  treaty  of  Louisiana  into  effect;  James  Madison,  on  the  23d  of  May,  1809,  and  also  on 
the  25th  of  May,  1813;  and  Martin  Van  Buren,  on  the  4th  of  September,  1837. 

2  On  the  4th  of  April,  the  members  of  Harrison's  cabinet  dispatched  Fletcher  "Webster,  chief 
clerk  in  the  State  Department,  with  a  letter  to  Mr.  Tyler,  announcing  the  death  of  the  President. 
Mr.  Tyler  was  then  at  Williamsburg.     So  great  was  the  dispatch,  both  by  the  messenger  and  the 
Vice-President,  that  the  latter  arrived  in  Washington  on  Tuesday  morning,  the  6th  of  April,  at  four 
o'clock.     As  doubts  might  arise  concerning  the  validity  of  his  oath  of  office  as  Yice-President,  while 
acting  as  President,  Mr.  Tyler  took  the  oath  anew,  as  Chief  Magistrate,  before  Judge  Cranch,  of 
Washington  city.     On  the  following  day  he  attended  the  funeral  of  President  Harrison.     John 
Tyler  was  born  in  Charles  City  county,  Virginia,  in  March,  1790.     He  was  so  precocious  that  he 
entered  William  and  Mary  College  at  the  ago  of  twelve  years.     Ho  graduated  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, studied  law,  and  at  nineteen  he  was  a  practicing  law}-er.     At  the  age  of  twenty  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  where  he  served  for  several  years.     He  was  elected 
to  Congress  to  fill  a  vacancy  caused  by  death,  in  1816,  when  only  twenty-six  years  of  age.    He  was 
there  again  in  1819.     In  1825  ho  was  elected  governor  of  Virginia,     He  was  afterward  sent  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States ;  and  he  was  much  in  public  life  until  the  close  of  his  Presidential  ca- 
reer.    Since  then  he  has  lived  in  retirement  at  Sherwood  Forest,  his  pleasant  estate,  a  few  miles 
from  Charles  City  court-house. 

3  He  then  appointed  Walter  Forward,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  John  C.  Spencer,  Secretary 
of  War;  Abel  P.  Upshur,  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  Charles  A.  Wiekliffe,  Postmaster-General;  and 
Hugh  S.  Legare,  Attorney-General.     Mr.  Tyler  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  three  of  his  cabinet  of- 
ficers, by  death,  in  the  course  of  a  few  months.     Mr.  Legare  accompanied  the  President  to  Boston, 
on  the  occasion  of  celebrating  the  completion  of  the  Bunker  Hill  monument  [page  235],  in  June, 
1843,  and  died  there.    On  the  28th  of  February  following,  the  bursting  of  a  gun  on  board  the  steam- 
ship Princeton,  while  on  an  excursion  upon  the  Potomac,  killed  Mr.  Upshur,  then  Secretary  of  State ; 
Mr.  Gilmer,  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  and  several  other  distinguished  gentlemen.    The  President  and 
many  ladies  were  on  board.     Among  the  killed  was  Mr.  Gardiner,  of  the   State  of  New  York, 
whose  daughter  the  President  soon  afterward  married.  *  Note  2,  page  471. 


476  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1841. 

recent  business  revulsion,  and  were  so  laden  with  debt  as  to  be  hopelessly 
chained  to  a  narrow  sphere  of  action.  The  law  relieved  them ;  and  while  it 
bore  heavily  upon  the  creditor  class,  for  a  while,  its  operations  were  beneficent 
and  useful.  When  dishonest  men  began  to  make  it  a  pretense  for  cheating,  it 
was  repealed.  But  the  chief  object  sought  to  be  obtained  during  this  session. 


namely,  the  chartering  of  a  Bank  of  the  United  States,  was  not  achieved.  Two 
separate  bills1  for  that  purpose  were  vetoed2  by  the  President,  who,  like  Jack- 
son, thought  be  perceived  great  evils  to  bo  apprehended  from  the  workings  of 
such  an  institution.  The  course  of  the  President  was  vehemently  censured  by 
the  party  in  power,  and  the  last  veto  led  to  the  dissolution  of  his  cabinet.  Mr. 
Webster  patriotically  remained  at  his  post,  for  great  public  interests  would  have 
suffered  by  his  withdrawal,  at  that  time. 

The  year  1842  (second  of  Mr.  Tyler's  administration)  was  distinguished  by 
the  return  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition ;  the  settlement  of  the 
North-eastern  boundary  question ;  essential  modifications  of  the  tariff;  and 
domestic  difficulties  in  Rhode  Island.  The  exploring  expedition,  commanded  by 
Lieutenant  Wilkes,  of  the  United  States  navy,  had  been  sent,  several  years  be- 
fore, to  traverse  and  explore  the  great  southern  ocean.  It  coasted  along  what 

1  One  was  passed  on  the  16th  of  August,  1841 ;  the  other,  modified  so  as  to  meet  the  Presi- 
dent's objections,  as  it  was  believed,  passed  September  9th.  a  Note  6,  page  462. 


1845.]  TYLER'S     ADMINISTRATION.  477 

is  supposed  to  be  an  Antarctic  continent,  for  seventeen  hundred  miles  in  the 
vicinity  of  latitude  66  degrees  south,  and  between  longitude  96  and  154  degrees 
east.  The  expedition  brought  home  a  great  many  curiosities  of  island  human 
life,  and  a  large  number  of  fine  specimens  of  natural  history,  all  of  which  are 
now  [1856]  in  the  custody  of  the  National  Institute,  Patent  Office  building,  in 
Washington  city.  The  expedition  made  a  voyage  of  about  ninety  thousand 
miles,  equal  to  almost  four  times  the  circumference  of  the  globe.  The  modifi- 
cations of  the  tariff  were  important.  By  the  compromise  act  of  1882, l  duties 
on  foreign  goods  were  to  reach  the  minimum  of  reduction  at  the  close  of  1842, 
when  the  tariff  would  only  provide  revenue,  not  protection  to  manufactures, 
like  that  of  1828. 2  The  latter  object  appeared  desirable  ;  and  by  an  act  passed 
on  the  29th  of  June,  1842,  high  tariffs  were  imposed  on  many  foreign  articles. 
The  President  vetoed  it ;  but  another  tariff  bill,  less  objectionable,  received 
his  assent  on  the  9th  of  August. 

The  difficulties  in  Rhode  Island  originated  in  a  movement  to  adopt  a 
State  Constitution  of  government,  and  to  abandon  the  old  charter  given  by 
Charles  the  Second,3  in  1663,  under  which  the  people  had  been  ruled  for  one 
hundred  and  eighty  years.  Disputes  arose  concerning  the  proper  method  to  be 
pursued  in  making  the  change,  and  these  assumed  a  serious  aspect.  Two  par- 
ties were  formed,  known,  respectively,  as  the  "suffrage."  or  radical  party;  the 
other  as  the  "  law  and  order,"  or  conservative  party.  Each  formed  a  Constitu- 
tion, elected  a  governor  and  legislature,4  and  finally  armed  [May  and  June. 
1843]  in  defense  of  their  respective  claims.  The  State  was  on  the  verge  of 
civil  war,  and  the  aid  of  Federal  troops  had  to  be  invoked,  to  restore  quiet  and 
order.  A  free  Constitution,  adopted  by  the  "  law  and  order"  party  in  Novem- 
ber, 1842,  to  go  into  operation  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  May,  1843,  was  sus- 
tained, and  became  the  law  of  the  land. 

During  the  last  year  of  President  Tyler's  administration,  the  country  was 
much  agitated  by  discussions  concerning  the  proposed  admission  of  the  independ- 
ent republic  of  Texas,  on  our  south-west  frontier,  as  a  State  of  the  Union. 
The  proposition  was  warmly  opposed  at  the  North,  because  the  annexation 
would  increase  the  area  and  political  strength  of  slavery,  and  lead  to  a  war  with 
Mexico.5  A  treaty  for  admission,  signed  at  Washington  on  the  12th  of  April, 

1  Page  464.  2  Pago  459.  3  Pago  158. 

4  The  "  suffrage"  party  elected  Thomas  "W.  Dorr,  governor,  and  the  "  law  and  order"  party 
chose  Samuel  "W.  King  for  chief  magistrate.  Dorr  was  finally  arrested,  tried  for  and  convicted  of 
treason,  and  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  life.  The  excitement  having  passed  away,  in  a  meas- 
ure, he  was  released  in  June,  1845,  hut  was  deprived  of  all  the  civil  rights  of  a  citizen.  These  dis- 
abilities were  removed  in  the  autumn  of  1853. 

6  Texas  was  a  part  of  the  domain  of  that  ancient  Mexico  conquered  by  Cortez  [page  43].  In 
1824,  Mexico  became  a  republic  under  Generals  Victoria  and  Santa  Anna,  and  was  divided  into 
States  united  by  a  Federal  Constitution.  One  of  these  was  Texas,  a  territory  which  was  origin- 
ally claimed  by  the  United  States  as  a  part  of  Louisiana,  purchased  [page  390]  from  France  in 
1803,  but  ceded  to  Spain  in  1820.  In  1821-22,  a  colony  from  the  United  States,  under  Stephen 
F.  Austin,  made  a  settlement  on  both  sides  of  the  Colorado  River ;  and  the  Spanish  government 
favoring  immigration  thither,  caused  a  rapid  increase  in  the  population.  There  were  ten  thousand 
Americans  in  that  province  in  1833.  Santa  Anna  became  military  dictator ;  and  the  people  of 
Texas,  unwilling  to  submit  to  his  arbitrary  rule,  rebelled.  A  war  ensued ;  and  on  the  2d  of  March, 
1836.  a  convention  declared  Texas  independent.  Much  bloodshed  occurred  afterward;  but  a  final 


478  THE    CONFEDERATION.  [1845. 

1844,  was  rejected  by  the  Senate  on  the  8th  of  June  following.  To  the  next 
Congress  the  proposition  was  presented  in  the  form  of  a  joint  resolution,  and 
received  the  concurrence  of  both  Houses  on  the  1st  of  March,  1845,  and 
the  assent  of  the  President  on  the  same  day.  This  measure  had  an  important 
bearing  upon  the  Presidential  election  in  1844.  It  became  more  and  more  pop- 
ular with  the  people  throughout  the  Union,  and  James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee, 
who  was  pledged  in  favor  of  the  measure,  was  nominated  for  the  office  of  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States,  by  the  National  Democratic  Convention,  assembled 
at  Baltimore  on  the  27th  of  May,  1844.  George  M.  Dallas  was  nominated  for 
Vice-President  at  the  same  time ;  and  in  November  following,  they  were  both 
elected.  The  opposing  candidates  were  Henry  Clay  and  Theodore  Frelinghuy- 
sen.  The  last  important  official  act  of  President  Tyler  was  the  signing,  on  the 
3d  of  March,  1845,  of  the  bill  for  the  admission  of  Florida  and  Iowa  into  the 
Union  of  States. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

FOLK'S     ADMINISTRATION.     [1845  —  1849.] 

NEVER  before  had  so  large  a  concourse  of  people  assembled  at  the  Federal 
city,  to  witness  the  inauguration  of  a  new  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation,  as  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1845,  when  James  Knox  Polk, 1  of  Tennessee,  the  tenth  President  of 
the  United  States,  took  the  oath  of  office,  administered  by  Chief  Justice  Taney. 
The  day  was  unpleasant.  A  lowering  morning  preceded  a  rainy  day,  and  the 
pleasures  of  the  occasion  were  marred  thereby.  The  address  of  the  President, 
on  that  occasion,  clearly  indicated  that  energetic  policy  which  distinguished  his 
administration.  On  the  day  of  his  inauguration  he  nominated  his  cabinet 
officers,2  and  the  Senate  being  in  session,  immediately  confirmed  them. 

Among  the  most  important  topics  which  claimed  the  attention  of  the  admin- 
istration, were  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  the  claims  of  Great  Britain  to  a 
large  portion  of  the  vast  territory  of  Oregon,  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  former 

battle  at  San  Jacinto,  in  which  the  Texans  were  led  by  General  Houston,  one  of  the  present  [1856] 
United  States  senators  from  Texas,  vindicated  the  position  the  people  had  taken,  and  terminated 
the  strife.  Texas  remained  an  independent  republic  until  its  admission  into  our  Federal  Union  in 
1845. 

1  James  K.  Polk  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  county,  North  Carolina,  in  November,  1795.    While 
lie  was  a  child,  his  father  settled  in  Tennessee ;  and  the  first  appearance  of  young  Polk  in  public 
life,  was  as  a  member  of  the  Tennessee  Legislature,  in  1823.     He  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar 
three  years  before,  but  public  life  kept  him  from  the  practice  of  his  profession,  except  at  intervals. 
He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1825,  and  was  in  that  body  almost  continually  until  elevated  to  the 
Presidential  chair.     He  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  1835,  and  contin- 
ued in  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  that  office  during  five  consecutive  sessions.    He  was  elected 
governor  of  Tennessee  in  1839,  and  President  of  the  United  States  in  1844.     He  retired  to  his 
residence,  near  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  at  the  close  of  his  term,  in  1849,  and  died  there  in  June  of 
the  same  year. 

2  James  Buchanan,  Secretary  of  State;  Robert  J.  "Walker.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  William 
L.  Marcy,  Secretary  of  War;  George  Bancroft,  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  Cave  Johnson,  Postmaster- 
General;  and  John  Y.  Mason,  Attorney-General. 


1849.] 


FOLK'S    ADMINISTRATION". 


479 


demanded  and  received  the  earliest  consideration.  On  the  last  day  of  his  offi- 
cial term,  President  Tyler  had  sent  a  messenger  to  the  Texan  Government, 
with  a  copy  of  the  joint  resolutions  of  the  American  Congress,1  in  favor  of  an- 
nexation. These  were  considered  by  a  convention  of  delegates,  called  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  a  State  Constitution  for  Texas.  That  body  approved  of  the 
measure,  by  resolution,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1845.  On  that  day  Texas  became 


one  of  the  States  of  our  Confederation.  The  other  momentous  subject  (the 
claims  of  Great  Britain  to  certain  portions  of  Oregon),  also  received  prompt 
attention.  That  vast  territory,  between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific, 
had  been,  for  some  time,  a  subject  of  dispute  between  the  two  countries.2  In 
1818,  it  was  mutually  agreed  that  each  nation  should  equally  enjoy  the  privileges 
of  all  the  bays  and  harbors  on  the  coast,  for  ten  years.  This  agreement  was  re- 
newed in  1827,  for  an  indefinite  time,  with  the  stipulation,  that  either  party 
might  rescind  it  by  giving  the  other  party  twelve  months'  notice.  Such  notice 

1  The  communication  was  made  through  A.  J.  Donelson,  the  "  American"  candidate  for  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  in  185G,  who  was  our  Charge  d' Affaires  to  the  Texan  Government. 

2  Captain  Grey,  of  Boston,  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  in  1792,  and  Captains 
Lewis  and  Clarke' explored  that  region,  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  westward,  in  1804-5.    In  1811, 
the  late  J.  J.  Astor  established  a  trading  station  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River.     The  British 
doctrine,  always  practiced  by  them,  that  the  entrance  of  a  vessel  of  a  civilized  nation  into  the 
mouth  of  a  river,  gives  title,  by  the  right  of  discovery,  to  the  territory  watered  by  that  river  and 
its  tributaries,  clearly  gave  Oregon  to  54  degrees  40  minutes,  to  the  United  States,  for  the  dis- 
covery of  Captain  Grey,  in  1792,  was  not  disputed. 


480  TIIE     CONFEDERATION.  [1845. 

was  given  by  the  United  States  in  1846,  and  the  boundary  was  then  fixed  by 
treaty,  made  at  Washington  city,  in  June  of  that  year.  Great  Britain  claimed 
the  whole  territory  to  54"  40'  north  latitude,  the  right  to  which  was  disputed 
by  the  United  States.  The  boundary  line  was  finally  fixed  at  latitude  49° ; 
and  in  1848,  a  territorial  government  was  established.  In  March,  1853,  Ore- 
gon was  divided,  and  the  northern  portion  was  made  a  separate  domain,  by  the 
title  of  Washington  Territory. 

The  annexation  of  Texas,  as  had  been  predicted,  caused  an  immediate  rup- 
ture between  the  United  States  and  Mexico ;  for  the  latter-  claimed  Texas  as  a 
part  of  its  territory,  notwithstanding  its  independence  had  been  acknowledged 
by  the  United  States,  England,  France,  and  other  governments.  Soon  after 
[March  6,  1845]  Congress  had  adopted  the  joint  resolution  for  the  admission 
of  that  State  into  the  Union,1  General  Almonte,  the  Mexican  minister  at  Wash- 
ington, formally  protested  against  that  measure,  and  demanded  his  passports. 
On  the  4th  of  June  following,  General  Herrera,  President  of  Mexico,  issued  a 
proclamation,  declaring  the  rights  of  Mexico,  and  his  determination  to  defend 
them — by  arms,  if  necessary.  But,  independent  of  the  act  complained  of,  there 
already  existed  a  cause  for  serious  disputes  between  the  United  States  and 
Mexico.2  Ever  since  the  establishment  of  republican  government  by  the  latter, 
in  1824,  it  had  been  an  unjust  and  injurious  neighbor.  Impoverished  by  civil 
wars,  its  authorities  did  not  hesitate  to  replenish  its  Treasury  by  plundering 
American  vessels  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  or  by  confiscating  the  property  of 
American  merchants  within  its  borders.  The  United  States  government 
remonstrated  in  vain,  until,  in  1831,  a  treaty  was  formed,  and  promises  of 
redress  were  made.  But  aggressions  continued ;  and  in  1840,  the  aggregate 
amount  of  American  property  which  had  been  appropriated  by  Mexicans,  was 
more  than  six  millions  of  dollars.  The  claim  for  this  amount  remained  unset- 
tled3 when  the  annexation  of  Texas  occurred  [July  4,  1845],  and  peaceful 
relations  between  the  two  governments  were  suspended. 

The  President  being  fully  aware  of  the  hostile  feelings  of  the  Mexicans, 
ordered  [July]  General  Zachary  Taylor,4  then  in  command  of  troops  in  the 
South- West,  to  proceed  to  Texas,  and  take  a  position  as  near  the  Rio  Grande,5 
as  prudence  would  allow.  This  force,  about  fifteen  hundred  strong,  was  called 
the  "Army  of  Occupation,"  for  the  defense  of  Texas.  At  the  same  time,  a 
strong  squadron,  under  Commodore  Conner,  sailed  for  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  to 
protect  American  interests  there.  General  Taylor  first  landed  on  the  25th  of 
July  on  St.  Joseph's  Island,6  and  then  embarked  for  Corpus  Christi,  a  Mexican 

1  Page  478.  2  Pronounced  May-hee-co  by  the  Spaniards. 

3  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  two  governments  to  adjust  these  claims,  met  in  1840.     The 
Mexican  commissioners  acknowledged  two  millions  of  dollars,  and  no  more.     In  1843  the  whole 
amount  was  acknowledged  by  Mexico,  and  the  payment  was  to  be  made  in  instalments  of  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars  each.     Only  three  of  these  instalments  had  been  paid  in  1845,  and  tho 
Mexican  government  refused  to  decide  whether  the  remainder  should  be  settled  or  not. 

4  Taylor's  actual  rank  in  the  army  list  was  only  that  of  Colonel.     He  had  been  made  a  Brig- 
adier-General by  brevet,  for  his  good  conduct  in  the  Florida  War  [page  468].     A  title  by  brevet  is 
only  honorary.     Taylor  held  the  title  of  Brigadier-General,  but  received  only  the  pay  of  a  Colonel. 

5  Great  or  Grand  river.     Also  called  Rio  Bravo  del  Norte — Brave  North  river. 

6  There  the  flag  of  the  United  States  was  first  displayed  in  power  over  Texas  soil 


1349.]  FOLK'S     ADMINISTB  ATIOX.  481 

village  beyond  the  Nueces,  and  near  its  mouth.  There  he  formed  a  camp 
[September,  1845],  and  remained  during  the  succeeding  autumn  and  winter. 
It  was  during  the  gathering  of  this  storm  of  war  on  our  south-western  frontier, 
that  the  difficulties  with  Great  Britain,  concerning  Oregon,  occurred,  which  we 
have  already  considered. 

By  a  dispatch  dated  January  13, 1846,  the  Secretary  of  War  ordered  Gen- 
eral Taylor  to  advance  from  Corpus  Christ!  to  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  opposite  the  Spanish  city  of  Matamoras,  because  Mexican  troops  were 
then  gathering  in  that  direction,  with  the  evident  intention  of  invading  Texas. 
This  was  disputed  territory  between  Texas  and  the  Mexican  province  of  Tamau- 
lipas ;  and  when,  on  the  25th  of  March,  he  encamped  at  Point  Isabel,  on  the  coast, 
about  twenty-eight  miles  from  Matamoras,  General  Taylor  was  warned  by  the 
Mexicans  that  he  was  upon  foreign  soil.  Regardless  of  menaces,  he  left  his  stores 
at  Point  Isabel,  under  Major  Monroe  and  four  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  with  the 
remainder  of  his  army  advanced  [March  28,  1846]  to  the  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
where  he  established  a  fortified  camp,  and  commenced  the  erection  of  a  fort.1 

President  Herrera's  desire  for  peace  with  the  United  States  made  him  un- 
popular, and  the  Mexican  people  elected  General  Paredes"  to  succeed  him. 
That  officer  immediately  dispatched  General  Ampudia3  with  a  large  force,  to 
Matamoras,  to  drive  the  Americans  beyond  the  Nueces.  Ampudia  arrived  on 
the  llth  of  April,  1846,  and  the  next  day  he  sent  a  letter  to  General  Taylor, 
demanding  his  withdraAval  within  twenty-four  hours.  Taylor  refused  compli- 
ance, and  continued  to  strengthen  his  camp.  Ampudia  hesitated ;  and  on  the 
24th  of  that  month  he  was  succeeded  in  command  by  the  more  energetic 
Arista,4  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  northern  division  of  the  army  of  Mexico, 
whose  reported  reinforcements  made  it  probable  that  some  decisive  action  would 
soon  take  place.  This  change  of  aifairs  was  unfavorable  to  the  Americans,  and 
the  situation  of  the  "  Army  of  Occupation"  was  now  becoming  very  critical. 
Parties  of  armed  Mexicans  had  got  between  Taylor  and  his  stores  at  Point 
Isabel,  and  had  cut  off  all  inter-communication.  Arista's  army  was  hourly 
gathering  strength ;  and  already  an  American  reconnoitering  party,  under 
Captain  Thornton,5  had  been  killed  or  captured  [April  24]  on  the  Texas  side  of 
the  Rio  Grande.  This  was  the  first  blood  shed  in 

THE     WAR     WITH     MEXICO. 

When  he  had  nearly  completed  the  fort  opposite  Matamoras,  General  Tay- 
lor hastened  [May  1],  with  his  army,  to  the  relief  of  Point  Isabel,  which  was 
menaced  by  a  large  Mexican  force0  collected  in  his  rear.  He  left  a  regiment 

1  It  was  named  Fort  Brown,  in  honor  of  Major  Brown,  the  officer  in  command  there.  It  was 
erected  under  the  superintendence  of  Captain  Mansfield,  and  was  large  enough  to  accommodate 
about  two  thousand  men.  2  Pronounced  Pa-ray-dhes. 

3  Pronounced  Am-poo-dhee-ah.  4  Pronounced  Ah-rees-tah. 

5  General  Taylor  had  been  informed  that  a  body  of  Mexican  troops  were  crossing  the  Rio 
Grande,  above  his  encampment,  and  he  sent  Captain  Thornton,  with  sixty  dragoons,  to  reconnoitre. 
They  were  surprised  and  captured.     Sixteen  Americans  were  killed,  and  Captain  Thornton  escaped 
by  an  extraordinary  leap  of  his  horse. 

6  General  Taylor  was  apprised  of  this  force  of  fifteen  hundred  Mexicans,  by  Captain  Walker, 

31 


482  THE    CONFEDERATION.  [1845. 

of  infantry  and  two  companies  of  artillery,  under  Major  Brown  (in  whose 
honor,  as  we  have  just  observed,  the  fortification  was  named),  to  defend  the 
fort,  and  reached  Point  Isabel  the  same  day,  without  molestation.  This 
departure  produced  great  joy  in  Matamoras,  for  the  Mexicans  regarded  it  as  a 
cowardly  retreat.  Preparations  were  immediately  made  to  attack  Fort  Brown ; 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  May  [1846],  a  battery  at  Matamoras  opened 
a  heavy  cannonade  and  bombardment  upon  it,  while  quite  a  large  body  of 
troops  crossed  the  river,  to  attack  it  in  the  rear.  General  Taylor  had  left 
orders  that,  in  the  event  of  an  attack,  and  aid  being  required,  heavy  signal-guns 
should  be  fired  at  the  fort.  For  a  long  time  the  little  garrison  made  a  noble 
defense,  and  silenced  the  Mexican  battery ;  but  when,  finally,  the  enemy  gath- 
ered in  strength  in  the  rear,  and  commenced  planting  cannons,  and  the  heroic 
Major  Brown  was  mortally  wounded,1  the  signals  were  given  [May  6],  and 
Taylor  prepared  to  march  for  the  Rio  Grande.  He  left  Point  Isabel  on  the 
evening  of  the  7th,  with  a  little  more  than  two  thousand  men,  having  been 
reinforced  by  Texas  volunteers,  and  marines  from  the  American  fleet  then 
blockading  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande.  At  noon,  the  next  day  [May  8], 
they  discovered  a  Mexican  army,  under  Arista,  full  six  thousand  strong,  drawn 
up  in  battle  array  upon  a  portion  of  a  prairie  flanked  by  ponds  of  water,  and 
beautified  by  trees,  which  gave  it  the  name  of  Palo  Alto.  As  soon  as  his  men 
could  take  refreshments,  Taylor  formed  his  army,  and  pressed  forward  to  the 
attack.  For  five  hours  a  hot  contest  was  maintained,  when,  at  twilight,  the 
Mexicans  gave  way  and  fled,  and  victory,  thorough  and  complete,  was  with  the 
Americans.  It  had  been  an  afternoon  of  terrible  excitement  and  fatigue,  and 
when  the  firing  ceased,  the  victors  sank  exhausted  upon  the  ground.  They  had 
lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  fifty-three  :3  the  Mexicans  lost  about  six  hundred. 
At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  May,  the  deep  slumbers  of  the 
little  army  were  broken  by  a,  summons  to  renew  the  march  for  Fort  Brown. 
They  saw  no  traces  of  the  enemy  until  toward  evening,  when  they  discovered 
them  strongly  posted  in  a  ravine,  called  Resaca  de  la  Palma,3  drawn  up  in 
battle  order.  A  shorter,  but  bloodier  conflict  than  that  at  Palo  Alto,  the  pre- 
vious day,  ensued,  and  again  the  Americans  were  victorious.  They  lost,  in 
killed  and  wounded,  one  hundred  and  ten ;  the  Mexican  loss  was  at  least  one 
thousand.  General  La  Vega4  and  a  hundred  men  were  made  prisoners,  and 

the  celebrated  Texas  Ranger,  who  had  been  employed  by  Major  Monroe  to  keep  open  a  communi- 
cation between  Point  Isabel  and  Taylor's  camp.  Walker  had  fought  them  with  his  single  company, 
armed  with  revolving  pistols,  and  after  killing  thirty,  escaped,  and,  with  six  of  his  men,  reached 
Taylor's  camp. 

1  He  lost  a  leg  by  the  bursting  of  a  bomb-shell  [note  2,  page  296],  and  died  on  the  9th  of  May. 
He  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1788  ;  was  in  the  war  of  1812  ;  was  promoted  to  Major  in  1843; 
and  was  fifty-eight  years  of  age  when  he  died. 

a  Among  the  fatally  wounded  was  Captain  Page,  a  native  of  Maine,  who  died  on  the  12th  of 
July  following,  at  the  age  of  forty-nine  years.  Also,  Major  Ringgold,  commander  of  the  Flying 
Artillery,  who  died  at  Point  Isabel,  four  days  afterward,  at  the  age  of  forty-six  years. 

3  Pronounced  Ray-sah-kah  day  la  Pal-mah,  or  Dry  River  of  Palms.     The  ravine  is  supposed  to 
be  the  bed  of  a  dried-up  stream.     The  spot  is  on  the  northerly  side  of  the  Rio  Grande,  about  threo 
miles  from  Matamoras.     In  this  engagement,  Taylor's  force  was  about  one  thousand  seven  hundred  ; 
Arista  had  been  reinforced,  and  had  about  seven  thousand  men. 

4  Lay  Vay-goh.     He  was  a  brave  officer,  and  was  captured  by  Captain  May,  who,  rising  in  his 


1849.]  FOLK'S   ADMINISTRATION.  483 

eight  pieces  of  cannon,  three  standards,  and  a  quantity  of  military  stores,  were 
captured.  The  Mexican  army  was  completely  broken  up.  Arista  saved  him- 
self by  solitary  flight,  and  made  his  way  alone  across  the  Rio  Grande.  After 
suffering  a  bombardment  for  one  hundred  and  sixty  hours,  the  garrison  at  Fort 
Brown  were  relieved,  and  the  terrified  Mexicans  were  trembling  for  the  safety 
of  Matamoras. 

When  intelligence  of  the  first  bloodshed,  in  the  attack  upon  Captain  Thorn- 
ton and  his  party,  on  the  24th  of  April,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  critical  situa- 
tion of  the  little  Army  of  Occupation,  reached  New  Orleans,  and  spread  over 
the  land,  the  whole  country  was  aroused ;  and  before  the  battles  of  Palo  Alto 
and  Resaca  de  la  Palma  [May  8,  9]  were  known  in  the  States,  Congress  had 
declared  [May  11,  1846]  that,  "by  the  act  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  a  state 
of  war  exists  between  that  government  and  the  United  States  ;"  authorized  the 
President  to  raise  fifty  thousand  volunteers,  and  appropriated  ten  millions  of 
dollars  [May  13]  toward  carrying  on  the  contest.  Within  two  days,  the  Sec- 
retary of  War  and  General  Scott1  planned  [May  15]  a  campaign,  greater  in  the 
territorial  extent  of  its  proposed  operations,  than  any  recorded  in  history.  A 
fleet  was  to  sweep  around  Cape  Horn,  and  attack  the  Pacific  coast  of  Mexico ; 
an  "  Army  of  the  West"  was  to  gather  at  Fort  Leavenworth.2  invade  New 
Mexico,  and  co-operate  with  the  Pacific  fleet ;  and  an  "Army  of  the  Center" 
was  to  rendezvous  in  the  heart  of  Texas,3  to  invade  Old  Mexico  from  the  north. 
On  the  23d  of  the  same  month  [May],  the  Mexican  government  made  a  formal 
declaration  of  war  against  the  United  States. 

When  news  of  the  two  brilliant  victories  reached  the  States,  a  thrill  of  joy 
went  throughout  the  land,  and  bonfires,  illuminations,  orations,  and  the  thunder 
of  cannons,  were  seen  and  heard  in  all  the  great  cities.  In  the  mean  while, 
General  Taylor  was  in  Mexico,  preparing  for  other  brilliant  victories.4  He 
crossed  the  Rio  Grande,  drove  the  Mexican  troops  from  Matamoras,  and  took 
possession  of  that  town  on  the  18th  of  May.  There  he  remained  until  the  close 
of  August,  receiving  orders  from  government,  and  reinforcements,  and  prepar- 
ing to  march  into  the  interior.  The  first  division  of  his  army,  under  General 
Worth,6  moved  toward  Monterey'  on  the  20th.  Taylor,  with  the  remainder  (in 
all,  more  than  six  thousand  men),  followed  on  the  3d  of  September;  and  on 
the  19th,  the  whole  army7  encamped  within  three  miles  of  the  doomed  city,  then 

stirrups,  shouted,  "  Remember  your  regiment!  Men,  follow!"  and,  with  his  dragoons,  rushed  for- 
ward in  the  face  of  a  heavy  fire  from  a  battery,  captured  La  Vega,  killed  or  dispersed  the  gunners, 
and  took  possession  of  the  cannons.  J  Page  485. 

2  A  strong  United  States  post  on  the  southern  bank  of  the  Missouri  River,  on  the  borders  of 
the  Great  Plains.     These  plains  extend  to  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

3  At  San  Antonia  de  Bexar,  the  center  of  Austin's  settlement  [note  5,  page  477],  south  of  the 
Colorado  river. 

4  On  the  30th  of  May  he  was  rewarded  for  his  skill  and  bravery  by  a  commission  as  Major- 
General,  by  brevet.     See  note  4,  page  480. 

6  William  J.  Worth  was  born  in  Columbia  county,  New  York,  in  1794.  He  was  a  gallant  soldier 
during  the  War  of  1812-15;  was  retained  in  the  army,  and  for  his  gallantry  at  Monterey,  was 
made  a  Major-General  by  brevet,  and  received  the  gift  of  a  sword  from  Congress.  He  was  of  great 
service  during  the  whole  war  with  Mexico.  He  died  in  Texas  in  May,  1849. 

6  Pronounced  Mon-tar-ray.     It  is  the  capital  of  New  Leon. 

7  The  principal  officers  with  General  Taylor,  at  this  time,  were  Generals  Worth,  Quitman, 
Twiggs,  Butler,  Henderson,  and  Hamer. 


484  THE   CONFEDERATION.  [1845. 

defended  by  General  Ampudia,1  with  more  than  nine  thousand  troops.  It  was 
a  strongly  built  town,  at  the  foot  of  the  great  Sierra  Madre,  well  fortified  by 
both  nature  and  art,  and  presented  a  formidable  obstacle  in  the  march  of  the 
victor  toward  the  interior.  But  having  secured  the  Saltillo  road,2  by  which 
supplies  for  the  Mexicans  in  Monterey  were  to  be  obtained,  General  Taylor 
commenced  a  siege  on  the  21st  of  September.  The  conflict  continued  almost 
four  days,  a  part  of  the  time  within  the  streets  of  the  city,  where  the  carnage 
was  dreadful.  Ampudia  surrendered  the  town  and  garrison  on  the  fourth  day3 
[September  24],  and  leaving  General  Worth  in  command  there,  General  Tay- 
lor encamped  at  Walnut  Springs,  three  miles  distant,  and  awaited  further 
orders  from  his  government.4 

When  Congress  made  the  declaration  of  war,  and  authorized  the  raising  of 
an  army  from  the  great  body  of  the  people,  General  Wool5  was  commissioned 
to  muster  and  prepare  for  service,  the  gathering  volunteers.  He  performed 
this  duty  so  promptly,  that  by  the  middle  of  July,  twelve  thousand  of  them 
had  been  inspected,  and  mustered  into  service.  Nine  thousand  of  them  were 
sent  to  the  Rio  Grande,  to  reinforce  General  Taylor,  and  the  remainder 
repaired  to  Bexar,6  in  Texas,  where  they  were  disciplined  by  General  Wool,  in 
person,  preparatory  to  marching  into  the  province  of  Chihuahua,7  in  the  heart 
of  Mexico.  Wool  went  up  the  Rio  Grande  with  about  three  thousand  men, 
crossed  the  river  at  Presidio,  and  on  the  last  day  of  October,  reached  Monclova, 
seventy  miles  north-west  from  Monterey.  His  kindness  to  the  people  won  their 
confidence  and  esteem,  and  he  was  regarded  as  a  friend.  There  he  was  informed 
of  the  capture  of  Monterey,  and  guided  by  the  advice  of  General  Taylor,  he 
abandoned  the  project  of  penetrating  Chihuahua,  and  marched  to  the  fertile  dis- 
trict of  Parras,  in  Coahuila,  where  he  obtained  ample  supplies  for  his  own  and 
Taylor's  forces. 

The  armistice8  at  Monterey  ceased  on  the  13th  of  November,  by  order  of 
the  United  States  government.  General  Worth,  with  nine  hundred  men,  took 
possession  of  Saltillo  [November  15,  1846],  the  capital  of  Coahuila,9  and  Gen- 
eral Taylor,  leaving  General  Butler  in  command  at  Monterey,  marched  for 
Victoria,  the  capital  of  Tamaulipas,  with  the  intention  of  attacking  Tampico, 

1  Page  481. 

2  This  road  passed  through  the  mountains  along  the  San  Juan  river,  and  is  the  only  commu- 
nication between  Monterey  and  the  fertile  provinces  of  Coahuila  and  Durango.     The  command  of 
this  road  was  obtained  after  a  severe  contest  with  Mexican  cavalry,  on  the  20th  of  May,  by  a  party 
under  General  Worth. 

3  The  Mexican  soldiers  were  permitted  to  march  out  with  the  honors  of  war ;  and,  being  short 
of  provisions,  and  assured  that  Santa  Anna,  now  at  the  head  of  the  Mexicans,  desired  peace,  Gen- 
eral Taylor  agreed  to  a  cessation  of  hostilities  for  eight  weeks,  if  permitted  by  his  government. 

4  The   Americans  lost   in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,   five   hundred   and   sixty-one.     The 
number  lost  by  the  Mexicans  was  never  ascertained,  but  it  was  supposed  to  be  more  than  one 
thousand. 

5  John  Ellis  Wool  is  a  native  of  New  York.     He  entered  the  army  in  1812,  and  soon  rose  to 
the  rank  of  Lieutenant-Colonel,  for  gallant  conduct  on  Queenstown  Heights  [page  413].     He  has 
belonged  to  the  army  ever  since.     He  was  breveted  brigadier  in  1826,  and  for  gallant  ^conduct  at 
Buena  Yista,  in  1847,  was  breveted  Major-General. 

6  Austin's  settlement.     See  note  5,  page  477.  7  Pronounced  Chee-wah-wah. 

8  The  agreement  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities  is  so  called. 

9  Pronounced  Co-ah-weel-ah. 


1849.]  FOLK'S    ADMINISTRATION.  485 

on  the  coast.  That  place  had  already  surrendered1  [November  14],  and  being 
informed  that  Santa  Anna  was  collecting  a  large  force  at  San  Luis  Potosi,3  he 
returned  to  Monterey,  to  reinforce  General  Worth,  if  necessary.  Worth  was 
joined  by  Wool's  division,  near  Saltillo,  on  the  20th  of  December,  and  Taylor 
again  advanced  and  took  possession  of  Victoria,  on  the  29th. 

And  now  the  conquering  Taylor  was  compelled  to  endure  a  severe  trial  of 
his  temper  and  patriotism.  General  Scott3  had  arrived 
before  Vera  Cruz  [January,  1847],  for  the  purpose  of 
invading  Mexico  from  that  point,  and  being  the  senior 
officer,  took  the  supreme  command.  Just  as  Taylor 
was  preparing  for  a  vigorous  winter  campaign,  he  re- 
ceived an  order  from  General  Scott,  to  send  him  a 
large  portion  of  his  best  officers  and  troops  to  assist 
against  Yera  Cruz,  and  to  act  thereafter  only  on  the  ^ 
defensive.4  Taylor  was  deeply  mortified,  but,  like  a 
true  soldier,  instantly  obeyed,  and  he  and  General 
Wool  were  left  with  an  aggregate  force  of  only  about 

_ °°      C  •>  GENERAL   SCOTT. 

five  thousand  men  (only  live  hundred  regulars)  to  op- 
pose an  army  of  twenty  thousand,  now  gathering  at  San  Luis  Potosi,  under 
Santa  Anna.  They  united  their  forces  at  Agua  Nueva,6  twenty  miles  south 
from  Saltillo,  on  the  San  Luis  road,  early  in  February  [Feb.  4,  1847],  and 
weak  as  he  was,  Taylor  determined  to  fight  the  Mexicans,  who  were  now  ad- 
vancing upon  him.  The  opportunity  was  not  long  delayed.  The  Americans 
fell  back  [Feb.  21]  to  Buena  Vista,0  within  eleven  miles  of  Saltillo,  and  there, 
in  a  narrow  defile  in  the  mountains,  encamped  in  battle  order.  At  about  noon 
the  next  day  [Feb.  22] — the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Washington — the  Mex- 
ican army  approached  within  two  miles  of  them  ;  and  Santa  Anna,  assuring 
Taylor  that  he  was  surrounded  by  twenty  thousand  troops,  and  could  not 
escape,  ordered  him  to  surrender  within  an  hour.  Taylor  politely  refused  the 
request,  and  both  armies  prepared  for  battle.7  There  was  some  skirmising  dur- 


1  Commodore  Connor,  who  commanded  the  "  Home  Squadron"  in  the  Gulf,  captured  Tampico. 
Tobasco  and  Tuspan  were  captured  by  Commodore  Perry  [page  512],  in  October  following. 

2  Santa  Anna  was  elected  provisional  President  of  Mexico,  in  December,  and  in  violation  of  his 
peace  promises  to  Commodore  Connor,  he  immediately  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  army. 

3  Winfield  Scott  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1786.    He  was  admitted  to  law  practice  at  the  age  of 
twenty  years.     He  joined  the  army  in  1808,  was  made  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  1812,  and  passed 
through  the  war  that  ensued,  with  great  honor  to  himself  and  his  country.     He  was  breveted 
major-general  in  1814.  and  was  made  general-in-chief  of  the  army  in  1841.     His  successes  in  Mex- 
ico greatly  added  to  his  laurels ;   and  Congress,  after  a  delay  of  several  years,  honored  him  with  the 
commission  of  Lieutenant-General,  on  the  loth  of  February,  1855.     He  is  now  [1856]  considered 
one  of  the  greatest  captains  of  the  age. 

4  The  necessity  for  this  order  was  as  painful  to  General  Scott  as  it  was  mortifying  to  General 
Taylor.     Before  leaving  Washington,  Scott  wrote  a  long  private  letter  to  Taylor,  apprising  him  of 
this  necessity,  expressing  his  sincere  regrets,  and  speaking  in  highest  praise  of  the  victories  already 
achieved  in  Mexico.  5  Pronounced  Ag-wah  New-vah,  or  New  "Water. 

6  Pronounced  Bwe-naw  Ves-tah — Pleasant  View.     This  was  the  name  of  a  hacienda  (planta- 
tion) at  Angostura. 

7  Santa  Anna  wrote  as  follows: 

"  CAMP  AT  ENCATADA,  February  22d,  1847. 

"  GOD  AND  LIBERTY  ! — You  are  surrounded  by  twenty  thousand  men,  and  can  not,  in  any 
human  probability,  avoid  suffering  a  rout,  and  being  cut  to  pieces  with  your  troops ;  but  as  you  de- 


486  THE     CONFEDERATION".  [1845. 

ing  the  afte/noon,  when  the  battle-cry  of  the  Americans  was,  "The  Memory 
of  Washington  /"  Early  the  following  morning  [Feb.  23]  a  terrible  conflict 
commenced.  It  was  desperate  and  bloody,  and  continued  until  sunset.  Sev- 
eral times  the  overwhelming  numbers  of  the  Mexicans  appeared  about  to  crush 
the  little  band  of  Americans ;  and  finally  Santa  Anna  made  a  desperate  assault1 
upon  the  American  center,  commanded  by  Taylor  in  person.  It  stood  like  a 
rock  before  a  billow ;  and  by  the  assistance  of  the  artillery  of  Bragg,  Wash- 
ington, and  Sherman,  the  martial  wave  was  rolled  back,  the  Mexicans  fled  in 
confusion,  and  the  Americans  were  masters  of  the  bloody  field.  During  the 
night  succeeding  the  conflict,  the  Mexicans  all  withdrew,  leaving  their  dead 

and  wounded  behind  them.2     The  invaders 

were  now  in  possession  of  all  the  northern 
Mexican  provinces,  and  Scott  was  prepar- 
ing to  storm  Vera  Cruz3  and  march  to  the 
capital.4  In  the  course  of  a  few  months 
General  Taylor  left  Wool  in  command 
[Sept.,  1847],  and  returned  home,  every- 
where receiving  tokens  of  the  highest  re- 
UEUION  OF  TAYLOR'S  OPERATIONS.  i  ^  i  •  T  ! 

gard  trom   his   countrymen.     Let  us   now 

consider  other  operations  of  the  war  during  this  period. 

The  command  of  the  "  Army  of  the  West"5  was  given  to  General  Kearney,0 
with  instructions  to  conquer  New  Mexico  and  California.  He  left  Fort  Leaven- 
worth  in  June,  and  after  a  journey  of  nine  hundred  miles  over  the  Great  Plains 
and  among  the  mountain  ranges,  he  arrived  at  Santa  Fe,  the  capital  of  New 

serve  consideration  and  particular  esteem,  I  wish  to  save  you  from  such  a  catastrophe,  and  for  that 
purpose  give  you  this  notice,  in  order  that  you  may  surrender  at  discretion,  under  the  assurance 
that  you  will  be  treated  with  the  consideration  belonging  to  the  Mexican  character ;  to  which  end 
you  will  be  granted  an  hour's  time  to  make  up  your  mind,  to  commence  from  the  moment  that  my 
flag  of  truce  arrives  in  your  camp.  With  this  view,  I  assure  you  of  my  particular  consideration. 

"  ANTONIO  LOPEZ  DE  SANTA  ANNA. 
"To  General  Z.  Taylor,  Commanding  the  Forces  of  the  IT.  S." 

General  Taylor  did  not  take  tho  allotted  time  to  make  up  his  mind,  but  instantly  sat  down  and 
wrote  the  following  reply : 

"  HEAD-QUARTERS,  AHMY  OF  OCCUPATION,  Near  Buena  Vista,  Feb.  22d,  1847. 

"SiR:  In  reply  to  your  note  of  this  date,  summoning  me  to  surrender  my  forces  at  discre- 
tion, I  beg  leave  to  say  that  I  decline  acceding  to  your  request.  "With  high  respect.  I  am,  sir,  your 
obedient  servant,  Z.  TAYLOR,  Major-General  U.  S.  Army." 

1  To  deceive  the  Americans,  Santa  Anna  resorted  to  the  contemptible  trick  of  sending  out  a 
flag  in  token  of  surrender,  at  the  moment  of  making  the  assault,  hoping  thereby  to  cause  his 
enemy  to  be  less  vigilant.  Taylor  was  too  well  acquainted  with  Mexican  treachery  to  be  de- 
ceived. 

3  The  Americans  lost  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  killed,  four  hundred  and  fifty-six  wounded, 
and  twenty-three  missing.  The  Mexicans  lost  almost  two  thousand.  They  left  five  hundred  of 
their  comrades  dead  on  the  field.  Among  the  Americans  slain  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  Clay,  son  of 
the  distinguished  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky.  Page  500.  3  Page  489. 

*  On  the  day  of  the  battle  at  Buena  Vista,  General  Minon,  with  eight  hundred  cavalry,  was 
driven  from  Saltillo  by  Captain  "Webster  and  a  small  party  of  Americans.  On  the  26th  of  February, 
Colonels  Morgan  and  Irvin  defeated  a  party  at  Agua  Frio ;  and  on  the  7th  of  March,  Major  Gid- 
dings  was  victorious  at  Ceralvo.  6  Page  483. 

6  Stephen  "W.  Kearney  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  a  gallant  soldier  in  the  War  of 
1812-15.  He  was  breveted  a  Brigadier  in  1846,  and  Major-General  in  December  the  same  year,  for 
gallant  conduct  in  the*  Mexican  "War.  He  died  at  Arera  Cruz,  in  October,  1848,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
four  years. 


1849.]  FOLK'S    ADMINISTRATION.  487 

Mexico,  on  the  18th  of  August.  He  met  with  no  resistance  j1  and  having  taken 
peaceable  possession  of  the  country,  and  constituted  Charles  Bent  its  governor, 
he  marched  toward  California.  He  soon  met  an  express  from  Commodore  Stock- 
ton3 and  Lieutenant- Colonel  Fremont,  informing  him  that  the  conquest  of  Cali- 
fornia had  already  been  achieved. 

Fremont  had  been  sent  with  a  party  of  about  sixty  men  to  explore  portions 
of  New  Mexico  and  California.  "When  he  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Monterey, 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  he  was  opposed  by  a  Mexican  force  under  General  Castro. 
Fremont  aroused  all  the  American  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Francisco 
Bay,  captured  a  Mexican  post  and  garrison,  and  nine  cannons,  and  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  muskets,  at  Sonoma  Pass  [June  15,  1846],  and  then  advanced  to 
Sonoma,  and  defeated  Castro  and  his  troops.  The  Mexican  authorities  were 
effectually  driven  out  of  that  region  of  the  country ;  and  on  the  5th  of  July, 
the  American  Californians  declared  themselves  independent,  and  placed  Fre- 
mont at  the  head  of  the  government.  Two  days  afterward,  Commodore  Sloat, 
then  in  command  of  the  squadron  in  the  Pacific,  bombarded  and  captured  Mon- 
terey ;  and  on  the  9th,  Commodore  Montgomery  took  possession  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. Commodore  Stockton  arrived  on  the  15th,  and  with  Colonel  Fremont, 
took  possession  of  the  city  of  Los  Angelos  on  the  17th  of  August.  On  receiv- 
ing this  information,  Kearney  sent  the  main  body  of  his  troops  to  Santa  Fe, 
and  with  one  hundred  men  he  pushed  forward  to  Los  Angelos,  near  the  Pacific 
coast,  where  he  met  [Dec.  27, 1847]  Stockton  and  Fremont.  In  company  with 
these  officers,  he  shared  in  the  honors  of  the  final  important  events  [Jan.  8. 
1847],  which  completed  the  conquest  and  pacification  of  California.  Fremont, 
the  real  liberator  of  that  country,  claimed  the  right  to  be  governor,  and  was 
supported  by  Stockton  and  the  people  ;  but  Kearney,  his  superior  officer,  would 
not  acquiesce.  Fremont  refused  to  obey  him ;  and  Kearney  departed,  sailed 
to  Monterey,  and  there,  in  conjunction  with  Commodore  Shubrick,  he  assumed 
the  office  of  governor,  and  proclaimed  [Feb.  8,  1847]  the  annexation  of  Cali- 
fornia to  the  United  States.  Fremont  was  ordered  home  to  be  tried  for  dis- 
obedience of  orders.  He  was  deprived  of  his  commission  ;  but  the  President, 
valuing  him  as  one  of  the  ablest  officers  in  the  army,  offered  it  to  him  again. 
Fremont  refused  it,  and  went  again  to  the  wilderness  and  engaged  in  explor- 
ation.3 

1  The  governor  and  four  thousand  Mexicans  troops  lied  at  his  approach,  and  the  people,  num- 
bering about  six  thousand,  quietly  submitted. 

2  Robert  F.  Stockton  is  a  son  of  one  of  the  New  Jersey  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence.    He  entered  the  navy  in  1811,  and  was  appointed  commodore  in  1838.     He  left  the  navy  in 
May,  1850,  and  has  since  been  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate  from  New  Jersey. 

3  John  Charles  Fremont  was  born  at  Savannah,  Georgia,  in  January,  1813.     His  father  was  a 
Frenchman ;  his  mother  a  native  of  Virginia.     He  was  born  while  his  parents  were  on  a  journey, 
and  his  infancy  was  spent  among  the  wilds  of  the  south-west.    At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  commenced 
the  study  of  law,  but  was  soon  afterward  placed  in  a  good  school  for  the  enlargement  of  his  educa- 
tion.    He  was  very  successful ;  and  after  leaving  school  became  a  teacher  in  Charleston,  and  then 
instructor  in  mathematics  on  board  a  sloop-of-war.     As  a  civil  engineer,  he  had  few  equals,  and  in 
this  capacity  he  made  many  explorations,  in  the  service  of  private  individuals  and  the  government, 
as  lieutenant.     His  several  explorations  are  among  the  wonders  of  the  age.     In  1846,  the  citizens 
of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  presented  him  with  an  elegant  sword,  in  a  gold  scabbard,  as  a  testi- 
monial of  their  appreciation  of  his  great  services  to  the  country ;  and  in  1850,  the  King  of  Prussia. 


488  THE   CONFEDERATION".  [1845. 

Other  stirring  events  were  occurring  in  the  same  direction  at  this  time. 
While  Kearney  was  on  his  way  to  California,  Colonel  Doniphan,  by  his  com- 
mand, was  engaged,  with  a  thousand  Missouri  volunteers,  in  forcing  the  Nav- 
ajo  Indians  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace.  This  was  accomplished  on  the  22d  of 
November,  1846,  and  then  Doniphan  marched  toward  Chihuahua,  to  join  Gen- 
eral Wool.  At  Braceti,  in  the  valley  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  they  met  a  large 


Mexican  force  on  the  22d  of  December,  under  General  Ponce  de  Leon.  He 
sent  a  black  flag  to  Doniphan,  with  the  message,  "  We  will  neither  ask  nor  give 
quarter."  The  Mexicans  then  advanced  and  fired  three  rounds.  The  Mis- 
sourians  fell  upon  their  faces,  and  the  enemy,  supposing  them  to  be  all  slain, 
rushed  forward  for  plunder.  The  Americans  suddenly  arose,  and  delivering  a 
deadly  fire  from  their  rifles,  killed  two  hundred  Mexicans,  and  dispersed  the 
remainder  in  great  confusion.  Doniphan  then  pressed  forward,  and  when 
within  eighteen  miles  of  the  capital  of  Chihuahua,  he  was  confronted  [Feb.  28, 
1847]  by  four  thousand  Mexicans.  These  he  completely  routed,1  and  then 
pressing  forward  to  the  city  of  Chihuahua,  he  entered  it  in  triumph,  raised  the 

through  the  venerable  Baron  Yon  Humboldt,  sent  him  the  grand  golden  medal  struck  for  those  who 
have  made  essential  progress  in  science.  When  California  became  a  State,  he  was  elected  its  first 
United  States  senator  [1851] ;  and  at  the  "  Republican"  National  Convention,  held  at  Philadelphia, 
in  June,  1856,  he  was  nominated  for  the  high  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

1  The  Americans  lost,  m  killed  and  wounded,  only  eighteen  men ;  the  Mexicans  lost  about  six 
hundred. 


1849.]  POLE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  489 

flag  of  the  United  States  upon  its  citadel,  in  the  midst  of  a  population  of  forty 
thousand  [March  2] ,  and  took  possession  of  the  province  in  the  name  of  his  gov- 
ernment. After  resting  six  weeks  he  marched  to  Saltillo  [May  22],  where 
General  Wool  was  encamped.  From  thence  he  returned  to  New  Orleans,  hav- 
ing made  a  perilous  march  from  the  Mississippi,  of  about  five  thousand  miles. 
The  conquest  of  all  Northern  Mexico,1  with  California,  was  now  complete,  and 
General  Scott  was  on  his  march  for  the  great  capital.  Let  us  now  consider 

GENERAL    SCOTT'S    INVASION    OF    MEXICO. 

The  Mexican  authorities  having  scorned  overtures  for  peace  made  by  the 
government  of  the  United  States  in  the  autumn  of  1846.  it  was  determined  to 
conquer  the  whole  country.  For  that  purpose  General  Scott  was  directed  to 
collect  an  army,  capture  Vera  Cruz,2  and  march  to  the  Mexican  capital.  His 
rendezvous  was  at  Lobos  Island,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  north 
from  Vera  Cruz ;  and  on  the  9th  of  March,  1847,  he  landed  near  the  latter  with 
an  army  of  about  thirteen  thousand  men,  borne  thither  by  a  powerful  squadron 
commanded  by  Commodore  Connor.3  He  invested  the  city  on  the  13th ;  and 
five  days  afterward  [March  18],  having  every  thing  ready  for  an  attack,4  he 
summoned  the  town  and  fortress,  for  the  last  time,  to  surrender  A  refusal 
was  the  signal  for  opening  a  general  cannon- 
ade, and  bombardment  from  his  batteries  and 
the  fleet.  The  siege  continued  until  the  27th, 
when  the  city,  the  strong  castle  of  San  Juan 
d'Ulloa,  with  five  thousand  prisoners,  and 
five  hundred  pieces  of  artillery,  were  surren- 
dered to  the  Americans.  The  latter  had  only 
forty  men  killed,  and  about  the  same  number 
wounded.  At  least  a  thousand  Mexicans 

......  INTKENCIIMENTS   AT    VERA   CRUZ. 

were  killed,  and  a  great  number  were  maimed. 

It  is  estimated  that  during  this  siege,  not  less  than  six  thousand  seven  hundred 
shots  and  shells  were  thrown  by  the  American  batteries,  weighing,  in  the  ag- 
gregate, more  than  forty  thousand  pounds. 

Two  days  after  the  siege  [March  29,  1847],  General  Scott  took  possession 
of  Vera  Cruz,  and  on  the  8th  of  April,  the  advanced  force  of  his  army,  under 
General  Twiggs,  commenced  their  march  for  the  interior  by  way  of  Jalapa.5 
Santa  Anna  had  advanced,  with  twelve  thousand  men,  to  Cerro  Gordo,  a  diffi- 

^  Some  conspiracies  in  New  Mexico  against  the  new  government,  ripened  into  revolt,  in  Janu- 
ary, "1847.  Governor  Bent  and  others  were  murdered  at  Fernando  de  Taos  on  the  19th,  and  mas- 
sacres occurred  in  other  quarters.  On  the  23d,  Colonel  Price,  with  three  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
marched  against  and  defeated  the  insurgents  at  Canada,  and  finally  dispersed  them  at  the  mountain 
gorge  called  the  Pass  of  Embudo. 

a  This  city  was  considered  the  key  to  the  country.  On  an  island  opposite  was  a  very  strong 
fortress  called  the  castle  of  San  Juan  d'Ulloa  [pronounced  San-whan-dah-oo-loo-ah],  always  cele- 
brated for  its  great  strength,  and  considered  impregnable  by  the  Mexicans. 

3  Page  480. 

4  The  engineering  operations  were  performed  very  skillfully-  under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Tot- 
ten,  an  officer  of  the  "War  of  1812.     For  his  bravery  at  Vera  Cruz,  he  was  made  Brigadier-General, 
by  brevet.     He  is  now  [1856]  about  seventy  years  of  age.  6  Pronounced  Hah-lah-pah. 


490  THE   CONFEDERATION".  [1845. 

cult  mountain  pass  at  the  foot  of  the  eastern  chain  of  the  Cordilleras.  He  was 
strongly  fortified,  and  had  many  pieces  of  cannon  well  placed  for  defense. 
Scott  had  followed  Twiggs  with  the  main  body.  He  had  left  a  strong  garrison 
at  Vera  Cruz,  and  his  whole  army  now  numbered  about  eight  thousand  five 
hundred  men.  Having  skillfully  arranged  his  plans,  he  attacked  the  enemy  on 
the  18th  of  April.  The  assault  was  successful.  More  than  a  thousand  Mex- 
icans were  killed  or  wounded,  and  three  thousand  were  made  prisoners.  Hav- 
ing neither  men  to  guard,  nor  food  to  sustain  the  prisoners,  General  Scott  dis- 
missed them  on  parole.1  The  boastful  Santa  Anna  narrowly  escaped  capture  by 
fleeing  upon  a  mule  taken  from  his  carriage.2  The  Americans  lost,  in  killed 
and  wounded,  four  hundred  and  thirty-one. 

The  victors  entered  Jalapa  on  the  19th  of  April;  and  on  the  22d,  General 
Worth  unfurled  the  stars  and  stripes  upon  the  castle  of  Perote,  on  the  summit 
of  the  eastern  Cordilleras,  fifty  miles  from  Jalapa.  This  was  considered  the 
strongest  fortress  in  Mexico  next  to  Vera  Cruz,  yet  it  was  surrendered  without 
resistance.  Among  the  spoils  were  fifty-four  pieces  of  cannon,  and  mortars, 
and  a  large  quantity  of  munitions  of  war.  Onward  the  victorious  army 
marched ;  and  on  the  15th  of  May  [1847]  it  entered  the  ancient  walled  and 
fortified  city  of  Puebla,3  without  opposition  from  the  eighty  thousand  inhabit- 
ants within.  Here  the  Americans  rested,  after  a  series  of  victories  almost  un- 
paralleled. Within  two  months,  an  army  averaging  only  about  ten  thousand 
men,  had  taken  some  of  the  strongest  fortresses  on  this  continent,  made  ten 
thousand  prisoners,  and  captured  seven  hundred  pieces  of  artillery,  ten  thou- 
sand stand  of  arms,  and  thirty  thousand  shells  and  cannon-balls.  Yet  greater 
conquests  awaited  them. 

General  Scott  remained  at  Puebla  until  August,4  when,  being  reinforced  by 
fresh  troops,  sent  by  way  of  Vera  Cruz,  he  resumed  his  march  toward  the  cap- 
ital, with  more  than  ten  thousand  men, 
leaving  a  large  number  sick  in  the  hos- 
pital.5 Their  route  was  through  a 
beautiful  region,  well  watered,  and 
clothed  with  the  richest  verdure,  and 
then  up  the  slopes  of  the  great  Cordil- 
leras. From  their  lofty  summits,  and 
almost  from  the  same  spot  where  Cortez  and  his  followers  stood  amazed  more 

1  Note  6,  page  311. 

2  Before  the  battle,  Santa  Anna  said.  "  I  will  die  fighting  rather  than  the  Americans  shall 
proudly  tread  the  imperial  city  of  Azteca."     So  precipitate  was  his  flight  that  he  left  all  his  papers 
behind  him,  and  his  wooden  leg.     He  had  been  so  severely  wounded  in  his  leg,  while  defending 
Yera  Cruz  against  the  French,  in  1838,  that  amputation  became  necessary,  and  a  wooden  one  was 
substituted.  3  Pronounced  Pweb-lah. 

4  During  this  long  halt  of  the  American  army,  the  government  of  the  United  States  made  un- 
availing efforts  to  negotiate  for  peace.  The  Mexican  authorities  refused  the  olive  branch,  and 
boasted  of  their  patriotism,  valor,  and  strength,  while  losing  post  after  post,  in  their  retreat  toward 
the  capital. 

6  At  one  time  there  were  eighteen  hundred  men  sick  at  Puebla ;  and  at  Perote  seven  hundred 
died  during  the  summer,  notwithstanding  the  situations  of  these  places,  on  lofty  table-lands,  were 
considered  exceedingly  healthful. 


ROUTE    OF    THE    U.    S.    ARMY    FllOM    VERA    CRUZ    TO   MEXICO. 


- 


BOMBARDMENT  OF  VERA  CRUZ. 


1849.] 


FOLK'S    ADMINISTRATION. 


493 


than  three  centuries  before,1  Scott  and  his  army  looked  down  [August  10,  1847] 
upon  that  glorious  panorama  of  intervales,  lakes,  cities,  and  villages,  in  the 
great  valley  of  Mexico — the  capital  of  the  Aztec  Empire2 — the  seat  of  "the 
Halls  of  the  Montezumas."3 

General  Twiggs4  cautiously  led  the  advance  of  the  American  army  toward 
the  city  of  Mexico,  on  the  llth  of  August,  and  encamped  at  St.  Augustine,  on 
the  Acapulco  road,  eight  miles  south  of  the  capital.  Before  him  lay  the  strong 
fortress  of  San  (or  St.)  Antonio,  and  close  on  his  right  were  the  heights  of 
Churubusco,  crowned  with  embattled  walls  covered  with  cannons,  and  to  be 
reached  in  front  only  by  a  dangerous  causeway.  Close  by  was  the  fortified 
camp  of  Contreras,  containing  six  thousand  Mexicans,  under  General  Valencia ; 
and  between  it  and  the  city  was  Santa  Anna,  and  twelve  thousand  men,  held  in 
reserve.  Such  was  the  general  position  of  the  belligerents  when,  a  little  after 
midnight  on  the  20th  of  August  [1847],  General  Smith5  marched  to  the  attack 
of  the  camp  at  Contreras.  The  battle  opened  at  sunrise.  It  was  sanguinary, 
but  brief,  and  the  Americans  were  victorious.  Eighty  officers  and  three  thou- 
sand private  soldiers  were  made  prisoners  ;  and  the  chief  trophies  were  thirty- 
three  pieces  of  artillery.  In  the  mean  while,  Generals  Pierce6  and  Shields,7 
with  a  small  force,  kept  Santa  Anna's  powerful  reserve  at  bay. 

General  Scott  now  directed  a  similar  movement 
against  Cherubusco.  Santa  Anna  advanced ;  and  the 
whole  region  became  a  battle-field,  under  the  eye  and 
control  of  the  American  commander-in-chief.  The 
invaders  dealt  blow  after  blow  successfully.  Antonio 
yielded,  Churubusco  was  taken,  and  Santa  Anna  aban- 
doned the  field  and  fled  to  the  capital.  It  was  a 
memorable  day  in  Mexico.  An  army,  thirty  thou- 
sand strong,  had  been  broken  up  by  another  less  than 
one  third  its  strength  in  numbers ;  and  at  almost 
every  step  the  Americans  were  successful.  Full  four 
thousand  of  the  Mexicans  were  killed  or  wounded, 
three  thousand  were  made  prisoners,  and  thirty  seven 
pieces  of  cannon  were  taken,  all  in  one  day.  The 
Americans  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  almost  eleven  OPERATIONS  NEAR  MEXICO. 

1  Page  43. 

3  According  to  the  faint  glimmerings  of  ancient  Mexican  history  which  have  come  down  to  us, 
the  Aztecs,  who  occupied  that  country  when  it  first  became  known  to  Europeans  [page  43],  came 
from  the  North,  and  were  more  refined  than  any  other  tribes,  which,  from  time  to  time,  had  held 
possession  of  the  country.  They  built  a  city  within  the  borders  of  Lake  Tezcuco,  and  named  it 
Mexico,  in  honor  of  Mexitli,  their  god  of  war.  Where  the  present  great  cathedral  stands,  they  had 
erected  an  immense  temple,  dedicated  to  the  sun,  and  there  offered  human  sacrifices.  It  is  related, 
that  at  its  consecration,  almost  sixty  thousand  human  beings  were  sacrificed.  The  temple  was  built 
about  the  year  1480,  by  the  predecessor  of  Montezuma,  the  emperor  found  by  Cortez. 

3  This  expression,  referring  to  the  remains  of  the  palace  of  Montezuma  in  Mexico,  was  often 
used  during  the  war. 

4  David  E.  Twiggs  was  born  in  Georgia  in  1790.     He  was  a  major  at  the  close  of  the  "War  of 
1812-15,  and  was  retained  in  the  army.     He  was  breveted  a  Major-General  after  the  battle  at 
Monterey,  and  for  his  gallantry  there  received  the  gift  of  a  sword  from  Congress. 

5  General  Persifer  F.  Smith,  of  Louisiana.  6  Page  514. 

7  General  James  Shields,  of  Illinois,  afterward  a  representative  of  that  State  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States. 


494  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1845. 

hundred.  They  might  now  have  entered  the  city  of  Mexico  in  triumph,  but 
General  Scott  preferred  to  bear  the  olive  branch,  rather  than  the  palm.  As  he 
advanced  to  Tacubaya,  [August  21],  within  three  miles  of  the  city,  a  flag  came 
from  Santa  Anna  to  ask  for  an  armistice,  preparatory  to  negotiations  for  peace.1 
It  was  granted,  and  Nicholas  P.  Trist,  who  had  been  appointed,  by  the  United 
States  government,  a  commissioner  to  treat  for  peace,  went  into  the  capital 
[August  24]  for  the  purpose.  Scott  made  the  palace  of  the  archbishop,  at 
Tacubaya,  his  head-quarters,  and  there  anxiously  awaited  the  result  of  the  con- 
ference, until  the  5th"  of  September,  when  Mr.  Trist  returned,  with  the  intelli- 
gence that  his  propositions  were  not  only  spurned  with  scorn,  but  that  Santa 
Anna  had  violated  the  armistice  by  strengthening  the  defenses  of  the  city. 
Disgusted  with  the  continual  treachery  of  his  foe,  Scott  declared  the  armistice 
at  an  end,  on  the  Tth  of  September,  and  prepared  to  storm  the  capital. 

The  first  demonstration  against  the  city  was  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  of 
September,  when  less  than  four  thousand  Americans  attacked  fourteen  thousand 
Mexicans,  under  Santa  Anna,  at  El  Molinos  del  Rey  (the  King's  Mills)  near 
Chepultepec.  They  were  at  first  repulsed,  with  great  slaughter  ;  but  returning 
to  the  attack,  they  fought  desperately  for  an  hour,  and  drove  the  Mexicans  from 
their  position.  Both  parties  suffered  dreadfully.  The  Mexicans  left  almost  a 
thousand  dead  on  the  field,  and  the  Americans  lost  about  eight  hundred.  And 
now  the  proud  Chepultepec  was  doomed.  It  was  a  lofty  hill,  strongly  fortified, 
and  the  seat  of  the  military  school  of  Mexico.  It  was  the  last  place  to  be 
defended  outside  the  suburbs  of  the  city.  Scott  erected  four  heavy  batteries  to 
bear  upon  it,  on  the  night  of  the  llth  of  September  ;  and  the  next  day  [Sep- 
tember 12,  1847],  a  heavy  cannonade  and  bombardment  commenced.  On  the 
13th,  the  assailants  commenced  a  furious  charge,  routed  the  enemy,  with  great 
slaughter,  and  unfurled  the  American  flag  over  the  shattered  castle  of  Chepul- 
tepec. The  Mexicans  fled  to  the  city  along  an  aqueduct,  pursued  by  General 
Quitman2  to  its  very  gates.  That  night,  Santa  Anna  and  his  army,  with  the 
officers  of  government,  fled  from  the  doomed  capital ;  and  at  four  o'clock  the 
following  morning  [September  14],  a  deputation  from  the  city  authorities 
waited  upon  General  Scott,  and  begged  him  to  spare  the  town  and  treat  for 
peace.  He  would  make  no  terms,  but  ordered  Generals  Worth  and  Quitman3 
to  move  forward,  and  plant  the  stripes  and  stars  upon  the  National  Palace. 
The  victorious  generals  entered  at  ten  o'clock,  and  on  the  Grand  Plaza,*  took 
formal  possession  of  the  Mexican  Empire.  Order  soon  reigned  in  the  capital. 
Santa  Anna  made  some  feeble  efforts  to  regain  lost  power,  and  failed.  He 
appeared  before  Puebla  on  the  22d  of  September,  where  Colonel  Childs  had 
been  besieged  since  the  13th.  The  approach  of  General  Lane  frightened  him 
away ;  and  in  a  battle  with  the  troops  of  that  leader  at  Huamantla,  Santa 

1  Note  1,  page  242. 

3  John  A.  Quitman  is  a  native  of  New  York,  and  is  now  [1856]  about  fifty-seven  years  of  age. 
He  led  volunteers  to  the  Mexican  war,  and  was  breveted  and  presented  with  a  sword  by  Congress, 
for  his  gallantry.  He  was  Governor  of  Mississippi  in  1851. 

3  The  approach  of  each  was  along  separate  aqueducts.     See  map,  page  493. 

4  Place.     This  is  the  large  public  square  in  the  city  of  Mexico. 


GENERAL  SCOTT   ENTERING-  THE    CITY  OF  MEXICO 


1349.]  FOLK'S     ADMINISTRATION".  497 

Anna  was  defeated.  On  the  18th  of  October  he  was  again  defeated  at  Atlixco, 
and  there  his  troops  deserted  him.  Before  the  close  of  October,  he  was  a 
fugitive,  stripped  of  every  commission,  and  seeking  safety,  by  flight,  to  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf.1  The  president  of  the  Mexican  Congress  assumed  provis- 
ional authority ;  and  on  the  2d  of  February,  1848,  that  body  concluded  a  treaty 
of  peace,  with  commissioners  of  the  United  States  at  Gaudaloupe  Hidalgo. 
This  treaty  was  finally  agreed  to  by  both  governments,  and  on  the  4th  of  July 
following,  President  Polk  proclaimed  it.  It  stipulated  the  evacuation  of  Mex- 
ico by  the  American  army,  within  three  months  ;  the  payment  of  three  millions 
of  dollars  in  hand,  and  twelve  millions  of  dollars,  in  four  annual  instalments, 
by  the  United  States  to  Mexico,  for  the  territory  acquired  by  conquest ;  and  in 
addition,  to  assume  debts  due  certain  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  the 
amount  of  three  millions  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  It  also  fixed  bound- 
aries, and  otherwise  adjusted  matters  in  dispute.  New  Mexico  and  California 
now  became  Territories  of  the  United  States. 

During  the  same  month  that  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Gaudaloupe 
Hidalgo,  a  man  employed  by  Captain  Sutter,  who  owned  a  mill  twenty-five 
miles  up  the  American  fork  of  the  Sacramento  River,  discovered  gold.  It  was 
very  soon  found  in  other  localities,  and  during  the  summer,  rumors  of  the  fact 
reached  the  United  States.  These  rumors  assumed  tangible  form  in  President 
Polk's  message  in  December,  1848  ;  and  at  the  beginning  of  1849,  thousands 
were  on  their  way  to  the  land  of  gold.  Around  Cape  Horn,  across  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama,  and  over  the  great  central  plains  of  the  continent,  men  went  by 
hundreds ;  and  far  and  wide  in  California,  the  precious  metal  was  found.  From 
Europe  and  South  America,  hundreds  flocked  thither ;  and  the  Chinese  came 
also  from  Asia,  to  dig  gold.  The  dreams  of  the  early  Spanish  voyagers,2  and 
those  of  the  English  who  sought  gold  on  the  coasts  of  Labrador,3  and  up  the 
rivers  in  the  middle  of  the  continent,4  have  been  more  than  realized.  Hundreds 
yet  [1856]  continue  to  go  thither,  and  the  gold  seems  inexhaustible.5 

The  war  with  Mexico,  and  the  settlement  of  the  Oregon  boundary  question6 
with  Great  Britain,  were  the  most  prominent  events,  having  a  relation  to  for- 
eign powers,  which  distinguished  Mr.  Polk's  administration.  Two  measures  of 
a  domestic  character,  appear  prominently  among  many  others  which  mark  his 
administration  as  full  of  activity.  These  were  the  establishment  of  an  inde- 
pendent treasury  system,7  by  which  the  national  revenues  are  collected  in  gold 
and  silver,  or  treasury  notes,  without  the  aid  of  banks ;  and  a  revision  of  the 
tariff  laws  in  1846,  by  which  protection  to  American  manufacturers  was 
lessened.  It  was  during  the  last  year  of  his  administration  that  Wisconsin  was 
admitted  [May  29,  1848]  into  the  Union  of  States,  making  the  whole  number 
thirty.  At  about  this  time,  the  people  of  the  Union  were  preparing  for  another 
presidential  election.  The  popularity  which  General  Taylor  had  gained  by  his 
brilliant  victories  in  Mexico,  caused  him  to  be  nominated  for  that  exalted  sta- 
tion, in  many  parts  of  the  Union,  even  before  he  returned  home;8  and  he  was 

1  Note  6,  page  515.  *  Page  43.         3  Page  52.         *  Page  56.         5  Note  3,  page  373. 

8  Page  479.  7  Note  2,  page  471.  8  Page  486. 

32 


498 


THE    CONFEDERATION. 


[1849. 


chosen  to  be  a  candidate  for  that  office,  by  a  national  convention  held  at  Phila- 
delphia in  June,  1848.  His  opponent  was  General  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan, 
now  [1856]  United  States  senator  from  that  State.1  General  Taylor  was 
elected  by  a  large  majority,  with  Millard  Fillmore,  of  New  York,  as  Vice- 
President. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

TAYLOR'S     ADMINISTRATION.     [1849—1850.] 

THE  4th  of  March,  1849,  was  Sunday,  and  the  inauguration  of  Zachary 
Taylor,2  the  twelfth  President  of  the  United  States,  did  not  take  place  until  the 


next  day.     Again  people  had  gathered  at  the  Federal  city  from  all  parts  of 
the  Union,  and  the  day  being  pleasant,  though  cloudy,  a  vast  concourse  were 

1  Note  2,  page  424. 

3  Zachary  Taylor  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  November,  1784.  He  went  with  his  father  to  Ken- 
tucky the  following  year,  and  his  childhood  was  passed  near  the  present  city  of  Louisville.  He 
entered  the  United  States  army  in  1807.  He  was  a  distinguished  subaltern  during  the  war  of 
1812-15,  and  attained  the  rank  of  major.  He  was  of  great  service  in  the  Florida  War  [page  468] ; 
and  when  hostilities  with  Mexico  appeared  probable,  he  was  sent  in  that  direction,  and,  as  we 
have  seen,  displayed  great  skill  and  bravery.  He  died  in  July,  1850,  having  performed  the  duties 
of  President  for  only  sixteen  months. 


1850.]  TAYLOR'S    ADMINISTRATION.  499 

assembled  in  front  of  the  eastern  portico  of  the  capital,  long  before  the  appointed 
hour  for  the  interesting  ceremonies.  In  a  clear  and  distinct  voice,  he  pro- 
nounced his  inaugural  address,  and  then  took  the  oath  of  office  administered  by 
Chief  Justice  Taney.  On  the  following  day  he  nominated  his  cabinet  officers,1 
and  the  appointments  were  immediately  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  With  the 
heart  of  a  true  patriot  and  honest  man,  Taylor  entered  upon  his  responsible 
duties  with  a  sincere  desire  to  serve  his  country  as  faithfully  in  the  cabinet,  as 
he  had  done  in  the  field.2  He  had  the  sympathies  of  a  large  majority  of  the 
people  with  him,  and  his  inauguration  was  the  promise  of  great  happiness  and 
prosperity  for  the  country. 

When  President  Taylor  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  thousands  of 
adventurers  were  flocking  to  California  from  all  parts  of  the  Union,  and  ele- 
ments of  a  new  and  powerful  State  were  rapidly  gathering  there.  Statesmen 
and  politicians  perceived  the  importance  of  the  new  Territory,  and  soon  the 
question  whether  slavery  should  have  a  legal  existence  there,  became  an  absorb- 
ing topic  in  Congress  and  among  the  people.  The  inhabitants  of  California 
decided  the  question  for  themselves.  In  August,  1849,  General  Riley,  the 
military  Governor  of  the  Territory,  established  a  sort  of  judiciary  by  proclama- 
tion, with  Peter  H.  Burnet  as  Chief  Justice.  Before  that  time  there  was  no 
statute  law  in  California.  By  proclamation,  also,  Governor  Riley  summoned 
a  convention  of  delegates  to  meet  at  Monterey,  to  form  a  State  Constitution. 
Before  it  convened,  the  inhabitants  in  convention  at  San  Francisco,  voted 
against  slavery  ;  and  the  Constitution,  prepared  and  adopted  at  Monterey,  on 
the  first  of  September,  1849,  excluded  slavery  from  the  Territory,  forever. 
Thus  came  into  political  form  the  crude  elements  of  a  State,  the  birth  and 
maturity  of  which  seems  like  a  dream.  All  had  been  accomplished  within 
twenty  months  from  the  time  when  gold  was  discovered  near  Sutter's  Mill. 

Under  the  Constitution,  Edward  Gilbert  and  G.  H.  Wright,  were  elected 
delegates  for  California  in  the  Federal  House  of  Representatives ;  and  the  State 
Legislature,  at  its  first  session,  elected  John  Charles  Fremont3  and  William  M. 
Gwinn,  United  States  senators.  When  the  latter  went  to  Washington,  they 
carried  their  Constitution  with  them,  and  presented  a  petition  [February, 
1850]  asking  for  the  admission  of  that  Territory  into  the  Union  as  a  free  and 
independent  State.4  The  article  of  the  Constitution  which  excluded  slavery, 
became  a  cause  for  violent  debates  in  Congress,  and  of  bitter  sectional  feeling 
between  the  people  of  the  North  and  the  South.  The  Union,  so  strong  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  was  shaken  to  its  center,  and  prophets  of  evil  foolishly 

1  He  appointed  John  M.  Clayton,  Secretary  of  State ;  William  M.  Meredith,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury;  George  W.  Crawford,   Secretary  of  War;  William  B.  Preston,  Secretary  of  the  Navy; 
Thomas  Ewing,  Secretary  of  the  Interior  (a  new  office  recently  established,  in  which  some  of  the 
duties  before  performed  by  the  State  and  Treasury  departments  are  attended  to) ;  Jacob  Collamer, 
Postmaster-General ;   and  Reverdy  Johnson,  Attorney-General. 

2  Page  481  to  page  486,  inclusive.  3  Page  488. 

4  At  this  time  our  government  was-perplexed  by  the  claims  of  Texas  to  portions  of  the  Terri- 
tory of  New  Mexico,  recently  acquired  [page  497],  and  serious  difficulty  was  apprehended.  Early 
in  1850,  the  inhabitants  of  New  Mexico  petitioned  Congress  for  a  civil  government,  and  the  Mor- 
mons of  the  Utah  region  also  petitioned  for  the  organization  of  the  country  they  had  recently 
settled,  into  a  Territory. of  the  United:  States. 


500  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1849. 

predicted  its  speedy  dissolution.  As  in  1832,1  there  were  menaces  of  secession 
from  the  Union,  by  Southern  representatives,  and  never  before  did  civil  war 
appear  so  inevitable.  Happily  for  the  country,  some  of  the  ablest  statesmen 
and  patriots  the  Republic  had  ever  gloried  in.  were  members  of  the  national 
Legislature,  at  that  time,  and  with  consummate  skill  they  directed  and  con- 
trolled the  storm.  In  the  midst  of  the  tumult  and  alarm  in  Congress,  and 
throughout  the  land,  Henry  Clay  again3  appeared  as  the  potent  peace-maker 


between  the  Hotspurs  of  the  North  and  South ;  and  on  the  25th  of  January, 
1850,  he  offered,  in  the  Senate  a  plan  of  compromise  which  met  the  difficulty. 
Eleven  days  afterward  [February  5,  1850]  he  spoke  nobly  in  defense  of  his 
plan,  denounced  secession  as  treason,  and  implored  his  countrymen  to  make 

1  Page  381. 

2  Page  464.     Henry  Clay  was  bora  in  Hanover  eounty,  Virginia,  in  April,  1777.     His  early  edu- 
cation was  defective,  and  he  arose  to  greatness  by  the  force  of  his  own  genius.     His  extraordinary 
intellectual  powers  began  to  develop  at  an  early  age,  and  at  nineteen  he  commenced  the  study 
of  the  law.     When  admitted  to  practice,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  went  over  the  mountains  to  the 
fertile  valleys  of  Kentucky,  and  there  laid  the  foundations  of  his  greatness  as  a  lawyer  and  orator. 
The  latter  quality  was  first  fully  developed  when  a  convention  was  called  to  revise  the  Constitution 
of  Kentucky.     Then  he  worked  manfully  and  unceasingly  to  procure  the  election  of  delegates  who 
would  favor  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves.     He  became  a  member  of  the  Kentucky  Legislature  in 
1803,  and  there  he  took  a  front  rank.     He  was  chosen  to  fill  a  vacant  seat  in  the  United  States 
Senate  in  1806,  and  in  1811  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  became 
its  Speaker.     From  that  time  until  his  death,  he  was  continually  in  public  life.     He  long  held  a 
front  rank  among  American  statesmen,,  and  died,  while  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate,  in 
the  city  of  "Washington,  at  the  close  of  June,  1852. 


1850.]  FILLMORE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  501 

every  sacrifice  but  honor,  in  support  of  the  Union.  Mr.  Clay's  plan  was 
warmly  seconded  by  Daniel  Webster;1  and  other  senators  approving  of  compro- 
mise, submitted  propositions.  Finally,  on  motion  of  Senator  Foote  of  Missis- 
sippi, a  committee  of  thirteen  was  appointed  to  consider  the  various  plans  and 
report  a  bill.  The  committee  consisted  of  six  northern  and  six  southern  sen- 
ators, and  these  chose  the  thirteenth.  The  Senate  appointed  Mr.  Clay  chairman 
of  the  committee,  and  on  the  8th  of  May  following,  he  reported  a  bill.  It  was 
discussed  for  four  months,  and  on  the  9th  of  September,  each  measure  included 
in  the  bill  having  been  thoroughly  considered  separately,  the  famous  Compro- 
mise Act  of  1850,  having  passed  both  Houses  of  Congress,  became  a  law. 
Because  several  measures,  distinct  in  their  objects,  were  embodied  in  the  act,  it 
is  sometimes  known  as  the  "  Omnibus  Bill."  The  most  important  stipulations 
of  the  act  were,  1st.  That  California  should  be  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a 
State,  with  its  anti-slavery  Constitution,  and  its  territorial  extent  from  Oregon 
to  the  Mexican  possessions ;  2d.  That  the  vast  country  east  of  California,  con- 
taining the  Mormon  settlements  near  the  Great  Salt  Lake,2  should  be  erected 
into  a  Territory  called  Utah,  without  mention  of  slavery ;  3d.  That  New  Mex- 
ico should  be  erected  into  a  Territory,  within  satisfactory  boundaries,  and  with- 
out any  stipulations  respecting  slavery,  and  that  ten  millions  of  dollars  should 
be  paid  to  Texas  from  the  Federal  treasury,  in  purchase  of  her  claims ;  4th. 
That  the  slave-trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia  should  be  abolished ;  5th.  A 
law  providing  for  the  arrest  in  the  northern  or  free  States,  and  return  to  their 
masters,  of  all  slaves  who  should  escape  from  bondage.  The  last  measure  of 
the  Compromise  Act  produced,  and  continues  to  produce,  much  dissatisfaction 
at  the  North ;  and  the  execution,  evasion,  and  violation  of  the  law,  in  several 
instances,  have  led  to  serious  disturbances  and  much  bitter  sectional  feeling.3 

While  the  great  Compromise  question  was  under  discussion,  the  nation  was 
called  to  lament  the  loss  of  its  Chief  Magistrate.  President  Taylor  was  seized 
with  a  malady,  similar  in  its  effects  to  cholera,  which  terminated  his  earthly 
career  on  the  9th  of  July,  1850.  In  accordance  Avith  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution,4  he  wras  immediately  succeeded  in  office  by 

MILLARD     FILL  MORE,6 

who,  on  the  10th  of  July,  took  the  oath  to  "  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States."  President  Taylor's  cabinet  resigned:  but 
the  new  President,  with  great  delicacy,  declined  to  consider  their  resignations 


1  Page  503.       2  Page  503.      3  Page  529.       4  Article  II.,  section  1,  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

E  Millard  Fillmore  was  born  in  January,  1800,  in  Cayuga  county,  New  York.  His  early  edu- 
cation was  limited,  and  at  a  suitable  age  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  wool-carder.  At  the  age  of  nine- 
teen, his  talent  attracted  the  attention  of  Judge  Wood,  of  Cayuga  county,  and  he  took  the  humble 
apprentice  under  his  charge,  to  study  the  science  of  law.  He  became  eminent  in  his  profession. 
He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  of  his  native  State  in  1829,  and  in  1832,  was  chosen  to  represent 
his  district  in  Congress.  He  was  re-elected  in  1837,  and  was  continued  in  office  several  years.  In 
1844,  he  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  the  office  of  Governor  of  his  native  State,  and  in  1848 
he  was  elected  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  The  death  of  Taylor  gave  him  the  presidency, 
and  he  conducted  public  affairs  with  dignity  and  skill.  In  the  summer  of  1856,  he  was  nominated 
for  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  by  the  "American"  party,  with  A.  J.  Donelson  for 
Vice-President.  See  Note  1,  page  479. 


502 


THE    CONFEDERATION. 


[1850. 


until  after  the  obsequies  of  the  deceased  President  had  been  performed.  At  his 
request,  they  remained  in  office  until  the  15th  of  the  month,  when  President 
Fillmore  appointed  new  heads  of  the  departments.1 

The  administration  of  President  Taylor  had  been  brief,  but  it  was  distin- 


guished  by  events  which  will  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  future  des- 
tiny of  our  Republic.  One  of  these  was  an  invasion  of  Cuba  by  a  force  under 
General  Lopez,  a  native  of  that  island,  which  was  organized  and  officered  in  the 
United  States,  in  violation  of  existing  neutrality  laws.  For  a  long  time  the 
native  Cubans  had  been  restive  under  the  rigorous  rule  of  Spanish  Governor- 
Generals,3  and  a  desire  for  independence  burned  in  the  hearts  of  many  of  the 
best  men  there.  Among  these  was  Lopez,  who,  in  forming  this  invading  expe- 
dition, counted  largely  upon  this  feeling  for  co-operation.  He  landed  at  Car- 

1  Daniel  Webster,  Secretary  of  State ;  Thomas  Corwin,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  Charles  M. 
Conrad,  Secretary  of  War ;  Alexander  H.  H.  Stuart,  Secretary  of  the  Interior ;  William  A.  Graham, 
Secretary  of  the  Navy;  John  J.  Crittenden,  Attorney-General;  Nathan  K.  Hall,  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral. Daniel  Webster  was  born  in  Salisbury,  New  Hampshire,  in  January,  1782,  and  was  educated 
chiefly  at  the  Phillips  Academy  at  Andover,  and  Dartmouth  College  at  Hanover.  He  studied  law 
in  Boston,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1805.  He  commenced  practice  in  his  native  State,  and 
soon  became  eminent.  He  first  appeared  in  public  life  in  1813,  when  he  took  his  seat  as  a  member 
of  the  Federal  House  of  Representatives.  At  that  session  his  speeches  were  remarkable,  and  a 
southern  member  remarked,  "  The  North  has  not  his  equal,  nor  the  South  his  superior."  Although 
in  public  life  a  greater  portion  of  the  time  from  that  period  until  his  death,  yet  he  always  had  an 
extensive  and  lucrative  law  practice.  He  stood  foremost  as  a  constitutional  lawyer ;  and  for  many 
years  he  was  peerless  as  a  statesman.  He  died  at  Marshfield,  Massachusetts,  in  October,  1852,  at 
the  age  of  almost  seventy-one  years.  2  Page  40. 


1853.]  FILLMORE'S     ADMINISTRATION".  503 

denas  on  the  19th  of  April,  1850,  expecting  to  be  joined  by  some  of  the  Span- 
ish troops  and  native  Cubans,  and  by  concerted  action  to  rid  the  island  of  cruel 
bondage.  But  the  people  and  troops  did  not  co-operate  with  him,  and  disap- 
pointed, he  returned  to  the  United  States  to  prepare  for  a  more  formidable 
expedition.  We  shall  meet  him  again  presently. 


During  Taylor's  administration,  one  sovereign  State  and  three  Territories 
were  added  to  the  Confederacy,  and  preparations  were  made  for  organizing  other 
local  governments  within  the  domain  of  the  United  States.  That  State  was 
California,  and  the  Territories  were  of  those  of  New  Mexico,  Utah,  and  Minne- 
sota.1 The  greater  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Utah  are  of  the  religious  sect 
called  Mormons,  who,  after  suffering  much  in  Missouri  and  Illinois,  from  their 
opposers,  left  those  States  in  1848,  and  penetrated  the  deep  wilderness  in  the 
interior  of  our  continent ;  and  near  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  in  the  midst  of  the 
savage  Utah  tribes,  they  have  built  a  large  city,  made  extensive  plantations, 
and  founded  an  empire  almost  as  large,  in  territorial  extent,  as  that  of 

1  Minnesota  (sky-colored  water)  is  the  Indian  name  of  the  river  St.  Peter,  the  largest  tributary 
of  the  Mississippi,  in  that  region.  It  was  a  part  of  the  vast  Territory  of  Louisiana,  and  was  organ- 
ized in  March,  1849.  An  embryo  village  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  named  St.  Paul,  was  made 
the  capital,  and  it  now  contains  more  than  ten  thousand  souls.  Its  growth  is  unprecedented,  even 
in  the  wonderful  progress  of  other  cities  of  the  "West,  and  it  promises  to  speedily  equal  Chicago  in 
its  population.  The  whole  region  of  Minnesota  is  very  attractive;  and  it  has  been  called  the 
New  England  of  the  West. 


504  THE   CONFEDERATION.  [1850. 

Alexander  the  Great.1  The  sect  was  founded  in  1827,  by  a  shrewd  young 
man  named  Joseph  Smith,  a  native  of  central  New  York,  who  professed  to 
have  received  a  special  revelation  from  Heaven,  giving 
him  knowledge  of  a  book  which  had  been  buried  many 
centuries  before,  in  a  hill  near  the  village  of  Palmyra, 
whose  leaves  were  of  gold,  upon  which  were  engraved 
the  records  of  the  ancient  people  of  America,  and  a 
new  gospel  for  man.  He  found  dupes,  believers,  and 
followers;  and  now  [1856]  there  are  Mormon  mission- 
aries in  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  the  communion 
numbers,  probably,  not  less  than  two  hundred  thou- 
JOSEPH  SMITH.  sant[  goulg.  There  is  about  a  sufficient  number  in 

Utah  (60,000)  to  entitle  them  to  a  State  constitution,  and  admission  into  the 
Union.  Their  permission  of  polygamy,  or  men  having  more  than  one  wife, 
will  be  a  serious  bar  to  their  admission,  for  Christianity  and  sound  morality 
forbid  the  custom.  The  Mormons  have  poetically  called  their  country  Deseret 
— the  land  of  the  Honey  Bee — but  Congress  has  entitled  it  Utah,  and  by  that 
name  it  must  be  known  in  history. 

The  country  inhabited  by  the  Mormons  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  on  the 
face  of  the  globe.  It  consists  of  a  series  of  extensive  valleys  and  rocky  mar- 
gins, spread  out  into  an  immense  basin,  surrounded  by  rugged  mountains,  out 
of  which  no  waters  flow.  It  is  midway  between  the  States  on  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  perfectly  isolated  from  habitable  regions,  and  embracing 
a  domain  covering  sixteen  degrees  of  longitude  in  the  Utah  latitude.  On  the 
east  are  the  sterile  spurs  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  stretching  down  to  the  vast 
plains  traversed  by  the  Platte  river  ;  on  the  west,  extending  nearly  a  thousand 
miles  toward  the  Pacific,  are  arid  salt  deserts,  broken  by  barren  mountains ; 
and  north  and  south  are  immense  mountain  districts.  The  valleys  afford  pe- 

1  The  Mormon  exodus  was  one  of  the  most  wonderful  events  on  record,  when  considered  in  all 
its  phases.  In  September,  184G,  the  last  lingering  Mormons  at  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  where  they  had 
built  a  splendid  temple,  were  driven  away  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  by  1,600  troops.  In  Febru- 
ary preceding,  some  sixteen  hundred  men,  women,  and  children,  fearful  of  the  wrath  of  the  people 
around  them,  had  crossed  the  Mississippi  on  the  ice,  and  traveling  with  ox-teams  and  on  foot,  they 
penetrated  the  wilderness  to  the  Indian  countrj-,  near  Council  Bluffs,  on  the  Missouri.  The  rem- 
nant who  started  in  autumn,  many  of  whom  were  sick  men,  feeble  women,  and  delicate  girls,  were 
compelled  to  traverse  the  same  dreary  region.  The  united  host,  under  the  guidance  of  Brigham 
Young,  who  is  yet  their  temporal  and  spiritual  leader,  halted  on  the  broad  prairies  of  Missouri  the 
following  summer,  turned  up  the  virgin  soil,  and  planted.  Here  leaving  a  few  to  cultivate  and 
gather  for  wanderers  who  might  come  after  them,  the  host  moved  on,  making  the  wilderness  vocal 
with  preaching  and  singing.  Order  marked  every  step  of  their  progress,  for  the  voice  of  Young, 
whom  they  regarded  as  a  seer,  was  to  them  as  the  voice  of  God.  On  they  went,  forming  Tabernacle 
Camps,  or  temporary  resting-places  in  the  wilderness.  No  obstacles  impeded  their  progress.  They 
forded  swift-running  streams,  and  bridged  the  deeper  floods ;  crept  up  the  great  eastern  slopes  of  the 
Eocky  Mountains,  and  from  the  lofty  summits  of  the  Wasatch  range,  they  beheld,  on  the  20th  of 
July,  1847,  the  valley  where  they  were  to  rest  and  build  a  city,  and  the  placid  waters  of  the  Great 
Salt  Lake,  glittering  in  the  beams  of  the  setting  sun.  To  those  weary  wanderers,. this  moutain  top 
was  a  Pisgah.  From  it  they  saw  the  Promised  Land — to  them  a  scene  of  wondrous  interest. 
"Westward,  lofty  peaks,  bathed  in  purple  air,  pierced  the  sky ;  and  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
north  and  south,  stretched  the  fertile  Valley  of  Promise,  and  here  and  there  the  vapors  of  hot 
springs,  gushing  from  rocky  coverts,  curled  above  the  hills,  like  smoke  from  the  hearth-fires  of  home. 
The  Pilgrims  entered  the  valley  on  the  21st  of  July,  and  on  the  24th  the  President  and  High 
Council  arrived.  There  they  planted  a  city,  the  Jerusalem — the  Holy  City — of  the  Mormon  people. 


MORMOX  EMIGRATION. 


1853.]  FILLMORE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  507 

rennial  pasturage,  and  the  soil  is  exceedingly  fertile.  Wild  game  abounds  in 
the  mountains ;  the  streams  are  filled  with  excellent  fish ;  the  climate  is 
delightful  at  all  seasons  of  the  year;  and  "breathing  is  a  real  luxury." 
Southward,  over  the  rim  of  the  great  basin,  is  a  fine  cotton-growing  region, 
into  which  the  Mormons  are  penetrating.  The  vast  hills  and  mountain  slopes 
present  the  finest  pasturage  in  the  world  for  sheep,  alpacas,  and  goats.  The 
water-power  of  the  whole  region  is  immense.  Iron  mines  everywhere  abound, 
and  in  the  Green  river  basin,  there  are  inexhaustible  beds  of  coal.  In  these 
great  natural  resources  and  defenses,  possessed  by  a  people  of  such  indomitable 
energy  and  perseverance  as  the  Mormons,  we  see  the  vital  elements  of  a  power- 
ful mountain  nation  in  the  heart  cf  our  continent,  and  in  the  direct  pathway 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  States,  that  may  yet  play  a  most  important 
part,  for  good  or  evil,  in  the  destinies  of  our  country  and  of  the  world. 

The  most  important  measures  adopted  during  the  early  part  of  Fillm ore's 
administration,  was  the  Compromise  act,  already  considered.1  During  his 
official  career,  the  President  firmly  supported  all  the  requirements  of  the  act, 
and  his  judicious  and  conservative  course  kept  the  waters  of  public  opinion  com- 
paratively calm,  notwithstanding  the  workings  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  fre- 
quently produced  much  local  excitement,  where  it  happened  to  be  executed,  or, 
as  was  frequently  the  case,  resisted.  At  the  close  of  his  administration,  in  the 
spring  of  1853,  there  was  very  little  disquietude  in  the  public  mind  on  the  sub- 
ject of  slavery. 

In  the  spring  of  1851,  Congress  made  important  changes  in  the  general 
post-office  laws,  chiefly  in  the  reduction  of  letter  postage,  fixing  the  rate  upon 
a  letter  weighing  not  more  than  half  an  ounce,  and  pre-paid,  at  three  cents,  to 
any  part  of  the  United  States,  excepting  California  and  the  Pacific  Territories. 
This  measure  was  a  salutary  one,  and  has  been  productive  of  much  social  and 
commercial  advantage,  for  interchanges  of  thought  are 
proportionately  more  frequent  than  before,  and 
friendly  intercourse  and  business  transactions  by  let- 
ters are  far  more  extensive.  At  the  same  time, 
electro-magnetic  telegraphing  had  become  quite  per- 
fect ;  and  by  means  of  the  subtle  agency  of  electricity, 
communications  were  speeding  over  thousands  of 
miles  of  iron  wire,  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning. 
The  establishment  of  this  instantaneous  communica- 
tion between  distant  points  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant achievements  of  this  age  of  invention  and  discov-  MORSE 
ery ;  and  the  names  of  Fulton  and  Morse2  will  be 

1  Page  399. 

2  In  "1832,  Professor  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  had  his  attention  directed  to  the  experiments  of 
Franklin  upon  a  wire  of  a  few  miles  in  length,  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill,  in  which  the  velocity 
of  electricity  was  found  to  be  so  inappreciable  that  it  was  supposed  to  be  instantaneous.      Pro- 
fessor Morse,  pondering  upon  this  subject,  suggested  that  electricity  might  be  made  the  means  of 
recording  characters  as  signs  of  intelligence  at  a  distance;  and  in  the  autumn  of  1832  he  con- 
structed a  portion  of  the  instrumentalities  for  that  purpose.     In  1835  he  showed  the  first  com- 
plete instrument  for  telegraphic  recording,  at  the  New  York  city  University.     In  1837  he  com- 


508  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1850. 

forever  indissolubly  connected  in  the  commercial  and  social  history  of  our 
Republic. 

During  the  summer  of  1851,  there  was  again  considerable  excitement  pro- 
duced throughout  the  country  because  other  concerted  movements  were  made  at 
different  points,  in  the  organization  of  a  military  force  for  the  purpose  of  invad- 
ing Cuba.1  The  vigilance  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  was  awak- 
ened, and  orders  were  given  to  Federal  marshals  to  seize  suspected  men,  vessels, 
and  munitions  of  war.  The  steamboat  Cleopatra  was  seized  at  New  York ; 
and  several  gentlemen,  of  the  highest  respectability,  were  arrested  on  a  charge 
of  a  violation  of  existing  neutrality  laws.  In  the  mean  while,  the  greatest  ex- 
citement prevailed  in  Cuba,  and  forty  thousand  Spanish  troops  were  concentrated 
there,  while  a  considerable  naval  force  watched  and  guarded  the  coasts.  These 
hinderances  caused  the  dispersion  of  the  armed  bands  who  were  preparing  to 
invade  Cuba,  and  quiet  wras  restored  for  awhile.  But  in  July,  the  excitement 
was  renewed.  General  Lopez2  made  a  speech  to  a  large  crowd  in  New  Orleans, 
in  favor  of  an  invading  expedition.  Soon  afterward  [August,  1851],  he  sailed 
from  that  port  with  about  four  hundred  and  eighty  followers,  and  landed 
[August  11]  on  the  northern  coast  of  Cuba.  There  he  left  Colonel  Crittenden,3 
of  Kentucky,  with  one  hundred  men,  and  proceeded  toward  the  interior.  Crit- 
tenden and  his  party  were  captured,  carried  to  Havana,  and  on  the  16th  were 
shot.  Lopez  was  attacked  on  the  13th,  and  his  little  army  dispersed.  He  had 
been  greatly  deceived.  There  yet  appeared  no  signs  of  revolution  in  Cuba,  and 
he  became  a  fugitive.  He  was  arrested  on  the  28th,  with  six  of  his  followers, 
taken  to  Havana,  and  on  the  1st  of  September  was  executed.  Since  that 
event  no  successful  effort  to  organize  an  invading  expedition  has  been  made, 
notwithstanding  there  is  still  [1850]  a  strong  feeling  in  some  sections  favorable 
to  it. 

pletcd  a  more  perfect  machinery.  In  1838  he  submitted  the  matter  and  the  telegraphic  instruments 
to  Congress,  asking  their  aid  to  construct  a  line  of  sufficient  length  "to  test  its  practicability  and 
utility."  The  committee  to  whom  the  subject  was  referred,  reported  favorably,  and  proposed  an 
appropriation  of  $30,000  to  construct  the  first  line.  The  appropriation,  however,  was  not  made 
until  the  3d  of  March,  1843.  The  posts  for  supporting  the  wires  were  erected  between  "Washing- 
ton and  Baltimore,  a  distance  of  forty  miles.  In  the  spring  of  1844  the  line  was  completed,  and  the 
proceedings  of  the  Democratic  convention,  then  sitting  in  Baltimore,  which  nominated  James  K. 
Polk  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States,  was  the  first  use,  for  public  purposes,  ever  made  by 
the  telegraph,  whose  wires  now  [185G]  extend  a  distance  of  almost  fifty  thousand  miles  in  the 
United  States  and  Canadas.  Professor  Morse's  system  of  Recording  Telegraphs  is  adopted  gener- 
ally on  the  continent  of  Europe,  aud  has  been  selected  by  the  government  of  Australia  for  the  tele- 
graphic systems  of  that  country.  A  very  ingenious  machine  for  recording  telegraphic  communica- 
tions with  printing  types,  so  as  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  copying,  was  constructed,  a  few  years  ago, 
by  House,  and  is  now  extensively  used.  Professor  Morse  is  the  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Jedediah  Morse, 
the  first  American  geographer.  He  was  born  in  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  in  1791,  and  was 
graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1810.  He  studied  painting,  in  England,  and  was  very  successful.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  National  Academy  of  Design  in  New  York,  and  he  was  the  first  to 
deliver  a  course  of  lectures  upon  art,  in  America.  He  became  a  professor  in  the  University  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  arid  there  perfected  his  magnetic  telegraph.  Mr.  Morse  now  [1856]  resides  on 
his  beautiful  estate  of  Locust  Grove,  near  Po'keepsie,  New  York.  He  has  received  many  testi- 
monials of  appreciation  from  eminent  individuals  and  societies  abroad ;  and  in  the  summer  of  1856 
he  departed  for  Russia,  having  received  an  invitation  from  the  Emperor  Alexander  to  be  present  at 
his  coronation.  He  returned  at  the  close  of  October. 

1  Page  502.  2  Page  502. 

3  William  L.  Crittenden.  He  had  been  a  second  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  infantry,  by 
brevet,  but  resigned  in  1849. 


1853.]  FILLMORE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  509 

In  the  autumn  of  1851,  more  accessions  were  made  to  the  vastly-extended 
possessions  of  the  United  States,  by  the  purchase  of  twenty-one  millions  of 
acres  of  land  in  Minnesota,  from  the  Upper  Sioux  tribes.1  The  amount  paid  for 
this  tract  was  about  three  hundred  and  five  thousand  dollars,  to  be  given  when 
the  Indians  should  reach  their  reservation  in  Upper  Minnesota,  and  sixty-eight 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  for  fifty  years.  At  about  the  same  time,  another 
broad  region  was  purchased  of  the  Lower  Sioux;2  and  now  [1856]  a  white 
population  is  flowing  thither,  to  take  the  place  of  the  Indians,  and  make  "the 
wilderness  blossom  as  the  rose."  On  account  of  the  rapid  progress  of  immigra- 
tion from  abroad  and  inter-emigration  at  home,  and  the  wonderful  prosperity 
of  business  of  all  kinds,  the  greatest  activity  everywhere  prevailed,  and  forecast 
perceived  a  vast  and  speedy  increase  of  population  and  national  wealth.  Al- 
ready new  States  and  Territories  were  sending  additional  representatives  to  the 
seat  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  the  capitol  was  becoming  too  narrow.3 
In  view  of  future  wants,  its  extension  was  decided  upon ;  and  on  the  4th  of 
July,  1851,  the  President  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  addition.4 

In  the  month  of  May,  1845,  Sir  John  Franklin;  a  veteran  English  explorer, 
with  two  vessels  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  men,  left  Great  Britain  in 
search  of  the  long-sought-for  north-west  passage  to  the  East  Indies.6  Since  the 
spring  of  1846,  no  certain  tidings  of  him  have  been  received,  and  several  expe- 
ditions have  been  sent  in  search  of  him.6  Among  others,  Henry  Grmnell,  a 
wealthy  merchant  of  New  York,  sent  two  vessels,  at  his  own  expense,  in  quest 
of  the  missing  mariner.  The  expedition  left  New  York  in  May,  1850,  under 
the  command  of  Lieutenant  De  Haven,  of  the  United  States  navy.  It  pene- 
trated the  polar  waters  to  the  southern  entrance  of  Wellington  Channel,  where 
the  graves  of  three  of  Franklin's  men,  made  in  April,  1846,  were  discovered. 
After  ineffectual  attempts  to  pass  up  that  channel  to  the  supposed  open  circum- 
polar  sea  beyond,  the  expedition  returned  in  October,  1851,  without  accomplish- 
ing its  benevolent  object.  Yet  the  search  for  the  brave  Sir  John  and  his  com- 

1  Page  31. 

2  About  $225,000  were  paid  for  this  tract,  and  a  promised  annual  payment  of  $30,000  for 
fifty  years.    Altogther,  the  United  States  government  paid  about  $3,000,000  for  Indian  lands  in  the 
autumn  of  1851. 

3  Each  State  is  entitled  to  two  senators.     The  number  of  States  now  [1856]  being  thirty-one, 
the  Senate  is  composed  of  sixty -two  members.     The  number  of  Representatives  to  which  each 
State  is  entitled,  is  determined  by  the  number  of  inhabitants.     The  present  number  of  the  members 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  is  two  hundred  and  thirty-four. 

4  Note  1,  page  388.     On  the  occasion  of  laying  the  corner-stone,  an  oration  was  pronounced  by 
Daniel  Webster,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said :   "  If,  therefore,  it  shall  hereafter  be  the  will  of  God 
that  this  structure  shall  fall  from  its  base,  that  its  foundations  be  upturned,  and  the  deposit  beneath 
this  stone  brought  to  the  eyes  of  men,  be  it  then  known,  that  on  this  day  the  Union  of  the  United 
States  of  America  stands  firm — that  their  Constitution  still  exists  unimpaired,  and  with  all  its  use- 
fulness and  glory,  growing  every  day  stronger  in  the  affections  of  the  great  body  of  the  American 
people,  and  attracting,  more  and  more,  the  admiration  of  the  world." 

6  Note  2,  page  47,  also  page  52,  and  note  8,  page  59. 

6  In  1855,  an  overland  exploring  party,  was  dispatched  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Fur  Company  to  ex- 
amine the  localities  on  the  northern  coast  of  America,  where  it  was  supposed  Franklin  and  his 
associates  perished.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Fish,  or  Black  River,  Esquimaux  informed  them 
that  about  four  years  before,  a  party  of  white  men  had  perished  from  famine  and  exhaustion  in  the 
vicinity  of  Montreal  Island.  Some  articles  known  to  have  belonged  to  Sir  John  Franklin's  party, 
were  found  among  the  Esquimaux,  and  seem  to  confirm  the  belief  that  these  brave  adventurers 
actually  perished  about  the  year  1851,  on  the  northern  borders  of  North  America. 


510  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1850. 

panions  was  not  abandoned.  From  England  another  expedition  was  sent ;  and 
Mr.  Grinnell,  in  connection  with  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  sent  another  on  the  same  errand, 
under  the  command  of  Dr.  Elisha  K.  Kane,  the  sur- 
geon and  naturalist  of  the  former  enterprise.  It  sailed 
from  New  York  on  the  31st  of  May,  1853,  and  on  the 
10th  of  September  following  they  were  frozen  in  on 
the  coast  of  Greenland,  at  the  most  northerly  point 
ever  reached.  There  they  passed  the  winter,  and  the 
following  summer  was  spent  in  exploring  the  shores, 
their  vessel  all  the  while  remaining  fast  in  the  ice.  The 
winter  of  1854  and  1855  was  one  of  unexampled  sever- 
ity, and  they  suffered  inconceivable  hardships.  Their  stock  of  fuel  was  ex- 
hausted, and  even  rats  became  choice  morsels  of  food.  Disease  fell  upon  them  ; 
and  at  one  time  it  appeared  as  if  all  must  inevitably  perish.  But  the  indom- 
itable perseverance  of  Dr.  Kane1  and  his  party  overcame  all ;  and  they  were 
rewarded  by  the  discovery  of  the  long-suspected  open  polar  sea,  beyond  the 
great  ice-belt  that  girdles  the  North  Pole.  The  long  absence  of  the  expedition 
excited  fears  for  their  safety,  and  another  was  sent  to  their  relief.  Dr.  Kane 
and  his  party,  compelled  to  abandon  their  vessels,  had  voyaged  in  open  boats 
thirteen  hundred  miles  to  a  Danish  settlement  on  Greenland,  and  were  about  to 
take  passage  for  England  when  the  Relief  Expedition  found  them.  On  the 
18th  of  September,  1855,  they  all  sailed  for  New  York,  where  they  arrived  on 
the  llth  of  October.  In  the  mean  while,  the  great  problem  which,  for  three 
hundred  years,  has  perplexed  the  maritime  world,  had  been  worked  out  by  an 
English  navigator.  The  fact  of  a  north-west  passage  around  the  Arctic  coast 
of  North  America,  from  Baffin's  Bay  to  Behring's  Straits,  has  been  unques- 
tionably demonstrated  by  Captain  M'Clure,  of  the  ship  Investigator,  who  was 
sent  in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin  in  October,  1853.  Having  passed  through 

1  Elisha  Kent  Kane  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  February,  1822,  and  he  took  his  degree  in  the 
Medical  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1 843.  He  entered  the  American  navy  as  assistant-surgeon, 
and  was  attached  as  a  physician  to  the  first  American  embassy  to  China.  While  in  the  East,  he  visited 
many  of  the  Islands,  and  met  with  wild  adventures.  After  that  he  ascended  the  Nile  to  the  confines 
of  Nubia,  and  passed  a  season  in  Egypt.  After  traveling  through  Greece  and  a  part  of  Europe,  on 
foot,  he  returned  to  the  United  States  in  1846.  He  was  immediately  sent  to  the  coast  of  Africa, 
where  he  narrowly  escaped  death  from  fever.  Soon  after  his  recovery  he  went  to  Mexico  as  a 
volunteer  in  the  war  then  progressing,  where  his  bravery  and  endurance  commanded  universal  ad- 
miration. His  horse  was  killed  under  him,  and  himself  was  badly  wounded.  He  was  appointed 
senior  surgeon  and  naturalist  to  the  "Grinnell  Expedition,"  sent  in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin; 
and  after  his  return  he  prepared  an  interesting  account  of  the  exploration.  He  was  appointed  to 
the  command  of  a  second  expedition,  which  sailed  in  May,  185H.  Governed  by  the  suggestions  of 
a  theory  which  had  long  occupied  his  mind,  he  prepared  more  for  land  than  water  explorations. 
Supposing  Greenland  to  be  the  southern  cape  of  a  polar  continent,  it  was  the  intention  of  Dr.  Kane 
to  sail  as  far  north  along  that  coast  as  the  ice  would  allow,  and  then  leave  his  vessels  and  make  an 
overland  journey  northward,  in  quest  of  supposed  green  fields  under  a  mild  atmosphere,  and  an 
open  sea  within  the  polar  circle  ;  and,  perhaps,  there  Imd  the  temporary  home  of  Franklin  and  his 
men.  The  rigors  of  those  northern  winters  prevented  a  full  carrying  out  of  his  plan,  but  he  accom- 
plished wonders  in  behalf  of  geographical  science.  The  record  of  this  wonderful  expedition,  pre- 
pared by  himself,  has  been  published  in  two  superb  volumes,  illustrated  by  engravings  from  draw- 
ings by  Dr.  Kane.  The  hardships  which  he  had  endured  made  great  inroads  on  the  health  of  Dr. 
Kane  (who  was  a  very  light  man,  weighing  only  106  pounds);  and  in  October,  1856,  he  sailed  for 
England,  and  from  thenco  to  Havana,  where  he  died  on  the  16th  of  February,  1857. 


1853.]  FILLMORE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  511 

Behring's  Straits,  and  sailed  eastward,  he  reached  a  point  with  sleds  upon  the 
ice,  which  had  been  penetrated  by  navigators  from  the  East  (Captain  Parry  and 
others),  thus  establishing  the  fact  that  there  is  a  water  connection  between 
Baffin's  Bay  and  those  Straits.  Already  the  mute  whale  had  demonstrated 
this  fact  to  the  satisfaction  of  naturalists.  The  same  species  are  found  in  Beh- 
ring's Straits  and  Baffin's  Bay ;  and  as  the  waters  of  the  tropical  regions  would 
be  like  a  sea  of  fire  to  them,  they  must  have  had  communication  through  the 
polar  channels. 

Toward  the  close  of  1851  [December],  Louis  Kossuth,  the  exiled  governor 
of  Hungary,  arrived  in  New  York,  from  England,  on  a  mission  to  the  United 
States  in  quest  of  aid  for  his  oppressed  country.  His  wonderful  efforts  in  be- 
half of  liberty  in  Hungary  during  and  after  the  European  revolutions  in  1848, J 
and  his  extraordinary  talent  as  an  orator,  secured  for  him  a  reception  in  Great 
Britain  and  in  the  United  States,  such  as  the  most  powerful  emperor  might  be 
proud  of.  His  journey  throughout  a  greater  portion  of  the  States  was  like  a 
continued  ovation.  He  was  welcomed  by  a  deputation  from  all  classes  and  pur- 
suits ;  and  many  thousands  of  dollars  were  raised  in  aid  of  Hungary,  by  volun- 
tary contributions.  His  noble  advocacy  of  correct  international  law"  and  universal 
brotherhood,  his  unwearied  labors  in  behalf  of  his  smitten  country,  and  his  de- 
votion to  the  cause  of  human  freedom  in  general,  endeared  him  to  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  people  of  the  United  States.  The  policy  of  our  government  forbade 
its  lending  material  aid ;  but  Kossuth  received  an  expression  of  its  warmest 
sympathies.3  His  advent  among  us,  and  his  bold  enunciation  of  hitherto  unrec- 
ognized national  duties,  are  important  and  interesting  events  in  the  history  of 
our  republic. 

Some  ill-feeling  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  was  engen- 
dered during  the  summer  of  1852,  when  the  subject  of  difficulties  concerning  the 
fisheries4  on  the  coast  of  British  America  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  Congress, 
and  for  several  months  there  were  indications  of  a  serious  disturbance  of  the  am- 
icable relations  between  the  governments  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 
American  fishers  were  charged  with  a  violation  of  the  treaty  of  1818,  which 
stipulated  that  they  should  not  cast  their  lines  or  nets  in  the  bays  of  the  Brit- 
ish possessions,  except  at  a  distance  of  three  miles  or  more  from  the  shore. 
Now,  the  British  government  claimed  the  right  to  draw  a  line  from  head-land 

1  In  February,  1848,  the  French  people  drove  Louis  Phillippe  from  Ins  throne,  and  formed  a 
temporary  republic.     The  revolutionary  spirit  spread ;  and  within  a  few  months,  almost  every  coun- 
try on  the  continent  of  Europe  was  in  a  state  of  agitation,  and  the  monarchs  made  many  conces- 
sions to  the  people.     Hungary  made  an  effort  to  become  free  from  tho  rule  of  Austria,  but  was 
crushed  by  the  power  of  a  Russian  army. 

2  He  asserted  that  grand  principle,  that  one  nation  has  no  right  to  interfere  with  the  domestic 
concerns  of  another,  and  that  all  nations  are  bound  to  use  their  efforts  to  prevent  such  interference. 

8  Matters  connected  with  his  reception,  visit,  and  desires,  occupied  much  of  the  attention  of 
Congress,  and  elicited  warm  debates  during  the  session  of  1852.  The  Chevalier  Hulseman,  the 
Austrian  minister  at  "Washington,  formally  protested  against  the  reception  of  Kossuth,  by  Congress ; 
and  because  his  protest  was  riot  heeded,  he  retired  from  his  post,  and  left  the  duties  of  his  office 
with  Mr.  Auguste  Belmonte,  of  New  York.  Previous  to  this,  Hulseman  issued  a  written  protest 
against  the  policy  of  our  government  in  relation  to  Austria  and  Hungary,  and  that  protest  was  an- 
swered, in  a  masterly  manner,  in  January,  1851,  by  Mr.  Webster,  the  Secretary  of  State. 

4  Pages  47  and  453. 


512  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1850. 

to  head-land  of  these  bays,  and  to  exclude  the  Americans  from  the  waters 
within  that  line.1  An  armed  naval  force  was  sent  to  sustain  this  claim,  and 
American  vessels  were  threatened  with  seizure  if  they  did  not  comply.  The 
government  of  the  United  States  regarded  the  assumption  as  illegal,  and  two 
steam  vessels  of  war  (Princeton  and  Fulton]  were  sent  to  the  coast  of  Nova 
Scotia  to  protect  the  rights  of  American  fishermen.  The  dispute  was  am- 
icably settled  by  mutual  concessions,  in  October,  1852,  and  the  cloud  passed 

V- 

During  the  summer  of  1853,  another  important  measure  of  national  concern 
was  matured  and  put  in  operation.  The  great  importance  of  commercial  inter- 
course with  Japan,  because  of  the  intimate  relations  which  must  soon  exist  be- 
tween our  Pacific  coast  and  the  East  Indies,  had  been  felt  ever  since  the  founda- 
tion of  Oregon3  and  California.3  An  expedition,  to  consist  of  seven  ships  of  war, 
under  the  command  of  Commodore  Perry,  a  brother  of  the  "  Hero  of  Lake  Erie,"* 
was  fitted  out  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  a  letter  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  the  emperor  of  Japan,  soliciting  the  negotiation  of  a  treaty  of 
friendship  and  commerce  between  the  two  nations,  by  which  the  ports  of  the 
latter  should  be  thrown  open  to  American  vessels,  for  purposes  of  trade.  The 
mission  of  Commodore  Perry  was  highly  successful.  He  negotiated  a  treaty, 
by  which  ports  on  different  Islands  should  be  open  to  American  commerce  ;5  that 
steamers  from  California  to  China  should  be  furnished  with  supplies  of  coals; 
and  that  American  sailors  shipwrecked  on  the  Japanese  coasts  should  receive 
hospitable  treatment.  Subsequently  a  peculiar  construction  of  the  treaty  on 
the  part  of  the  Japanese  authorities,  in  relation  to  the  permanent  residence  of 
Americans  there,  threatened  a  disturbance  of  the  amicable  relations  which  had 
been  established. 

The  relations  between  the  United  States  and  old  Spain,  on  account  of  Cuba, 
became  interesting  in  the  autumn  of  1852.  The  Spanish  authorities  of  Cuba, 
being  thoroughly  alarmed  by  the  attempts  at  invasion,6  and  the  evident  sympathy 
in  the  movement  of  a  large  portion  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  became  ex- 
cessively suspicious,  and  many  little  outrages  were  committed  at  Havana,  which 
kept  alive  an  irritation  of  feeling  inconsistent  with  social  and  commercial  friend- 
ship.7 The  idea  became  prevalent  in  Cuba  and  in  Europe,  that  it  was  the  policy 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States  to  ultimately  acquire  absolute  possession 


1  This  stipulation  was  so  construed  as  to  allow  American  fishermen  to  catch  cod  within  the 
large  bays  where  they  could  easily  carry  on  their  avocation  at  a  greater  distance  than  three  miles 
from  any  land.     Such  had  been  the  common  practice,  without  interference,  until  the  assumption  of 
exclusive  right  to  their  bays  was  promulgated  by  the  British. 

2  Page  479.  3  Page  487.  4  Page  423. 

5  Previous  to  this,  the  Dutch  had  monopolized  the  trade  of  Japan.     See  note  5,  page  59. 

6  Pages  502  and  508. 

7  In  the  autumn  of  1852  an  officer  of  the  steamship  Orescent  City,  which  conveyed  the  United 
States  mails,  passengers,  and  freight  between  New  Orleans  and  New  York,  was  charged  by  the 
Spanish  authorities  with  having  written  articles  published  in  the  New  York  papers,  on  Cuban  af- 
fairs, which  were  very  offensive.     He  was  forbidden  to  land  in  Havana ;  and  in  November,  when 
the  Crescent  City,  on  her  way  to  New  York,  entered  that  harbor,  no  communication  between  her 
and  the  shore  was  allowed,  and  she  was  obliged  to  proceed  to  sea,  with  passengers  and  mails  that 
should  have  been  left  at  Havana.     A  more  flagrant  outrage  of  a  similar  character  was  committed 
in  the  spring  of  1854.     See  page  521. 


1853.]  FILLMORE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  513 

of  that  island,  and  thus  have  the  control  over  the  commerce  of  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico (the  door  to  California),  and  the  trade  of  the  West  India  group  of  islands, 
which  are  owned,  chiefly,  by  France  and  England.  To  prevent  such  a  result, 
the  cabinets  of  France  and  England  asked  that  of  the  United  States  to  enter 
with  them  into  a  treaty  which  should  secure  Cuba  to  Spain,  by  agreeing  to  dis- 
claim "  now  and  forever  hereafter,  all  intention  to  obtain  possession  of  the  Island 
of  Cuba,"  and  "  to  discountenance  all  such  attempts,  to  that  effect,  on  the  part 
of  any  power  or  individual  whatever."  On  the  1st  of  December,  1852,  Edward 
Everett,  then  Secretary  of  State,  issued  a  response  to  this  extraordinary  prop- 
osition, which  the  American  people  universally  applauded  for  its  keen  logic  and 
patriotic  and  enlightened  views.  He  told  France  and  England  plainly,  that  the 
question  was  an  American,  and  not  an  European  one,  and  not  properly  within 
the  scope  of  their  interference ;  that  while  the  United  States  Government  dis- 
claimed all  intention  to  violate  existing  neutrality  laws,  it  would  not  relinquish 
the  right  to  act  in  relation  to  Cuba  independent  of  any  other  power ;  and  that  it 
could  not  see  with  indifference  "  the  Island  of  Cuba  fall  into  the  hands  of  any 
other  power  than  Spain."1  Lord  John  Russell,  the  English  prime-minister, 
answered  this  letter,  in  February,  1853,  and  thus  ended  the  diplomatic  corres- 
pondence on  the  subject  of  the  proposed  "Tripartite  Treaty,"  as  it  was  called. 

At  a  national  Democratic  convention,  held  at  Baltimore  early  in  June. 
1852,  Franklin  Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire,  was  nominated  for  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  William  R.  King,  of  Alabama,  for  Vice-President.  At  a 
Whig  convention,  held  at  the  same  place  on  the  16th  of  June,  General  Winfield 
Scott  was  nominated  for  the  Chief  Magistracy,  and  William  A.  Graham,  of 
North  Carolina,  for  Vice-President.  The  Democratic  nominees  were  elected  in 
November  following.  Mr.  King  never  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office. 
Failing  health  compelled  him  to  leave  the  country  before  the  oath  of  office  could 
be  administered  to  him.  He  went  to  Cuba,  remained  a  few  months,  and  died  on 
the  18th  of  April,  1853,  soon  after  his  return  to  his  estate  in  Alabama,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-eight  years. 

The  most  important  of  the  closing  events  of  Mr.  Fillmore's  administration 
was  the  creation  by  Congress  of  a  new  Territory  called  Washington,  out  of  the 
northern  part  of  Oregon.2  The  bill  for  this  purpose  became  a  law  on  the  2d  of 
March,  1853. 


1  As  early  as  1823,  when  the  Spanish  provinces  in  South  America  were  in  rebellion  or  forming  into 
independent  republics,  President  Monroe,  in  a  special  message  upon  the  subject,  promulgated  the 
doctrine,  since  acted  upon,  that  the  United  States  ought  to  resist  the  extension  of  foreign  domain  or 
influence  upon  the  American  continent,  and  not  allow  any  European  government,  by  colonizing  or 
otherwise,  to  gain  a  foothold  in  the  New  "World  not  already  acquired.  [See  note  5,  page  448.] 
This  was  directed  specially  against  the  efforts  expected  to  be  made  by  the  allied  sovereigns  who 
had  crushed  Napoleon,  to  assist  Spain  against  her  revolted  colonies  in  America,  and  to  suppress  the 
growth  of  Democracy  there.  It  became  a  settled  policy  of  our  government,  and  Mr.  Everett  re- 
asserted it  in  its  fullest  extent.  Such  expression  seemed  to  be  important  and  seasonable,  because 
it  was  well  known  that  Great  Britain  was  then  making  strenuous  efforts  to  obtain  potent  influence 
in  Central  America,  so  as  to  prevent  the  United  States  from  acquiring  exclusive  property  in  the 
routes  across  the  isthmus  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

a  Page  479. 

33 


514 


THE     CONFEDERATION". 


[1853. 


CHAPTER     XIY. 

PIERCE'S    ADMINISTRATION.     [1  8  5  3  —  1  8  5  7  .] 

A  DRIVING  sleet  filled  the  air  on  the  4th  of  March.  1853,  when  Franklin 
Pierce,1  the  fourteenth  President  of  the  United  States,  stood  upon  the  rude 
platform  of  New  Hampshire  pine,  erected  for  the  purpose  over  the  steps  of  the 
eastern  portico  of  the  Federal  capitol,  and  took  the  oath  of  office  administered 


by  Chief  Justice  Taney.  The  military  display  on  that  occasion,  was  larger 
than  had  ever  been  seen  in  the  streets  of  the  Federal  city,  and  it  was  estimated 
that  at  least  twenty  thousand  strangers  were  in  Washington  on  the  morning  of 
the  inauguration.  Among  that  great  assembly  there  was  one  who  bore  a  near 

1  Franklin  Pierce  was  born  at  Hillsborough,  New  Hampshire,  in  November,  1804.  He  is  the 
son  of  General  Benjamin  Pierce,  an  active  officer  in  the  old  War  for  Independence,  and  one  of  the 
most  useful  men  in  New  Hampshire.  In  1820,  when  sixteen  years  of  age,  young  Pierce  became  a 
.student  in  Bowdoin  College,  at  Brunswick,  Maine.  He  was  graduated  in  1824,  chose  law  as  a 
profession,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar  in  1827.  He  became  a  warm  politician,  and 
partisan  of  General  Jackson  in  1828;  and  the  next  year,  when  he  was  twenty-five  years  of  age,  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  his  native  State.  There  he  served  four  years.  He  was 
elected  to  Congress  in  1833,  and  served  his  constituents  in  the  House  of  Representatives  for  four 
years.  In  1837,  'the  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire  elected  him  to  a  seat  in  the  Federal  Senate. 
He  resigned  his  seat  in  June,  1842,  and  remained  in  private  life  until  1845,  when  he  was  appointed 
United  States  District  Attorney  for  New  Hampshire.  He  was  commissioned  a  Brigadier-General 
in  March,  1847,  and  joined  the  army  in  Mexico,  under  General  Scott.  After  the  war,  he  retired 
from  public  life,  -where  he  remained  until  called  to  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people. 


1857.]  PIERCE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  515 

relationship  to  the  great  Washington,1  and  had  been  present  at  the  inauguration 
of  every  President  of  the  United  States  since  the  formation  of  our  Federal 
government  in  1789.2  Untrammeled  by  special  party  pledges,  the  new  Chief 
Magistrate  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  under  pleasant  auspices ;  and 
his  inaugural  address,  full  of  promise  and  patriotism,  received  the  general 
approval  of  his  countrymen.  Three  days  afterward  [March  7]  the  Senate,  in 
special  session,  confirmed  his  cabinet  appointments,3  and  the  administration  now 
[1856]  drawing  to  a  close  began  its  work. 

The  most  serious  difficulty  which  President  Pierce  was  called  upon  to 
encounter,  at  the  commencement  of  his  administration,  was  a  dispute  concern- 
ing the  boundary  line  between  the  Mexican  province  of  Chihuahua4  and  New 
Mexico.5  The  Mesilla  valley,  a  fertile  and  extensive  region,  was  claimed  by 
both  Territories;  and  under  the  direction  of  Santa  Anna,0  who  was  again  Pres- 
ident of  the  Mexican  Republic  in  1854,  Chihuahua  took  armed  possession 
of  the  disputed  territory.  For  a  time  war  seemed  inevitable  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico.  The  dispute  was  finally  settled  by  negotiations ; 
but  events  are  continually  transpiring  on  the  borders  of  the  two  countries,  cal- 
culated to  produce  much  irritation  of  feeling.  The  people  of  Mexico  are 
becoming  every  year  more  impatient  of  the  arbitrary  rule  of  military  leaders, 
and  insurrection  after  insurrection  continually  disturb  the  Republic.  The 
youth  of  the  present  generation  will  probably  observe  the  rule  of  the  United 
States  eventually  extended  over  the  whole  of  that  unhappy  country. 

A  few  days  after  the  expedition  under  the  command  of  Dr.  Kane  left  New 
York,  in  May,  1853,  another,  consisting  of  four  armed  vessels  and  a  supply- 
ship,  sailed  from  Norfolk,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Ringgold,  of  the 
United  States  Navy.  Its  destination  was  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia,  and  its 
object  a  thorough  exploration  of  those  regions  of  the  Pacific  Qcean  yet  to  be 
traversed  by  vessels  passing  between  the  ports  of  our  western  frontier  and 
China,  and  of  the  whaling  grounds  of  the  Sea  of  Okotsk  and  Behring's  Straits. 
This  expedition  returned  in  the  summer  of  1856,  having  accomplished  many  of 
the  objects  for  which  it  was  sent  out.  In  the  mean  while,  plans  had  been  sug- 

1  George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  of  Arlington  House,  Virginia,  a  grandson  of  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton, and  adopted  son  of  the  Father  of  his  Country.  He  is  now  [Dec.,  1856]  the  only  surviving  ex- 
ecutor of  the  last  Will  of  AVashington.  '2  Page  361. 

3  William  L.  Marcy,  Secretary  of  State ;  James  Guthrie,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  Robert 
McClelland,  Secretary  of  the  Interior ;  Jefferson  Davis,  Secretary  of  War ;  James  C.  Dobbin,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy ;  James  Campbell,  Postmaster-General;  Caleb  Gushing, 
Attorney-General.  4  Note  7,  page  484.  6  Page  497. 

6  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna  is  a  native  of  Mexico,  and  first  came 
into  public  life  in  1821,  during  the  excitements  of  revolution.  He  has 
been  one  of  the  chief  revolutionists  in  that  unhappy  country.  He  was 
chosen  President  of  the  Republic  in  1833.  After  an  exciting  career  as 
a  commanding  General,  he  was  again  elected  President  in  1841,  but  was 
hurled  from  power  in  1845.  After  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico  by 
the  Americans  under  General  Scott  [page  494],  he  retired  to  the  West 
Indies,  and  finally  to  Carthagena,  where  he  resided  until  1853,  when  he 
returned  to  Mexico,  and  was  elected  President  again.  In  the  summer 
of  1854,  he  was  accused  of  a  design  to  assume  imperial  power,  and 
violent  insurrections  were  the  consequence.  These  resulted  in  his  being 
again  deprived  of  power;  and  now  [1856]  he  is  in  exile.  Few  men 
have  experienced  greater  vicissitudes  than  Santa  Anna,  SANTA  ANNA. 


516  THE     CONFEDERATION".  [1853. 

gested,  and  some  matured,  for  the  construction  of  one  or  more  railways  from 
the  Mississippi  valley  across  the  continent  to  the  Pacific  coast.  This  subject 
yet  [1856]  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the  public  mind,  and  is  next  in 
importance,  as  a  national  question,  to  that  of  human  slavery,  now  the  great 
and  absorbing  topic  of  the  time.  The  thirty-second  Congress,  at  its  last  session,1 
authorized  surveys  for  the  selection  of  the  best  path  for  such  railroad  •  and  by 
mid-summer  [1853]  four  expeditions  were  fitted  out  to  explore  as  many  differ- 
ent routes.  One,  under  Major  Stevens,  was  instructed  to  survey  a  northern 
route  from  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi  to  Puget's  Sound.  The  course 
to  be  taken  was  from  St.  Paul's,  in  Minnesota,  to  the  Great  Bend  of  the  Mis- 
souri river ;  thence  on  the  table  land  between  the  Missouri  and  Saskatchawan 
rivers,  to  the  most  available  pass  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  A  second  expe- 
dition, under  Lieutenant  Whipple,  was  directed  to  cross  the  continent  from  the 
Mississippi,  along  a  line  adjacent  to  the  36th  parallel  of  latitude.  It  was  to 
proceed  from  the  Mississippi,  along  the  head  waters  of  the  Canadian  river, 
across  the  Rio  Peco,  and  enter  the  valley  of  the  Rio  del  Norte  near  Albu- 
querque, thence  through  Walker's  Pass  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific, 
on  the  coast  of  Southern  California,  near  San  Pedro,  Los  Angelos,  or  San 
Diego.  A  third,  under  Captain  Gunnison,  was  to  proceed  through  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  near  the  head  waters  of  the  Del  Norte,  by  way  of  the  Heurfano 
river,  into  the  valley  of  the  Greene  and  Grand  rivers,  thence  westwardly  along 
the  Nicollet  river  of  the  Great  Basin,  and  north,  by  way  of  the  Great  Salt 
Lake  in  Utah.2  A  fourth  was  to  leave  the  more  southern  portions  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  reach  the  Pacific  somewhere  in  Lower  California — perhaps  at  San 
Diego.  These  expeditions3  were  intended,  by  their  combined  operations,  to 
sweep  the  whole  area  of  our  territory  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific. 
Their  work  is  not  yet  [1856]  accomplished.  They  have  been  compelled  to 
encounter  the  most  discouraging  obstacles,4  but  the  results  will  be  of  infinite 
importance,  not  only  to  our  country,  but  to  the  world.  These,  taken  in  con- 
nection with  the  operations  of  portions  of  the  navy  of  the  United  States, 

in  explorations,  certainly  rank  among  the 
most  important  movements  of  the  age. 
Who  can  estimate  the  efiect  of  a  consumma- 
tion of  these  gigantic  plans,  upon  the  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  United  States,  when 
the  Pacific's  shores  shall  be  reached  by  rail- 
ways, and  steamships  shall  ply  regularly  be- 
AN  OCEAN  STEAMSHIP.  tween  their  termini  and  that  "  farther  India," 

1  Note  3,  page  366.  2  Page  504 

3  Late  in  the  autumn  of  1853,  Colonel  Fremont  started  with  a  number  of  men,  to  explore  the 
Cochatope  Pass,  in  mid- winter,  and  ascertain,  by  his  own  observation,  whether  the  snows  were  so  deep 
at  that  season  of  the  year,  as  to  render  railroad  travel  through  there  impracticable.     He  and  his  party 
suffered  terribly.   Forty-five  days  they  fed  on  mules,  which,  from  want  of  food,  could  go  no  further, 
and  were  killed  and  eaten — every  particle,  even  to  the  entrails !     They  were  met  and  relieved  by 
another  party  on  the  19th  of  February,  1854.     This  was  Fremont's  fifth  and  last  exploring  expedition. 

4  In  February,   1854,   the  Indians  of  the  Wasatch  Mountains  attacked   Captain  Gunnison's 
party,  and  slew  the  leader  and  several  of  his  men.     Their  remains  were  afterward  found  by  another 
party,,  when,  the  spring  sun  had  melted  the  snow. 


1857.] 


PIERCE'S     ADMINISTRATION. 


517 


whose  wealth  the  commercial  world  has  so  long  coveted  ?l  The  beaten  tracks  of 
commerce  will  be  changed,  and  teeming  marts  will  burst  into  existence  where 
now  the  dwindling  tribes  of  the  forest  build  their  wigwams,2  and  gaze  musingly 
upon  the  sunset,  the  emblem  of  their  own  destiny.3 

In  the  year  1851  an  immense  building,  made  of  iron  and  glass,  was  erected 
in  Hyde  Park,  London,  under  royal  patronage  ;4  and  within  it  an  exhibition  of 
the  industry  of  all  nations  was  opened  on  the  1st  of  May  of  that  year.  It  was 
a  WORLD'S  FAIR;  and  representatives  from  every  civilized  nation  of  the  globe 
were  there,  mingling  together  as  brothers  of  one  family,  and  all  equally  inter- 
ested in  the  perfection  of  each  other's  productions.  The  idea  was  one  of  great 
moral  grandeur,  for  it  set  an  insignia  of  dignity  upon  labor,  hitherto  withheld 
by  those  who  bore  scepters  and  orders.  There  men  of  all  nations  and  creeds 
received  a  lesson  upon  the  importance  of  brotherhood  among  the  children  of 
men,  such  as  the  pen  and  tongue  could  not  teach  ;  and  they  are  now  diffusing 
the  blessings  of  that  lesson  among  their  several  peoples,  the  fruits  of  which  will 
be  seen  by  future  generations. 
Pleased  with  the  idea  of  a 
"  World's  Fair,"  Americans 
repeated  its  development  upon 
their  own  free  soil.  In  the 
heart  of  the  commercial  me- 
tropolis of  the  New  World — 
the  city  of  New  York  —  a 
"  Crystal  Palace"  was  erect- 
ed ;  and  on  the  14th  of  July, 
1853,  an  exhibition  of  the  in- 
dustry of  all  nations  was  open- 
ed there  with  imposing  ceremonies  led  by  the  presiding  Chief  [Magistrate  of  the 
United  States.6  For  several  months  the  Palace  was  thronged  with  delighted 
visitors ;  and  on  the  4th  of  May,  1854,  it  was  re-opened  with  impressive  cere- 
monies as  a  perpetual  exhibition.  There,  in  that  beautiful  Palace,  Labor  was 
crowned  as  the  supreme  dignity  of  a  nation  and  of  the  world.6  Although  the 

1  Note. 4,  page  38.  a  Pago  13.  3  Pago  33. 

4  The  chief  patron  was  Prince  Albert,  husband  of  Victoria,  queen  of  Great  Britain. 

6  On  that  occasion,  prayer  was  read  by  Dr.  Wainwright,  provisional  bishop  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  diocese  of  New  York  (since  deceased) ;  an  address  was  pronounced  by 
Theodore  Sedgwick,  president  of  the  Association  by  which  the  building  was  erected;  and  on  the 
16th  of  the  month,  a  grand  entertainment  was  given  by  the  directors  to  distinguished  guests, 
among  whom  were  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  members  of  his  cabinet ;  Sir  Charles 
Lyell,  the  eminent  English  geologist,  and  others. 

6  One  of  the  speakers  on  that  occasion  [Elihu  Burritt]  said :  "  "Worthy  of  the  grandest  circum- 
stances which  could  be  thrown  around  a,  human  assembly,  worthy  of  this  occasion  and  a  hundred 
like  this,  is  that  beautiful  idea,  the  coronation  of  Labor.  *  *  *  Not  American  labor,  not  British 
labor,  not  French  labor,  not  the  labor  of  the  New  World  or  the  Old,  but  the  labor  of  mankind  as  one 
undivided  brotherhood — labor  as  the  oldest,  the  noblest,  prerogative  of  duty  and  humanity."  And 
Eev.  E.  IT.  Chapin  closed  with  the  beautiful  invocation :  "  0 !  genius  of  Art,  fill  us  with  the  inspir- 
ation of  still  higher  and  more  spiritual  beauty.  0 !  instruments  of  invention,  enlarge  our  dominion 
over  reality.  Let  iron  and  fire  become  as  blood  and  muscle,  and  in  this  electric  net-work  let  heart 
and  brain  inclose  the  world  with  truth  and  sympathy.  And  thou,  0 !  beautiful  dome  of  light,  sug- 
gestive of  the  brooding  future,  the  future  of  human  love  and  divine  communion,  expand  and  spread 
above  the  tribes  of  men,  a  canopy  broad  as  the  earth,  and  glorious  as  the  upper  heaven." 


CRYSTAL  PALACE  IX  NEW  YOKK. 


518  THE     CONFEDERATION".  [1853. 

whole  proceedings  were  but  an  ephemeral  show,  and  the  scheme  of  a  perpetual 
exhibition  has  utterly  failed,  the  event  will  ever  remain  a  prominent  initial  let- 
ter, beautifully  illuminated,  on  the  pages  of  our  history. 

In  the  same  month  [July,  1853]  an  event  occurred  which  greatly  increased 
the  respect  of  foreign  nations  for  the  flag  of  the  United  States.  A  Hungarian 
refugee,1  named  Martin  Koszta,  had  taken  the  legal  measures  to  become  a  nat- 
uralized citizen  of  our  republic.  While  engaged  in  bus- 
iness at  Smyrna,  on  the  Mediterranean,  he  was  seized, 
by  order  of  the  Austrian  consul-general,2  and  taken  on 
board  an  Austrian  brig  to  be  conveyed  to  Trieste  as  a 
rebel  refugee,  notwithstanding  he  carried  an  American 
protection.  Captain  Ingraham,  of  the  United  States 
sloop-of-war3  St.  Louis,  then  lying  in  the  harbor  of 
Smyrna,  immediately  claimed  Koszta  as  an  American 
citizen.  On  the  refusal  of  the  Austrian  authorities  to 
release  the  prisoner,  In^raham  cleared  his  vessel  for 

CAPTAIN    IXGliAIIAil.  *  Jo 

action  [July  2],  and  threatened  to  fire  upon  the  brig  if 

Koszta  was  not  delivered  up  within  a  given  time.  The  Austrians  yielded  to  the 
powerful  arguments  of  forty  well-shotted  cannons,  and  Koszta  was  placed  in  the 
custody  of  the  French  consul,  to  await  the  action  of  the  respective  governments. 
Ingraham's  course  was  everywhere  applauded ;  and  Congress  signified  its  appro- 
bation by  voting  him  an  elegant  sword.  The  pride  of  the  Austrian  government 
was  severely  wounded,  and  it  issued  a  protest  against  the  proceedings  of  Cap- 
tain Ingraham,  and  sent  it  to  all  the  European  courts.  Mr.  Hulseman,  the 
Austrian  minister  at  Washington,4  demanded  an  apology,  or  other  redress,  from 
our  government,  and  menaced  the  United  States  with  the  displeasure  of  his  royal 
master.  But  no  serious  difficulty  occurred.  It  was  plainly  perceived  that  the 
Austrians  were  in  the  wrong ;  and  Koszta,  under  the  protection  of  the  United 
States  flag,  returned  to  this  land  of  free  opinions. 

On  the  first  Monday  in  December,  1853,  the  thirty-third  Congress  (first 
session)5  assembled  in  the  Federal  capitol.  A  greater  degree  of  good  feeling 
was  exhibited  among  members  of  both  Houses,  from  all  parts  of  the  Union,  than 
had  been  witnessed  since  the  excitement  incident  to  the  slavery  agitation  in 
1850.°  The  people  regarded  the  session  as  one  of  great  moment,  for  subjects 
of  vast  national  importance  would  necessarily  occupy  the  attention  of  their  rep- 
resentatives. The  construction  of  a  railway  to  the  Pacific  Ocean7  was  a  topic 
of  paramount  importance  to  be  discussed.  There  were  treaties  in  progress 
respecting  boundaries  and  claims  between  the  United  States  and  their  southern 
neighbors,  Mexico  and  Central  America,  chiefly  concerning  grants  of  territory  for 
inter-oceanic  communications  across  the  Isthmus ;  and  boundary  lines  between 

1  When  Austria,  by  the  aid  of  Russia  [note  1,  page  511],  crushed  the  rebellion  in  Hungary,  in 
1848,  many  of  the  active  patriots  became  exiles  in  foreign  lands.  A  large  number  came  to  the 
United  States,  and  many  of  them  became  naturalized  citizens — that  is,  after  due  legal  preparation, 
took  an  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  to  perform  faithfully 
all  the  duties  of  a  citizen.  2  Note  1,  page  395.  3  page  415. 

4  Note  3,  page  511.  6  Note  3,  page  366.  6  Page  500.  7  Page  516. 


1857.]  PIERCE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  519 

New  Mexico,  California,  and  Old  Mexico.  The  government  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands  was  then  making  earnest  overtures  for  annexing  that  ocean  empire  to  our 
republic.  This  was  a  matter  of  great  interest ;  for  these  Islands  are  destined 
to  be  of  vast  importance  in  the  operations  of  the  future  commerce  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  A  great  majority  of  the  white  people  there  are  Americans  by  birth ; 
and  the  government,  in  all  its  essential  operations,  is  controlled  by  Americans, 
notwithstanding  the  ostensible  ruler  is  a  native  king.  The  consuls  of  France 
and  England,  when  they  perceived  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  king  to  have 
his  domain  annexed  to  the  United  States,  charged  the  scheme  upon  certain 
American  missionaries,  and  officially  protested  against  their  alleged  conduct. 
They  declared  that  France  and  England  would  not  remain  indifferent  spectators 
of  such  a  movement.  The  missionaries,  as  well  as  the  United  States  commis- 
sioner, disclaimed  any  tampering  with  the  native  authorities  on  the  subject;  at 
the  same  time,  the  latter,  in  a  published  reply  to  the  protest,  denied  the  right 
of  foreign  governments  to  interfere  to  prevent  such  a  result,  if  it  should  be 
deemed  mutually  desirable.  Preliminary  negotiations  were  commenced,  and  a 
treaty  was  actually  formed,  when,  on  the  15th  of  December,  1854,  King  Kam- 
ehameha  died,  at  the  age  of  forty-nine  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Prince  Alexander  Liholiho.  The  new  king  immediately  ordered  the  discontin- 
uance of  negotiations  with  the  United  States,  and  the  subject  of  annexation  has 
not  since  been  revived.  That  such  annexation  will  finally  occur,  is  surely 
prophesied  by  the  history  of  the  past  and  the  teachings  of  the  present. 

Just  as  the  preliminaries  were  arranged  in  Congress  for  entering  vigorously 
upon  the  business  of  the  session,  the  chairman  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Ter- 
ritories (Mr.  Douglas,  of  Illinois)  presented  a  bill  [Jan.,  1854]  which  became 
the  chief  topic  for  discussion  in  and  out  of  Congress.  In  the  center  of  our 
continent  is  a  vast  region,  almost  twice  as  large,  in  territorial  extent,  as  the 
original  thirteen  States,1  stretching  between  Missouri,  Iowa,  and  Minnesota, 
and  the  Pacific  Territories,  from  the  thirty-seventh  parallel  of  north  latitude  to 
the  British  possessions,2  and  embracing  one  fourth  of  all  the  public  lands  of  the 
United  States.  The  bill  alluded  to  proposed  to  erect  this  vast  region  into  two 
Territories,  the  southern  portion  below  the  fortieth  parallel  to  be  named  Kan- 
sas, and  the  northern  and  larger  portion,  Nebraska.  It  defined  the  boundaries 
of  Nebraska,  as  follows :  ' t  Beginning  at  a  point  in  the  Missouri  River  where 
the  fortieth  parallel  north  latitude  crosses  the  same ;  thence  west  on  said  paral- 
lel to  the  summits  of  the  highlands  separating  the  waters  flowing  into  the  waters 
of  the  Green  River,  or  Colorado  of  the  West,  from  the  waters  flowing  into  the 
great  lal^es ;  thence  northward  on  the  said  highlands  to  the  summit  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  ;  thence  on  said  summit  northward  to  the  forty-ninth  paral- 
lel of  north  latitude ;  thence  east  on  said  parallel  to  the  western  boundary  of 
the  Territory  of  Minnesota ;  thence  southward  on  said  boundary  to  the  Mis- 
souri River ;  thence  down  the  main  channel  of  said  river  to  the  place  of  begin- 
ning." It  also  thus  defines  the  boundaries  of  Kansas :  "  Beginning  at  a  point 


1  Page  174.  a  Page  480. 


520  THE    CONFEDERATION.  [1853. 

on  the  western  boundary  of  the  State  of  Missouri  where  the  thirty-seventh  par- 
allel of  north  latitude  crosses  the  same ;  thence  west  on  said  parallel  to  the 
eastern  boundary  of  New  Mexico  ;  thence  north  on  said  boundary  to  latitude 
thirty-eight ;  thence  following  said  boundary  westward  to  the  summit  of  the 
highlands  dividing  the  waters  flowing  into  the  Colorado  of  the  West,  or  Green 
River,  from  the  waters  flowing  into  the  great  basin ;  thence  northward  on  said 
summit  to  the  fortieth  parallel  of  latitude ;  thence  east  on  said  parallel  to  the 
western  boundary  of  the  State  of  Missouri ;  thence  south  with  the  western 
boundary  of  said  State,  to  the  place  of  beginning." 

The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  as  it  was  called,  contained  a  provision  which 
would  nullify  the  Compromise  of  1820, 1  and  allow  the  inhabitants  of  those 
Territories  to  decide  for  themselves  whether  they  would  have  the  institution 
of  slavery  or  not.  This  proposition  surprised  Congress  and  the  whole  country, 
and  it  became  a  subject  of  discussion  throughout  the  Union.  The  slavery  agi- 
tation was  aroused  in  all  its  strength  and  rancor,  and  the  whole  North  became 
violently  excited.  Public  meetings  were  held  by  men  of  all  parties,  and  petitions 
and  remonstrances  against  the  measure,  especially  in  its  relation  to  Nebraska, 
were  poured  into  the  Senate,2  while  the  debate  on  the  subject  was  progressing,  from 
the  30th  of  January  [1854]  until  the  3d  of  March.  On  the  latter  day  the  bill 
passed  that  body  by  the  decisive  vote  of  thirty-seven  to  fourteen.  The  measure 
encountered  great  opposition  in  the  House  of  Representatives ;  and  by  means  of 
several  amendments,  its  final  defeat  seemed  almost  certain,  and  the  excitement 
subsided.  At  about  the  same  time  a  bill  was  reported  in  the  Senate  [March 
10],  providing  for  the  construction  of  a  railway  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  ;  and  on 
the  same  day  when  the  Nebraska  Bill  passed  that  body  [March  7],  the  House 
of  Representatives  adopted  one  called  the  Homestead  Bill,  which  provided  that 
any  free  white  male  citizen,  or  any  one  who  may  have  declared  his  intentions  to 
become  one  previous  to  the  passage  of  this  act,  might  select  a  quarter  section 
[one  hundred  and  sixty  acres]  of  land,  on  the  public  domain,  and  on  proof 
being  given  that  he  had  occupied  and  cultivated  it  for  five  years,,  he  might  re- 
ceive a  title  to  it,  in  fee,  without  being  required  to  pay  any  thing  for  it.  This 
bill  was  discussed  in  both  Houses  for  several  weeks ;  and  finally  an  amendment, 
graduating  the  prices  of  all  the  public  lands,  was  adopted  in  its  stead.  It  pro- 
vided that  all  lands  which  have  been  in  market  ten  years  shall  be  subject  to 
entry  at  one  dollar  per  acre ;  fifteen  years,  at  seventy-five  cents ;  and  so  on,  in 
the  same  ratio — those  which  have  been  in  the  market  for  thirty  years  being 
offered  at  twelve  and  a  half  cents.  It  also  provided  that  every  person  availing 
himself  of  the  act  should  make  affidavit  that  he  enters  the  land  for  his  own  use ; 
and  no  one  can  acquire  more  than  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  or  two 
quarter  sections. 

The  public  mind  had  become  comparatively  tranquil  when,  on  the  9th  of 

1  Page  452.  2  Page  501. 

3  A  petition  against  the  measure  was  presented  to  the  Senate  immediately  after  the  passage  of 
the  bill  by  that  body,  signed  by  three  thousand  clergymen  of  New  England. 


1857.]  PIERCE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  521 

May,  the  Nebraska  bill  was  again  called  up  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
It  became  the  absorbing  subject  for  discussion.  During  a  fortnight,  violent 
debates,  with  great  acrimony  of  feeling,  occurred,  and  on  one  occasion  there 
was  a  session  of  thirty-six  consecutive  hours'  duration,  when  an  adjournment 
took  place  in  the  midst  of  great  confusion.  The  country,  meanwhile,  was 
much  excited,  for  the  decision  of  the  question  was  one  of  great  moment  in 
its  relation  to  the  future.  While  it  was  pending,  the  suspense  became  painful. 
It  did  not  last  long.  The  final  question  was  taken  on  the  22d,  and  the  bill 
was  passed  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  thirteen  to  one  hundred.  Three  days 
afterward  [May  25],  the  Senate  agreed  to  it  as  it  came  from  the  House  by  a 
vote  of  thirty-five  to  thirteen,  and  it  received  the  signature  of  the  President  on 
the  last  day  of  May. : 

New  difficulties  with  the  Spanish  authorities  of  Cuba2  appeared,  while  the 
Nebraska  subject  was  under  discussion.  Under  cover  of  a  shallow  pretense, 
the  American  steamship,  Black  Warrior,  was  seized  in  the  harbor  of  Havana 
[February  28,  1854],  and  the  vessel  and  cargo  declared  confiscated.  The  out- 
rage was  so  flagrant,  that  a  proposition  was  immediately  submitted  to  the  lower 
House  of  Congress,  to  suspend  the  neutrality  laws,  and  compel  the  Havana 
officials  to  behave  properly.  These  are  agreements  made  between  the  govern- 
ments of  the  United  States  and  Old  Spain,  to  remain  neutral  or  inactive  when 
either  party  should  engage  in  war  with  another.  Under  the  provisions  of  such 
laws,  any  number  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  who  may  be  engaged  in  hos- 
tilities against  Spain,  would  forfeit  the  protection  of  their  government,  and 
become  liable  to  punishment,  for  a  violation  of  law.  It  was  on  this  account 
that  Crittenden  and  his  party  were  shot  at  Havana,3  without  the  right  of  claim- 
ing the  interference  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  in  their  behalf. 
The  President  sent  a  special  messenger  to  the  government  at  Madrid,  with 
instructions  to  the  American  minister  to  demand  immediate  redress,  in  the  form 
of  indemnity  to  the  owners  of  the  Black  Warrior.  But  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment justified  the  act  of  the  Cuban  authorities,  when  such  formal  demand  was 
made.  In  the  mean  while  the  perpetrators  of  the  outrage  became  alarmed,  and 
the  Captain  General  (or  Governor)  of  Cuba,  with  pretended  generosity,  oifered 
to  give  up  the  vessel  and  cargo,  on  the  payment  by  the  owners,  of  a  fine  of  six 
thousand  dollars.  They  complied,  but  under  protest.4  The  matter  was  finally 
settled  amicably  between  the  governments  of  the  United  States  and  Spain,5  and 

1  A  few  .days  after  the  final  passage  of  the  Nebraska  bill,  the  city  of  Boston  was  made  a 
theater  of  great  excitement,  by  the  arrest  of  a  fugitive  slave  there,  and  a  deputy-marshal  was  shot 
dead,  during  a  riot.  United  States  troops  from  Rhode  Island  were  employed,  to  sustain  the  officers 
of  the  law,  and  a  local  military  force  was  detailed,  to  assist  in  the  protection  of  the  court  and  the 
parties  concerned,  until  the  trial  of  the  alleged  fugitive  was  completed.  The  United  States  Com- 
missioner decided  in  favor  of  the  claimant  of  the  slave,  and  he  was  conveyed  to  Virginia  by  a  gov- 
ernment vessel.  This  commotion  in  Boston  is  known  as  the  Burns  Riot — the  name  of  the  fugitive 
slave  being  Burns.  2  Page  502.  3  Page  508. 

4  Protesting  against  an  act  which  a  party  is  compelled  to  perform,  leaves  the  matter  open 
for  a  future  discussion  and  final  settlement. 

6  The  President  of  the  United  States  having  been  informed  that  expeditions  were  preparing  in 
different  parts  of  the  Union,  for  the  purpose  of  invading  Cuba,  issued  a  proclamation  against  such 
movements,  on  the  1st  of  June,  1854,  and  called  upon  all  good  citizens  to  respect  the  obligations 
of  existing  treaties,  between  the  governments  of  our  Republic  and  Spain. 


522  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1813. 

since  then  nothing  has  materially  disturbed  the  friendly  relations  between  the 
two  countries.  The  conduct  of  the  government  officials  of  Cuba  may  at  any 
time  terminate  that  friendship,  so  long  as  they  are  allowed  to  take  shelter 
behind  the  imperial  throne  at  Madrid.  The  commercial  transactions,  and  the 
continual  passenger  intercourse  between  the  United  States  and  that  island,  have 
now  become  so  important  and  extensive,  that  it  is  felt  to  be  a  necessity  for  the 
Spanish  authorities  there  to  be  made  immediately  responsible  for  any  outrage 
they  may  commit.  The  people  of  the  United  States  do  not  feel  disposed  to 
tolerate  irresponsible  despotisms  so  near  the  line  of  their  commercial  operations. 
And  so  strong  is  the  indignation  of  the  people  of  some  portions  of  our  Union, 
against  the  Cuban  officials — so  attractive  is  that  "  Queen  of  the  Antilles"  to 
the  acquisitiveness  of  another  portion,  and  so  powerful  is  the  tendency  of  a 
spirit  of  adventure  toward  an  invasion  of  the  island,  to  assist  the  native  popula- 
tion in  casting  off  the  Spanish  yoke1 — that  a  rupture  may  at  any  time  occur. 

The  impending  difficulties  with  Spain,  in  the  summer  of  1854,  led  to  an 
important  conference  of  some  of  the  American  ministers  plenipotentiary  in 
Europe.  In  August,  1854,  the  President  directed  Mr.  Buchanan,2  then 
American  embassador  at  London,  Mr.  Mason,  embassador  at  Paris,  and  Mr. 
Soulc,  embassador  at  Madrid,  to  meet  at  some  convenient  place,  to  confer  upon 
the  best  means  of  settling  the  difficulties  about  Cuba,  and  gaining  possession  of 
the  island,  by  purchase  or  otherwise.  They  accordingly  met  at  Ostend,  a  sea- 
port town  in  Belgium,  on  the  9th  of  October,  1854.  After  remaining  there 
three  days,  they  adjourned  to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  Rhenish  Prussia,  and  from 
thence,  on  the  18th  of  the  same  month,  they  addressed  a  letter  to  the  United 
States  government,  which  embodied  their  views.  In  that  letter,  they  recom- 
mended the  purchase  of  Cuba ;  or,  if  negotiation  toward  that  end  should  fail — 
"  if  Spain,"  they  said,  "  actuated  by  stubborn  pride  and  a  false  sense  of  honor, 
should  refuse  to  sell  Cuba  to  the  United  States,"  then,  "by  every  law,  human 
and  divine,  we  [the  United  States]  shall  be  justified  in  wresting  it  from  Spain, 
if  we  possess  the  power."  This  doctrine,  that  "might  makes  right,"  has  been 
strongly  condemned,  when  promulgated  by  other  nations,  and  a  large  proportion 
of  the  people  of  the  Union  do  not  coincide  with  the  views  of  their  embassadors 
on  that  occasion.  The  President  did  not  deem  it  advisable  to  follow  the  course 
indicated  by  the  embassadors,  and  since  then  nothing  has  been  done  in  relation 
to  the  political  position  of  Cuba  toward  the  United  States. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1854.  a  treaty  was  negotiated  and  ratified  by  the 
United  States  and  Mexico,  by  which  the  boundaries  between  the  two  govern- 
ments were  defined  and  settled.  By  it,  the  dividing  line  begins  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  three  leagues  from  land,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande,  thence 
up  the  middle  of  that  river,  to  the  point  where  the  parallel  of  31°  47'  north 
latitude,  crosses  the  same  ;  thence  due  west  one  hundred  miles ;  thence  south  to 
the  parallel  of  31°  20' north  latitude;  thence  along  the  said  parallel  to  the 
lllth  meridian  of  longitude  west  of  Greenwich  ;  thence  in  a  straight  line  to  a 

1  Page  41.  2  Page  532. 


1857.]  PIEECE'S    ADMINI  STK  ATI  ON.  523 

point  in  the  Colorado  river,  twenty  English  miles  below  the  junction  of  the 
Gila  and  Colorado  rivers  ;  thence  up  the  middle  of  the  Colorado  until  it  inter- 
sects the  present  line  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  The  decision  of 
the  commissioners  appointed  to  run  the  boundary,  under  the  treaty,  was  to  be 
final ;  the  United  States  were  to  be  released  from  all  obligations  imposed  by 
the  treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo,1  to  defend  the  Mexican  frontier  against  the 
Indians,  and  in  consideration  for  this  release,  and  for  the  territory  ceded  by 
Mexico,  the  United  States  agreed  to  pay  ten  millions  of  dollars — seven  millions 
on  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  and  the  remainder  as  soon  as  the  boundary 
line  should  be  established.  These  conditions  have  been  complied  with,  and 
nothing  except  private  invasions  of  the  Mexican  territory,  by  armed  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  now  [1856]  seems  likely  to  disturb  the  present  friendly 
relations  between  the  two  governments. 

At  about  the  same  time,  a  reciprocity  treaty  was  negotiated  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  which  lowered,  and  in  some  instances  effaced, 
the  barriers  to  free  commerce  between  the  British  provinces  in  America  and 
our  Confederation.  It  provided  that  the  fisheries  of  the  provinces,  except  those 
of  Newfoundland,2  should  be  open  to  American  citizens ;  that  disputes  respect- 
ing fisheries  should  be  settled  by  arbitration ;  that  the  British  should  have  a 
right  to  participate  in  the  American  fisheries  as  far  as  the  86th  degree  of  north 
latitude  ;  that  there  should  be  free  commerce  between  the  provinces  and  the 
United  States,  in  flour,  breadstuffs,  fruits,  fish,  animals,  lumber,  and  a  variety 
of  natural  productions  in  their  unmanufactured  state.  It  stipulated  that  the 
St.  Lawrence  River  and  the  Canadian  canals  should  be  thrown  open  to  Amer- 
ican vessels ;  and  the  United  States  government  agreed  to  urge  the  respective 
States  to  admit  British  vessels  into  their  canals,  upon  similar  terms.  This 
treaty  was  submitted  to  the  provincial  Legislatures,  and  to  the  governments  of 
the  contracting  powers,  and  was  ratified  by  all. 

Ever  since  the  war  with  Mexico,  and  the  extension  of  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  in  the  direction  of  Central  America,  and  down  the  Pacific  coast, 
the  relations  of  the  Federal  government  toward  the  provinces  of  that  region 
have  been  most  of  the  time  in  a  state  of  feverish  discontent.  The  temptations 
presented  by  those  countries,  so  rich  in  mineral  and  agricultural  wealth,  to  the 
cupidity  of  the  floating  elements  of  society  in  the  United  States,  have  been  too 
great  for  the  easy  virtue  of  adventurers,  and  from  time  to  time,  intelligence  of 
some  foray  or  some  actual  invasion  of  territory  comes  from  thence,  to  alarm  our 
government,  call  out  proclamations  and  warnings  against  the  infraction  of  inter- 
national laws  or  treaty  stipulations,  and  to  excite  the  ire,  the  jealousy,  or  the 
pugnacity  of  England,  France,  and  Spain. 

Upon  the  Caribbean  Sea,  in  the  State  of  Nicaragua,  is  a  region  known 
as  the  Musquito  coast,  inhabited,  chiefly,  by  a  degraded  race  of  natives, 
but  occupying  an  important  commercial  position,  in  prospective.  It  has 
been  the  desire  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  interested  in  commercial 


Page  497  2  Page  47. 


524  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1853. 

operations,  to  have  the  control  of  that  region,  for  purposes  of  transportation 
from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  for  free  communication,  by  a  short  land  route, 
with  our  State  and  Territories  on  the  Pacific  coast.  It  is  equally  the  interest 
of  Great  Britain,  as  a  commercial  nation,  to  have  control  of  that  future  great 
highway  of  commerce,  by  canal  or  otherwise;1  and  these  conflicting  interests 
have  at  times  menaced  the  friendly  relations  between  England  and  the  United 
States.  In  June,  1854,  the  little  village  of  Grey  town,  on  the  Musquito  coast, 
was  bombarded  by  a  United  States  vessel,  in  punishment  for  alleged  outrages 
upon  American  citizens  by  the  local  authorities,  who  claimed  to  derive  their 
power  exclusively  from  the  Musquito  king.  The  English  claimed,  that  by 
some  arrangement  with  that  monarch,  that  region  was  under  the  protection  of 
her  majesty's  government,  and  the  bombardment  was  denounced  as  an  insult  to 
Great  Britain.  For  awhile  the  cloud  of  difficulty  appeared  ominous  of  evil,  but 
it  passed  away  in  course  of  time,  it  being  clearly  perceived  that  the  question 
at  issue  was  not  of  sufficient  importance  for  two  nations,  so  allied  by  multifari- 
ous ties,  to  engage  in  a  war  with  each  other. 

Another  speck  of  difficulty  occurred  in  the  far  south-west.  An  alleged 
grant  of  territory,  by  the  king  of  the  Musquito  Indians,  to  two  British  subjects, 
led  to  serious  misunderstandings.  Colonel  H.  L.  Kinney  fitted  out  an  expedi- 
tion, composed  of  alleged  emigrants,  to  settle  upon  that  claim  by  permission  of 
the  grantees,  when  the  government  of  Nicaragua,  which  claimed  jurisdiction 
over  the  Musquito  Territory,  protested  against  the  movement  as  an  invasion  of 
its  domain,  and  in  violation  of  the  neutrality  laws  of  the  United  States.  This 
movement  occurred  in  the  autumn  and  early  winter  of  1854  ;  and  on  the  16th 
of  January  following,  the  Nicarauguan  minister  at  Washington  made  a  repre- 
sentation to  our  government,  setting  forth  the  facts  that  the  English  had  at- 
tempted to  establish  a  protectorate  over  the  Musquito  country ;  that  the  United 
States  had  long  ago  taken  the  ground  (and  since  maintained  it)  that  no  Euro- 
pean government  should  interfere  with  the  domestic  concerns  of  the  republics  of 
Central  America,2  and  that  the  latter  had  thus  virtually  denied  the  right  of  the 
Musquito  king,  acting  under  British  influence,  to  make  any  grants  of  lands 

1  A  railway  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  has  been  constructed,  and  the  first  trains  passed  over 
it,  from  Aspimvall  to  Panama,  on  the  28th  of  January,  1855.  The  project  of  a  ship-canal  across 
the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  or  Panama,  has  occupied  the  attention  of  statesmen  and  commercial  men  for 
many  years.  The  first  actual  exploration  of  the  Isthmus,  with  a  view  to  cutting  a  ship-canal  across 
it,  was  made  in  1853,  by  a  party  of  twenty -three,  under  the  direction  of  William  Kennish,  of  N"ew 
York.  They  were  sent  out  by  J.  C.  Prevost,  commander  of  the  British  steamship  Virago,  in  pursu- 
ance of  orders  from  the  commander  of  the  British  squadron  then  in  the  Pacific.  They  commenced 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  traveled  northward  to  the  Atlantic  shore.  For  ten  days  they  traversed  a 
dense  forest  which  covered  a  fine,  fertile,  and  well-watered  plain,  which,  at  no  time,  rose  more  than 
fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  party  became  short  of  provisions ;  and  having  separated, 
for  some  prudent  purpose,  a  portion  of  them  were  murdered  and  plundered  by  the  Indians.  The 
survivors  returned  to  the  Virago,  without  accomplishing  much.  In  January,  1854,  Lieutenant 
Strain,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  with  a  party  of  twenty,  started  from  the  Atlantic  side  to  explore 
the  Isthmus.  They  suffered  dreadfully ;  and  as  nothing  was  heard  from  them  for  several  weeks,  it 
was  supposed  that  all  had  perished.  Their  provisions  became  exhausted,  and  some  died  from  fam- 
ine. The  Indians,  however,  did  not  molest  them,  but  fled  to  the  mountains.  When  Lieutenant 
Strain  and  the  survivors  reached  the  Pacific  coast,  they  were  destitute  of  both  clothing  aiid  food. 
Since  then  no  attempt  has  b3en  made  to  explore  that  dreary  region. 

3  The  "  Monroe  Doctrine."     See  note  5,  page  448. 


1857.]  PIERCE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  525 

whatever.1  In  reply  to  this,  Colonel  Kinney  assured  our  government  [January 
28,  1855]  that  the  object  of  his  expedition  was  the  peaceable  one  of  settling 
upon  and  improving  the  lands  of  the  granted  tract.  To  this  the  government 
answered  [Feb.  4],  that  if  the  emigrants  chose  to  go  in  a  peaceable  manner, 
abandon  all  claims  to  the  protection  of  the  United  States,  and  submit  themselves 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  another  power,  the  Federal  government  would  not  inter- 
fere. But  the  President  and  his  cabinet  had  reasons  for  changing  their  views 
and  actions  a  few  months  later,  when  it  appeared  probable  that  the  expedition 
was  not  as  peacefully  inclined  as  at  first  supposed.  In  June  [1855],  Colonel 
Kinney  was  arrested  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  on  a  charge  of  attempting 
to  violate  the  neutrality  laws,  and  was  admitted  to  bail  in  both  cases.  Notwith- 
standing these  legal  interpositions,  Kinney  secretly  departed  for  Nicaragua, 
with  half-a-dozen  followers ;  and  a  few  weeks  afterward  he  published  a  card, 
calling  upon  those  who  had  enlisted,  to  join  him  at  once,  by  whatever  convey- 
ance they  might  obtain.  In  the  mean  while,  the  government  of  Nicaragua  had 
issued  a  decree  [Jan.  1,  1855],  at  Grenada,  calling  upon  all  citizens  to  aid  the 
authorities  in  repelling  the  invasion,  prohibiting  Kinney  and  his  companions 
from  entering  the  territory,  and  directing  them  to  be  immediately  seized  and 
conducted  to  the  seat  of  government. 

And  now  another  phase  of  this  emigration  scheme  was  developed.  Colonel 
William  Walker,  who,  the  year  before,  had  invaded  Sonora  from  California  with 
a  few  followers,  and  had  been  repulsed,  was  again  prepared  for  adventures. 
Colonel  Kinney  invited  Walker  to  join  him  in  improving  his  grant  on  Lake 
Nicaragua,  and  in  developing  its  mineral  resources.  Walker  soon  left  San 
Francisco,  ostensibly  for  that  purpose,  with  three  hundred  armed  men.  He 
arrived  on  the  coast  of  Nicaragua  on  the  27th  of  June,  and  the  next  day  his 
hostile  intentions  were  developed  in  an  attempt  to  take  possession  of  the  town 
of  Rivas.  He  had  been  led  to  believe  that  large  numbers  of  the  inhabitants, 
tired  of  despotic  rule,  would  join  him,  but  in  this  he  was  mistaken.  Even  one 
hundred  and  fifty  Central  American  troops,  under  General  Castillon,  who  had 
joined  him,  deserted  when  they  saw  the  forces  of  Nicaragua  approaching ;  and 
Walker  and  his  men,  with  the  courage  of  desperation,  cut  their  way  through 
their  opposers,  reached  the  coast,  and  escaped  in  a  schooner. 

In  August,  Colonel  Walker  again  landed  not  far  from  Rivas,  and  unsuc- 
cessfully attempted  to  recruit  from  California  passengers.  In  the  mean  while, 
Colonel  Kinney  was  pursuing  his  peaceful  course,  having  concluded  a  contract 
for  a  very  large  portion  of  the  Musquito  Territory.  The  white  people  in  that 
region,  assuming  independence  of  Nicaragua,  organized  a  government,  and  on 
the  6th  of  September  [1855],  elected  Kinney  Chief  Magistrate,  with  a  Council 
of  Five,  as  assistants.  On  the  3d  of  the  same  month,  Walker,  taking  advan- 
tage of  revolutionary  movements  in  Nicaragua,  had  a  battle  with  about  four 
hundred  government  troops,  at  Virgin  Bay.  The  government  party  were 

1  For  some  time  the  British  had  been  endeavoring  to  obtain  a  controlling  influence  in  this 
region,  and  they  had  induced  the  chief  of  the  Musquito  nation  to  assume  authority  independent  of 
the  State  of  Nicaragua. 


526  THE    CONFEDERATION.  [1853. 

defeated,  and  on  the  12th  of  October,  Walker  marched  upon  Grenada,  the 
capital  of  Nicaragua,  and  captured  it.  When  order  was  restored,  the  citizens, 
in  public  meeting,  offered  the  presidency  to  the  conqueror,  but  he  declined  the 
honor.  General  Rivas,  a  Nicaraguan,  was  placed  in  the  presidential  chair, 
while  Walker,  intent  upon  strengthening  his  army  in  order  to  maintain  his 
conquest,  was  receiving  large  reinforcements  from  the  Atlantic  States,  and 
from  California.  The  British  consul  at  Realcjo  recognized  the  new  govern- 
ment, and  it  also  received  the  favorable  regard  of  Colonel  Wheeler,1  the  Amer- 
ican minister  at  Grenada.  The  new  government  now  asserted  its  claim  to  the 
Musquito  Territory,2  and  when  Colonel  Kinney  visited  Grenada,  to  negotiate 
with  the  government  on  the  subject  of  his  grant,  he  was  arrested  on  a  charge 
of  treasonable  practices,  and  ordered  to  leave  the  country. 

The  establishment  of  political  power  in  Central  America,  by  armed  adven- 
turers from  the  United  States,  produced  a  great  deal  of  uneasiness  among  the 
governments  of  the  Isthmus,  and  in  the  winter  of  1856,  an  alliance  of  all  the 
other  States  in  that  region,  against  Nicaragua,  was  attempted.  The  latter,  in 
the  mean  while,  had  made  some  arrangements  with  the  British  government, 
independent  of  the  United  States,  for  the  settlement  of  the  Musquito  question, 
and  the  king  of  that  country  was  placed  on  an  equal  footing  with  other  native 
chiefs.  Thus  ended  the  Kinney  government. 

Early  in  March,  1856,  Costa  Rica  made  a  formal  declaration  of  war  against 
Nicaragua ;  and  on  the  10th  of  the  same  month,  Walker  made  a  corresponding 
declaration.  The  former  government  called  upon  all  the  Central  American 
States  to  "unite  and  destroy  the  invaders  from  the  North,"  while  Walker 
declared  that  he  was  there  by  invitation  of  the  Liberal  party  in  Nicaragua. 

On  the  20th  of  March  hostilities  commenced,  and  on  the  llth  of  April  a 
sanguinary  conflict  occurred,  in  which  the  Nicaraguans  were  the  victors,  and 
forced  the  Costa  Ricans  to  retreat  from  the  country.  Walker's  rule  became 
unpopular,  because  of  his  forced  loan  from  the  citizens  of  Grenada,  but  he 
found  strength  by  the  refusal,  at  that  time,  of  other  States  to  join  the  Costa 
Ricans.  But  soon  President  Rivas  himself,  jealous  of  the  Americans,  became 
alienated  from  Walker,  abandoned  the  government,  and  proclaimed  against  it. 
On  the  24th  of  June  [1856]  a  new  election  for  President  was  held,  when 
Walker  received  two  thirds  of  the  popular  vote,  and  was  inaugurated  Chief 
Magistrate  on  the  12th  of  July.  And  now  a  general  league  of  all  the  Central 
American  States  against  him,  was  consummated,  writh  Rivas  in  active  command. 
In  the  mean  while  Walker's  government  had  been  acknowledged  as  legitimate 

1  Colonel  John  II.  "Wheeler  was  a  resident  of  western  North  Carolina,  and  while  on  his  way  to 
New  York,  to  embark  for  Nicaragua,  two  of  his  slaves,  who  attended  him,  were  detained  in  Phila- 
delphia [July  18,  1855],  through  the  instrumentality  of  persons  there  who  sought  to  make  them 
free.  One  of  these  (Passmore  Williamson)  was  ordered  by  Judge  Kane  (father  of  Dr.  Kane,  the 
Arctic  explorer),  of  the  United  States  District  Court,  to  bring  the  slaves  before  him.  Williamson 
declared  that  the  slaves  had  never  been  in  his  custody,  and  of  course  he  could  not  produce  them. 
On  motion  of  Colonel  Wheeler,  Judge  Kane  committed  Williamson  to  prison,  for  contempt  of 
court,  where  he  remained  for  several  months.  This  case,  in  connection  with  other  questions  in 
regard  to  slavery,  produced  great  excitement  throughout  the  country.  Williamson,  after  his 
release,  commenced  a  suit  for  false  imprisonment  against  Judge  Kane.  2  Page  523. 


1357.]  PIERCE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  527 

by  the  United  States,  and  his  minister  cordially  received  [July]  at  Washing- 
ton.1 Thus  strengthened,  he  declared  all  the  ports  of  the  Central  American 
States  in  a  condition  of  blockade,  and  adopted  severe  measures  toward  all  dis- 
affected Nicaraguans.  He  managed  affairs  with  vigor  and  skill ;  and  finally, 
on  the  13th  of  October,  he  had  a  severe  battle  with  his  enemies  at  Grenada, 
and  utterly  vanquished  them.2  The  league  against  Nicaragua  appeared  to  bo 
weak  indeed ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  hardy  element  of  the  North  would  control 
the  political  affairs  of  that  little  republic,  until  in  the  course  of  time  it  should 
become  a  permanent  State,  under  North  American  rule. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  history  of  the  attempts  to  establish  a  large  State — the 
planting  of  a  new  and  free  empire — in  the  most  important  portion  of  Central 
America,  by  the  prowess  of  men  from  the  bosom  of  our  Republic.  Placing 
out  of  sight  the  means  employed  to  attain  this  end,  the  effort  challenges  our 
natural  sympathies,  because  it  maybe  firmly  rooting,  in  a  virgin  soil,  the  prin- 
ciples of  free  government.  We  can  not  but  regard  this  movement  as  one  that 
will  be  followed  by  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  State,  destined,  in  the 
progress  of  events,  to  become  a  member  of  our  broad  and  expanding  confederation. 

During  the  spring  of  1855,  Cuba  was  in  a  state  of  continual  alarm,  from 
apprehensions  of  another  invasion  from  the  United  States,3  supported  by  an 
insurrection  in  the  island.  An  extensive  conspiracy  had  been  detected,  many 
suspected  persons  were  arrested,  and  some  were  tried  and  executed.  Among 
these  was  Estrampes,  an  alleged  citizen  of  the  United  States,  who  was  executed 
on  the  30th  of  March,  notwithstanding  the  strong  protest  of  the  United  States 
consul.  At  about  the  same  time,  the  United  States  steamers  had  been  brought 
to,  on  their  passage,  by  Spanish  armed  vessels,  and  our  government  dispatched 
a  strong  squadron  to  the  Gulf  to  prevent  and  punish  any  indignity  offered  to  our 
flag.  This  movement  made  the  Cuban  authorities  more  circumspect. 

Civilization  has  been  compelled  to  encounter  hostilities  from  the  natives  of 
our  continent  at  almost  every  step  of  its  progress  ;  and  even  now,  when  they 
have  been  driven  back  toward  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  and  they  have  dwindled 
in  numbers  to  a  handfull,  in  comparison  with  their  former  strength,  they  con- 
tinue, occasionally,  to  lift  a  feeble  hand  of  resistance  to  the  on-flowing  tide  of 
emigration,  which  presages  their  final  and  complete  extinction.4  Toward  the 
close  of  1855,  the  Indians  of  Oregon  and  Washington  Territories,5  commenced 
hostilities  upon  the  settlers ;  and  ever  since,  the  people  there  have  suffered  all 
the  horrors  of  savage  warfare  upon  them.  In  July,  the  Indians  had  murdered 
several  miners  in  Rogue  River  Valley ;  and  later  in  the  season,  a  battle,  which 
lasted  fifty  hours,  was  fought  in  Yakimaw  county,  between  United  States  troops 


1  Several  months  before,  Rivas  had  sent  as  minister,  Colonel  Parker  H.  French,  but  the  United 
States  government  refusod  to  receive  him.  The  accepted  minister  was  Father  Vijil,  a  Roman 
Catholic  priest.  His  stay  in  Washington  was  brief. 

8  The  army  of  the  League  against  Nicaragua,  about  four  thousand  strong,  took  possession  of 
Massaya  on  the  llth  of  October.  On  the  same  day,  "Walker,  with  a  little  more  than  eight  hundred 
men,  marched  against  them.  He  drove  the  enemy  out,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  12th.  At 
about  10  o'clock,  he  received  intelligence  that  quite  a  force  had  attacked  Grenada.  He  immediately 
marched  thither,  and  soon  dispersed  them,  with  very  little  loss  on  his  part. 

3  Page  521.  *  Note  4,  page  32.  6  Page  479. 


528  THE    CONFEDERATION.  [1853. 

and  a  large  body  of  Indians.  Nearly  one  fifth  of  the  former  were  killed  or 
wounded,  and  the  remainder  saved  themselves  by  a  desperate  retreat,  leaving 
baggage  and  stores  behind  them.  The  Indians  were  well  armed,  and  there 
appeared  to  be  a  general  combination  among  those  extreme  western  tribes  to 
exterminate  the  settlers.  Still  later  in  the  season,  whole  families  were  mas- 
sacred; and  General  Wool,1  then  stationed  at  San  Francisco,  proceeded  to 
Portland,  in  Oregon,  to  organize  a  campaign  against  them. 

On  the  7th  and  8th  of  December,  1855,  a  desperate  battle  was  fought  near 
the  Walla- Walla  Kiver,  between  some  volunteers  and  a  large  body  of  Indians, 
who  lost  their  chief  in  the  engagement,  and  were  defeated.  At  about  the  same 
time,  seven  hundred  Indians  attacked  the  town  of  Seattle,  in  Washington  Ter- 
ritory, north  of  Oregon,  when  the  place  was  saved  by  the  aid  of  some  gallant 
marines  from  the  sloop-of-war  Decatur,  lying  there,  the  guns  of  which  were 
turned  upon  the  savages.  During  the  winter  and  spring  of  1856,  these  hostil- 
ities became  quite  general  in  both  Territories,  and  General  Wool  seemed  to  be 
almost  powerless  in  quelling  them.  On  the  25th  of  March,  eight  hundred  In- 
dians attacked  a  place  in  Oregon,  called  the  Cascades,  burned  every  building  in 
the  town,  and  a  steamboat,  and  murdered  several  citizens.  Further  north  the 
savages  laid  waste  the  whole  country ;  and  it  appeared,  at  one  time,  as  if  the  set- 
tlements must  be  abandoned.  Suspicions  have  been  awakened  that  the  depreda- 
tions in  Washington  Territory  have  been  instigated  by  persons  connected  with 
the  English  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  who  have  married  Indian  women.  Fi- 
nally, late  in  summer,  the  troubles  in  Oregon  wTere  brought  to  an  end,  but 
further  north,  the  knife,  and  hatchet,  and  musket  were  fearfully  menacing  the 
white  settlements  during  the  autumn.  In  the  mean  while  there  has  been 
troubles  with  the  Indians  in  California,  on  the  borders  of  New  Mexico  and 
Texas,  and  in  Florida,  where  a  portion  of  those  Seminoles,  who  have  refused  to 
go  west  of  the  Mississippi,2  seem  disposed  to  defy  the  strong  arm  of  the  white 
people. 

Again,  at  the  close  of  1854  and  during  the  winter  and  spring  of  1855,  cir- 
cumstances occurred  which  disturbed  the  existing  harmony  of  feeling  between 
the  governments  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  It  had  been  apparent 
that  enlistments  of  recruits  for  the  English  army  in  the  Crimea  were  going  on 
in  American  cities,  under  the  sanction  of  British  officials.  This  fact  was  certi- 
fied by  the  trial  of  two  men  at  Philadelphia  early  in  the  autumn  of  1855,  on  a 
charge  of  violating  the  neutrality  laws  of  the  United  States.  It  was  then 
clearly  proved  that  enlistments  had  been  made  under  the  direct  sanction  of  Mr. 
Crampton,  the  British  minister  at  Washington.  The  United  States  government 
immediately  remonstrated  with  that  of  Great  Britain,  and  demanded  the  recall 
of  Minister  Crampton.  The  latter  refused  to  comply ;  and  timid  persons  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  prophesied  inevitable  war  between  the  two  countries. 
After  waiting  several  months,  and  participating  in  a  friendly  diplomatic  corre- 
spondence with  the  British  Government,  the  President  dismissed  Mr.  Cramp- 


Note  3,  page  413.  3  Page  468. 


1857.]  PIEKCE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  529 

ton,  and  also  the  British  consuls  at  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Cincinnati, 
because  of  their  complicity  in  violating  neutrality  laws.  This  action  did  not 
disturb  the  friendly  relations  between  the  two  governments,  as  had  been  antici- 
pated. The  American  minister  (Mr.  Dallas)  remained  in  London,  but  the 
British  government  had  not,  in  December,  1856,  filled  the  place  made  vacant 
by  the  departure  of  its  representative  from  Washington. 

Indian  wars,1  foreign  relations,  and  almost  every  other  public  topic,  were,  for 
many  months  previous  to  the  presidential  election  in  November,  1856,  com- 
pletely overshadowed  by  the  great  question  of  the  extension  of  human  slavery 
into  Territories  of  the  United  States,  then  free  ;  and  upon  that  issue  was  the 
struggle  for  ascendancy  in  the  choice  of  a  Chief  Magistrate  for  the  Republic, 
which  occurred  on  the  4th  of  that  month.  It  has  been  observed  that  the  pass- 
age of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Act2  [May  27,  1854],  and  the  repeal  of  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise  Act,3  were  regarded  as  ominous  of  much  future  trouble. 
That  trouble  came  with  swift  feet.  The  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  left 
all  territory  belonging  to  the  United  States  open  to  the  social  institutions  of 
every  section  of  the  Union.  Then  commenced  one  of  the  most  desperate  strug- 
gles between  the  pro-slavery  and  anti-slavery  people  of  our  country,  which  had 
yet  been  seen.  It  was  a  struggle  for  immediate  supremacy  in  Kansas,  and 
future  dominion  in  all  the  States  yet  to  be  admitted  into  the  Confederation. 
Emigration  to  Kansas  from  the  free  States  was  at  once  urged  by  the  opposers 
of  slavery ;  and  on  the  24th  of  July,  1854  (two  months  after  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  Act),  an  Emigrant  Aid  Society,  which  had  been  incor- 
porated by  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  in  April  previous,  was  formed  in 
Boston.  This  movement  excited  the  friends  of  slavery  to  action ;  and  in  Mis- 
souri, combinations  were  at  once  formed  to  counteract  it,  under  the  various 
names  of  "Social  Band,"  "Friends'  Society,"  "Blue  Lodge,"  "The  Sons 
of  the  South,"  etc.  Emigration  soon  commenced  flowing  into  Kansas  from  the 
free  States ;  and  during  the  period  from  August  to  October,  1854,  several  towns 
were  formed  by  these  people.4  The  Missourians  also  went  into  the  Territory, 
and  founded  several  towns  ;&  and  in  October,  the  appointed  governor  of  Kansas, 
A.  H.  Reeder,  arrived.  With  the  election  in  March  following  [1855],  when 
a  Territorial  Legislature  was  chosen,  commenced  a  reign  of  terror  in  Kansas, 
and  for  more  than  a  year  civil  war  raged  in  that  beautiful  land.  All  classes  of 
men  carried  deadly  weapons  about  their  persons,  and  a  slight  or  accidental  quar- 
rel frequently  produced  unusual  violence.  Finally,  Governor  Reeder  departed 
for  Washington  [April  19,  1855]  to  consult  with  the  Federal  Government  on 
the  affairs  of  the  Territory. 

Early  in  the  autumn  of  1855,  and  while  the  exasperation  of  both  parties  in 
Kansas  was  at  its  height,  the  free  State  men  of  the  Territory  held  a  convention 
[Sept.  5],  and  nominated  Governor  Reeder  as  a  delegate  in  Congress,  in  place 


1  Page  527.  2  Page  521.  s  Pages  452  and  501. 

4  The  free  State  settlers  founded  the  towns  of  Lawrence,  Topeka,  Boston  (now  called  Manhat- 
tan), Grasshopper  Falls,  Pawnee,  and  other  settlements. 

6  They  founded  Kickapoo,  Doniphan,  Atchison,  and  other  places  on  the  Missouri  River. 

34 


530  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1853. 

of  General  Whitfield,  who  had  been  chosen  at  a  previous  election,  not,  as  was 
alleged,  by  the  votes  of  actual  settlers,  but  by  those  of  people  from  Missouri. 
Reeder  was  elected  in  October ;  and  when,  on  the  4th  of  February,  1856,  Gen- 
eral Whitfield  was  admitted,  provisionally,  to  a  seat  in  Congress,  he  contested 
it  with  him.  On  the  llth  of  November  [1855],  the  free  State  convention  com- 
pleted a  State  Constitution,  and  submitted  it  to  the  people;  and  on  the  17th  of 
January  following,  elections  under  it  were  held.  On  the  24th  of  that  month, 
the  President  of  the  United  States  sent  a  special  message  to  Congress,  in  which 
he  represented  the  formation  of  the  free  State  government  in  Kansas  as  an 
act  of  rebellion. 

Troubles  still  continued.  Violence  and  bloodshed  prevailed  in  that  unhappy 
Territory.  The  accounts  from  Kansas  Jbeing  very  contradictory  and  alarming, 
the  House  of  Representatives,  on  the  19th  of  March,  appointed  a  committee  of 
three  to  proceed  thither,  investigate  the  whole  matter,  and  report.  They  re- 
turned to  Washington  in  June ;  and  on  the  1st  of  July  the  majority  of  the 
committee  presented  their  report,  which  concluded  with  the  following  summing 
up: 

"First.  That  each  election  in  the  Territory,  held  under  the  organic  or  alleged  Territorial  law, 
.has  been  carried  by  organized  invasions  from  the  State  of  Missouri,  by  which  the  people  of  the 
Territory  have  been  prevented  from  exercising  the  rights  secured  to  them  by  the  organic  law. 

"  Second.  That  the  alleged  Territorial  Legislature  was  an  illegally-constituted  body,  and  had  no 
power  to  pass  valid  laws,  and  their  enactments  arc,  therefore,  null  and  void. 

"  Third.  That  these  alleged  laws  have  not,  as  a  general  thing,  been  used  to  protect  persons  and 
property  and  to  punish  wrong,  but  for  unlawful  purposes. 

"  Fourth.  That  the  election  under  which  the  sitting  delegate,  John  W.  "Whitfield,  holds  his  seat, 
was  not  held  in  pursuance  of  any  valid  law,  and  that  it  should  be  regarded  only  as  the  expression 
of  the  choice  of  those  resident  citizens  who  voted  for  him. 

"  Fifth.  That  the  election  under  wThich  the  contesting  delegate,  Andrew  H.  Reeder,  claims  his 
seat,  was  not  held  in  pursuance  of  law,  and  that  it  should  be  regarded  only  as  the  expression  of 
the  choice  of  the  resident  citizens  who  voted  for  him. 

"  Sixth.  That  Andrew  II.  Reeder  received  a  greater  number  of  votes  of  resident  citizens  than 
John  W.  Whitfield,  for  delegate. 

"  Seventh.  That  in  the  present  condition  of  the  Territory,  a  fair  election  can  not  be  held  without 
a  new  census,  a  stringent  and  well-guarded  election  law,  the  selection  of  impartial  judges,  and  the 
presence  of  United  States  troops  at  every  place  of  election. 

"  Eighth.  That  the  various  elections  held  by  the  people  of  the  Territory,  preliminary  to  the 
formation  of  the  State  government,  have  been  as  regular  as  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  Territory 
would  allow ;  and  that  the  Constitution  passed  by  the  convention,  held  in  pursuance  of  said  elec- 
tions, embodies  the  will  of  a  majority  of  the  people. 

"As  it  is  not  the  province  of  your  committee  to  suggest  remedies  for  the  existing  troubles  in 
the  Territory  of  Kansas,  they  content  themselves  with  the  foregoing  statement  of  facts." 

The  minority  report  declared  the  statements  of  the  majority  to  be  ex  parts, 
and  in  many  cases  untrue ;  and  thus,  after  a  long  investigation,  and  the  excita- 
tion of  high  hopes  that  the  committee  would  unanimously  agree,  and  suggest 
some  plan  for  the  pacification  of  the  Territory,  both  parties  were  dissatisfied 
with  the  result.  As  the  autumn  advanced,  and  the  presidential  election  ap- 
proached, disturbances  were  less  frequent  and  general.  Isolated  cases  of 
-violence,  committed  by  persons  of  both  parties,  frequently  occurred,  and  order 


1857.]  PIERCE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  531 

was  not  fully  restored  when  the  year  drew  toward  a  close.  The  time  when 
peace  and  prosperity  shall  prevail  in  that  unhappy  country,  was  yet  an  un- 
solved question.  The  events  which  have  transpired  there,  appear  as  a  foul  blot 
upon  our  national  escutcheon  ;  and  the  year  1856  will  be  looked  back  upon  by 
American  citizens  with  the  deepest  mortification,  as  an  era  of  national  disgrace. 
But  the  time  has  not  yet  arrived  to  write  a  truthful  history  of  events  there. 
There  is  now  too  much  of  the  smoke  of  error  to  perceive  the  truth  in  its  clear- 
ness. The  pabulum  of  all  the  difficulty  is  the  question  of  the  extension  of 
slavery  over  territory  yet  free,  compounded  with  the  selfish  ambition  of  dem- 
agogues who  are  governed  by  those  seven  controlling  principles — five  loaves 
and  two  fishes. 

The  question  of  the  extension  of  slavery  has  now  assumed  a  form  and  dimen- 
sion, which  loom  above  all  other  national  topics.  Under  its  influence  new  politi- 
cal organizations  have  grown  up ;  and  in  the  presidential  campaign  of  1856, 
three  contestants  for  the  office  of  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Republic,  appeared, 
each  the  representative  of  a  distinct  party.  For  more  than  a  year  previously,  a 
new  organization,  composed  of  men  of  all  political  creeds,  united  in  opposition 
to  the  extension  of  slavery,  had  been  gathering  force  and  bulk,  until,  when  the 
presidential  contest  came  on  [November  4,  1856],  it  had  assumed  giant  propor- 
tions in  the  Free  States,  and  was  looked  upon  kindly  by  many  in  the  slave 
States.  This  is  known  as  the  Republican  party.  Long  before  its  advent, 
another  organization,  at  first  secret  in  its  operations,  and  known  as  the  Amer- 
ican or  Know-Nothing  party,  had  become  a  great  political  power  in  the  coun- 
try, its  chief  bond  of  union  being  opposition  to  foreign  influence,  and  the  dom- 
ination of  Roman  Catholicism  in  our  political  affairs.  The  old  Democratic 
party,  dating  its  modern  organization  at  the  election  of  President  Jackson  in 
1828, J  had  become  divided  and  weakened;  while  the  old  Whig  party2  was  vir- 
tually annihilated  as  a  distinct  organization,  having  real  vitality.  Thus  appeared 
the  several  partisan  forces  early  in  1856,  when  the  leaders  of  each  prepared  to 
choose  their  respective  standard-bearers  for  the  presidential  campaign. 

The  American  party  held  a  national  convention  in  Philadelphia,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1856 ;  and  on  the  22d  of  that  month,  nominated  ex-President  Fillmore,3 
for  re-election  to  the  high  office  he  had  once  held.  Andrew  J.  Donelson,  of 
Tennessee,4  was  nominated  for  Yice-President.  Subsequently,  some  of  the 
Americans,  disagreeing  with  their  brethren  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  repudi- 
ated that  nomination,  but  Mr.  Fillmore  continued  his  position  as  a  nominee, 
and  went  into  the  election,  having  the  support  of  a  large  number  of  the  old 
Whig  party.  The  two  wings  of  the  Democratic  party  became  partially  recon- 
ciled later  in  the  season ;  and  on  the  2d  of  June,  delegates  from  each  met  in 
national  convention  at  Cincinnati.  After  several  ballotings,  on  the  5th,  James 
Buchanan5  of  Pennsylvania  was  unanimously  nominated  for  President,  and 
John  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  for  Vice-President.  A  national  conven- 
tion of  Republican  delegates  assembled  at  Philadelphia  on  the  17th  of  June, 

1  Page  459.  2  Note  2,  page  466.  3  Note  5,  page  501. 

4  Note  1,  page  479.  »  Page. 5 2 2. 


532 


THE     CONFEDERATION. 


[1853. 


and  nominated  John  C.  Fremont,1  of  California,  for  President,  and  William  L. 
Dayton,  of  New  Jersey,  for  Vice-President.  The  Democratic  and  Republican 
conventions  promulgated,  by  resolutions,  their  respective  principles  and  policy, 
to  which  the  candidate  of  each  subscribed,  while  the  nominee  of  the  American 
party  referred  his  countrymen  to  his  past  acts  as  the  exponents  of  his  prin- 
ciples. 


/ 


Never,  since  the  election  of  General  Harrison,  in  1840,2  had  there  been  so 
much  excitement  in  the  country,  as  during  the  presidential  campaign  of  1856. 
The  great  question  of  the  extension  of  slavery  was  the  leading  topic  with  the 
Republicans ;  while  all  parties  used  extraordinary  efforts  in  support  of  their 
respective  candidates.  The  contest  finally  ended  on  the  4th  of  November, 
and  resulted  in  the  election  of  James  Buchanan,3  as  President  of  the  United 

1  Page  488.  2  Page  473. 

3  James  Buchanan  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  23d  of  April,  1791.  He 
was  educated  at  Dickenson  College,  where  he  was  graduated  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  In 
1809  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  was  soon  in  successful  practice  in  his  native  State.  In  1814, 
when  only  twenty-three  years'  of  age,  he  was  elected  to  a  spat  in  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania. 
This  was  his  first  prominent  appearance  in  public  life.  In  1815  he  distinguished  himself  in  his 
State  Legislature  as  an  opponent  of  the  United  States  Bank,  and  became  one  of  the  foremost  men 
in  the  Republican  party.  He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1820,  and  there  he  soon  became  distin- 
guished as  a  speaker  and  debater.  After  ten  years'  service,  he  retired  from  Congress  in  1831,  when 
President  Jackson  appointed  him  minister  to  Russia.  In  1833  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  where  he  also  served  ten  years.  President  Polk  called  him  to  his  cabinet,  as  Secretary  of 
State ;  and  in  1849  he  again  retired  to  private  life.  In  1853  he  was  appointed  minister  to  England; 
and  in  June,  1856,  he  was  nominated  for  President  of  the  United  States.  In  November  following 
he  was  elected  to  that  high  office.  Mr.  Buchanan  was  then  in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 


1857.]  PIERCE'S    AD MINSTR AT ION.  533 

States,  and  of  John  C.  Breckinridge,  as  Vice- President.  The  people  of  our 
beloved  Union — the  great  conservative  masses  who  cling  to  it  as  the  ark  of 
freedom  for  the  world — acquiesced  gracefully  in  the  choice  of  the  majority,  and, 
with  true  faith,  will  ever  hope  for  good  things,  while,  with  true  love  for  our 
free  institutions,  they  will  work  nobly  for  their  perpetuation.  Mr.  Buchanan 
was  inaugurated  the  fifteenth  President  of  the  United  States,  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1857. 

The  question  of  slavery  still  looms  up,  dark  and  ominous,  asking  for  a  solu- 
tion. In  it  are  involved  the  principles  of  moral  right,  political  and  social 
expediency,  and  a  great  pecuniary  interest.  It  has  ever  been  a  vexing  and  per- 
plexing question,  and  has  produced  more  heart-burnings — more  "envy,  hatred, 
and  malice,  and  all  uncharitableness, "  among  our  people,  than  all  other  national 
questions  which  have  arisen  since  the  birth  of  the  Republic.  The  prolific  seed 
of  the  institution  was  brought  here  and  planted,  early  ;  and  its  mighty  fruition 
is  now  our  GREAT  AND  ABIDING  TROUBLE.  In  the  same  year  when  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers,1  fleeing  from  spiritual  slavery,  landed  on  the  bleak  shores  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  a  Dutch  vessel  carried  Africans  to  Virginia,  and  sold  them  to  the 
English  settlers  there.2  To  the  humane  impulses  of  Las  Casas,  a  sagacious 
Romish  priest,  Western  Africa  is  indebted  for  all  its  troubles  connected  with 
the  foreign  slave-trade.  He  had  long  witnessed  the  sufferings  of  the  weak  and 
gentle  natives  of  the  West  India  Islands,  under  the  cruel  rigors  of  Spanish 
bondage.3  He  saw  them  perish  by  thousands ;  and,  moved  by  pity,  he  sug- 
gested that  the  more  hardy  Africans,  who  were  continually  at  war  with  each 
other,  and  sold  their  captives  into  slavery,  should  be  substituted.  The  sanction 
of  the  Pope  to  this  traffic  was  speedily  obtained ;  and  before  the  close  of  the 
16th  century,  the  whole  Atlantic  coast  of  Africa  between  the  tropics,  became 
one  great  slave  mart.  That  traffic  had  no  justification  in  English  laws,  nor  early 
colonial  statutes ;  yet  it  was  permitted  as  a  matter  of  policy ;  and  custom,  in 
process  of  time,  assumed  the  dignity  of  common  law. 

When  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  promulgated,  its  precepts  struck 
at  the  root  of  human  bondage  in  every  form  ;  and  efforts  were  made,  in  several 
States,  to  eradicate  the  institution,  sometimes  in  the  form  of  propositions  for 
immediate,  and  at  others  for  gradual,  emancipation.  It  had  been  expelled  from 
England  by  the  decision  of  Lord  Mansfield,  just  before  the  kindling  of  the 
American  Revolution  ;4  and  the  most  enlightened  men  in  the  colonies,  regarding 
it  with  great  disfavor,  attempts  were  made,  from  time  to  time,  to  limit  it. 

1  Page  77.  2  Note  6,  page  105.  3  Page  41. 

4  This  decision  was  in  the  case  of  James  Somerset,  a  native  of  Africa,  who  was  carried  to  Vir- 
ginia, and  sold  as  a  slave,  taken  to  England  by  his  master,  and  there  induced  to  assert  his  freedom. 
The  first  case  of  a  similar  nature  on  record  in  England,  was  in  1697,  when  it  was  held  that  negroes 
"  being  usually  bought  and  sold  among  merchants,  as  merchandise,  and  also  being  infidels,  there 
might  be  a  property  in  them  sufficient  to  maintain  trover."  This  position  was  overruled  by  Chief 
Justice  Holt,  who  decided  that  "  so  soon  as  a  negro  lands  in  England,  he  is  free."  To  this  decision 
Cowpcr  alludes,  when  he  says,  "Slaves  can  not  breathe  in  England."  In  1702,  Justice  Holt  also 
decided  that  "  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  slave  by  the  law  of  England."  In  1729,  an  opinion  was 
obtained,  that  "  negroes  legally  enslaved  elsewhere  might  be  held  as  slaves  in  England,  and  that 
baptism  was  no  bar  to  the  master's  claim."  This  was  held  as  good  law  until  Mansfield's  decision 
above  mentioned. 


534  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1853. 

Among  others,  the  famous  ordinance  of  1787,  for  the  government  of  the  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States,  north-west  of  the  Ohio,1  known  as  the  North-western 
Territory,  stands  forth  prominent.2 

Although  the  words  "slave"  and  "slavery"  do  not  appear  in  the  Federal 
Constitution,  yet  the  institution  is  recognized  there  by  fair  implication,  and  the 
force  of  its  provisions  may  not  be  evaded.3  This  was  one  of  the  important  com- 
promises which  the  framers  "found  necessary  in  order  to  have  the  sanction  of  a 
requisite  number  of  States  for  that  instrument.4  There  stand  the  clauses,  im- 
pregnable against  sophistry,  and  their  force  can  only  be  shaken  or  destroyed 
by  actual  amendment  of  the  Constitution,  in  prescribed  form.  But  to  the  sev- 
eral States,  power  to  abolish  the  institution  from  within  their  respective  limits, 
was  conceded ;  and  in  the  course  of  years,  several  of  the  northern  members  of 
the  Confederacy  cast  off  the  system  by  legislative  enactments.5  In  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia/  and  Kentucky,  there  has  been  wide-spread  discontent  with 
slavery,  as  a  social  and  economical  institution.  The  ethical  features  of  the 
question  seem  to  admit  of  little  controversy.  It  is  its  material  features — its 
relation  to  the  material  and  social  interests  of  our  common  country,  in  which 
are  involved  vast  private  pecuniary  interests — that  claim  attention.  In  this 
view  of  the  case,  all  of  the  perplexing  lineaments  of  the  question  are  to  be  seen. 
These  should  be  discussed  with  candor  and  forbearance.  Harshness  of  speech 
is  not  argument,  and  never  produces  conviction.  Harshness  of  action  is  not 
manly,  and  irritates  rather  than  convinces ;  and  mutual  recriminations,  ungen- 
erous expressions,  and  flippant  censures,  only  tend  to  alienate  the  affections  of 
those  who  ought  to  live  as  brothers,  conceding  to  each  other  sincerity  of  feeling 
and  honesty  of  motives.  To  us  and  our  institutions  the  nations  of  the  Old 
World,  aspiring  to  ^e  free,  are  looking  with  anxious  hearts  and  straining  eyes, 
as  the  main  hope  of  freedom  for  the  race.  Let  us  be  true  to  our  mission  as  the 
ark-bearers  of  Human  Liberty ;  and  let  each,  in  the  spirit  of  true  brotherly 
kindness,  say  to  his  neighbor,  on  all  occasions — If  thou  hast  a  truth  to  utter, 
speak,  and  leave  the  result  to  God. 

We  dare  not  attempt  to  lift  the  vail  of  the  future,  or  predict  the  events  of 

1  Page  362. 

3  In  17  84,  efforts  were  made  in  the  Continental  Congress  to  restrict  slavery.  A  select  committee 
was  appointed,  consisting  of  Thomas  Jefferson  (the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence),  as 
chairman,  and  Messrs.  Chase  of  Maryland  (one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration),  and  Howell  of  Rhode 
Island.  They  reported  a  plan  for  the  government  of  the  Western  Territory,  then  including  the  whole 
region  west  of  the  old  thirteen  States,  as  far  south  as  the  thirty-first  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  em- 
bracing several  of  our  present  slave  States.  The  plan  contemplated  the  ultimate  division  of  this 
territory  into  seventeen  States,  eight  of  them  below  the  latitude  of  the  present  city  of  Louisville,  in 
Kentucky.  Among  the  rules  for  the  government  of  that  region,  reported  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  was  the 
following:  J' That  after  the  year  1800  of  the  Christian  era,  there  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  invol- 
untary servitude  in  any  of  the  said  States,  otherwise  than  in  punishment  of  crimes,  whereof  the 
party  shall  have  been  convicted  to  be  personally  guilty."  This  clause  was  stricken  out  [April  19, 
1784],  on  motion  of  Mr.  Spaight,  of  North  Carolina,  seconded  by  Mr.  Read,  of  South  Carolina.  A 
majority  of  the  States  were  against  striking  it  out,  but  the  Articles  of  Confederation  required  a  vote 
of  nine  States  to  carry  a  proposition.  See  Journals  of  Congress.  In  the  ordinance  of  1787  [see 
page  362],  this  rule,  omitting  the  words  "after  the  year  1800  of  the  Christian  era,"  was  incorpo- 
rated. 

3  See  Federal  Constitution,  Supplement,  No.  YII. 

4  Vermont  was  the  only  State  in  which  slavery  never  existed. 
6  Note  4,  page  177. 


1857.]  PIERCE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  535 

to-morrow.  Never  was  the  human  mind  so  active  as  now.  There  is  a  compar- 
ative quiet  in  the  political  and  social  atmosphere  of  the  nations,  but  it  is  only 
the  calm  before  the  storm.  There  are  cruel  wrongs  to  be  redressed — fearful 
reckonings  to  be  made ;  and  in  those  days,  the  people  of  the  United  States  will 
bear  a  conspicuous  part  as  umpires. 

Here,  on  the  verge  of  great  events  yet  to  be  developed  in  the  Old  and  New 
World,  we  pause  in  our  wonderful  story  of  the  discovery,1  settlement.2  and  col- 
onization3 of  this  beautiful  land,  and  the  establishment  of  one  of  the  noblest 
Republics  the  world  ever  saw,  covering  with  the  broad  aegis  of  its  power,  a  ter- 
ritory as  extensive  as  that  of  old  Rome  in  her  palmiest  days,  when  she  was  mis- 
tress of  the  world.4  At  the  present  we  are  engaged  in  the  marvelous  labor  of 
founding  new  States,  with  a  facility  and  power  hitherto  unknown.  In  our  his- 
tory, the  nineteenth  century  will  be  distinguished  as  the  era  of  the  birth  of 
mighty  empires— empires  brought  forth  in  the  wildernesses  of  a  vast  continent 
— at  whose  baptism,  statesmen  and  gospel-bearers,  brave  soldiers  and  gentle 
women,  stand  as  sponsors,  while  the  children  of  the  forest  look  on  in  sorrow, 
for  the  ring  of  the  hammer  upon  every  corner-stone  of  the  structures  of  civiliz- 
ation, is  the  knell  of  their  extinction.  Over  them  the  free  eagle  may  perch,  as 
the  emblem  of  their  former  sovereignty ;  but  the  setting  sun  just  above  the 
peaks  of  the  western  hills,  or  over  the  billows  of  the  Pacific,  more  truly  symbol- 
izes their  present  and  their  future.  Let  us  not  take  special  pride  in  the  extent 
and  physical  grandeur  of  our  beloved  country,  but  endeavor  to  have  our  hearts 
and  minds  thoroughly  penetrated  with  the  glorious  thoughts  of  Alcaeus  of  My- 
telene,  who  asked  and  answered — 

"What  constitutes  a  State? 
Not  high-raised  battlement,  or  labored  mound, 

Thick  wall  or  moated  gate ; 
Not  cities  proud,  with  spires  and  turrets  crowned  ; 

Not  bays,  and  broad-armed  ports, 
Where,  laughing  at  the  storms,  rich  navies  ride ; 

Not  starred  and  spangled  courts, 
Where  low-browed  baseness  wafts  perfume  to  pride. 

No :  men,  high-minded  men, 
With  powers  as  far  above  dull  brutes  endued, 

1  Page  40.  2  Page  61.  3  Page  104; 

4  The  territorial  extent  of  our  Republic  is  ten  times  as  large  as  that  of  Great  Britain  and  France 
combined ;  three  times  as  large  as  the  whole  of  France,  Britain,  Austria,  Prussia,  Spain,  Portugal, 
Belgium,  Holland,  and  Denmark  together;  one  and  a  half  times  as  large  as  the  Russian  empire  in 
Europe,  and  only  one  sixth  less  than  the  area  covered  by  the  sixty  States  and  Empires  of  Europe. 
The  entire  area  in  1853,  was  2,983,153  square  miles.  The  internal  trade  of  the  United  States  is- 
of  vast  extent.  Its  value  amounted  in  1853  (Lake  and  Western  River  trade),  to  more  than; 
$560,000,000,  in  which  about  1 1,000,000  of  our  people  are  directly  or  indirectly  interested.  Accord- 
ing to  the  seventh  enumeration  of  inhabitants  of  the  United  States,  made  in  1850,  the  total  number 
was  23,191,876,  of  whom  19,553,068,  are  white  people;  434,495,  free  colored;  and  3,204,313  slaves. 
Taking  the  increase  of  population  from  1840  to  1850,  as  a  basis  for  calculation,  we  may  safely  con- 
clude  the  population  of  the  United  States  to  be,  at  this  time  [December,  1856],  about  28,000,000. 
The  most  accessible  works,  in  which  are  given,  in  detail,  the  progress  of  political  events  in  the 
United  States,  from  the  formation  of  the  Constitution  until  the  present  time,  are  Hildreth's  History 
of  the  United  Slates,  second  series;  and  Williams's  Statesman's  Manual  The  former  closes  with  tha^ 
year  1821 ;  the  latter  is  continued  to  the  present  year. 


536  THE     CONFEDERATION.  [1853. 

In  forest,  brake,  or  den, 
As  brutes  excel  cold  rocks  and  brambles  rude — 

Men,  who  their  duties  know, 
But  know  their  rights,  and  knowing,  dare  maintain ; 

Prevent  the  long-aimed  blow, 
And  crush  the  tyrant  while  they  rend  the  chain — 

These  constitute  a  State.11 

Or  with  the  more  subtle  thoughts  of  our  own  Simms,  of  South  Carolina,  who 
wrote — 

"  The  moral  of  the  race  is  in  the  State, 
The  secret  germ  for  great  development, 
Through  countless  generations : — all  the  hopes, 
The  aims,  the  great  ambition,  the  proud  works, 
Virtues,  performances,  high  desires,  and  deeds, 
With  countless  pure  and  precious  sentiments, 
Nursed  in  some  few  brave  souls,  that,  still  apart 
From  the  rude  hunger  of  the  multitude, 
Light  fires,  build  altars,  image  out  the  God 
That  makes  the  grand  ideal. 
*     *    *     A  State 's  the  growth 
Of  the  great  family  of  a  thousand  years, 
With  all  its  grand  community  of  thought, 
Affections,  faith,  sentiments,  as  well 
As  its  material  treasures.     These  are  naught 
If  that  the  faith,  the  virtues,  and  the  will 
Be  lacking  to  the  race.     The  guardian  State 
Keeps  these  immaculate.     They  are  not  yours, 
Or  mine ;  nor  do  they  rest  within  the  charge 
Of  the  mere  feeders  at  the  common  crib, 
Of  all  the  myriads  keeping  paco  with  us, 
Some  seventy  years  of  march." 


POUNDING  NEW  STATES. 


SUPPLEMENT. 


STATE  PAPEKS. 


SUPPLEMENT, 
i. 

THE     STAMP     ACT. 

THE  idea  of  producing  a  revenue  by  the  sale  of  stamps  and  stamped  paper 
in  America  was  promulgated  almost  forty  years  before  its- final  development  in 
legislative  enactment  in  1765.1  Sir  William  Keith  advised  the  policy  as  early 
as  1T28.  In  1739  the  London  merchants  advised  the  ministry  to  adopt  the 
measure,  and  public  writers  from  time  to  time  suggested  various  ideas  predicated 
upon  the  same  idea.  In  1750,  Douglas,  in  his  work  on  British  America, 
recommended  the  levying  of  a  stamp  duty  upon  all  legal  writings  and  instru- 
ments. Dr.  Franklin  regarded  the  plan  favorably :  and  Governor  Sharpe  of 
Maryland,  was  confident,  in  1754,  that  Parliament  would  speedily  make  a 
statute  for  raising  money  by  means  of  stamp  duties.  Lieutenant- Governor 
Delancey  spoke  in  favor  of  it  in  the  New  York  Assembly  in  1755,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year,  Governor  Shirley,  of  Massachusetts,  urged  Parliament  to  adopt  a 
stamp  tax  The  British  press  urged  the  measure  in  1757,  and  it  was  confi- 
dently stated,  that  at  least  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  annually  might  thus 
be  drawn  from  the  colonies,  without  the  tax  being  sensibly  felt.  Bat  William 
Pitt  would  not  listen  to  the  recommendation,  for,  like  Walpole,  twenty-five 
years  before,  he  preferred  to  draw  money  into  the  treasury  by  the  exercise  of  a 
liberal  commercial  policy  toward  the  Americans.  Notwithstanding  public 
opinion  in  England  appeared  to  be  decidedly  favorable  to  the  measure,  it  was 
not  proposed  by  the  ministry  until  1764.  It  became  a  law  in  1765,  and  was 
repealed  in  1766.  Had  not  ministers  been  deceived  by  the  representations  of 
the  stupid  and  selfish  royal  governors  in  America,  it  probably  would  never 
have  been  enacted.  Those  men  were  frequently  too  indolent  or  indifferent  to 
make  themselves  acquainted  with  the  real  temper  of  the  people.  Regarding 
the  mass  as  equally  servile  as  their  flatterers,  they  readily  commended  that  fatal 
measure  which  proved  the  spark  that  lighted  the  flames  of  Revolution,  and  sev- 
ered forever  the  political  connection  between  Great  Britain  and  thirteen  of  her 
American  colonies. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  famous  Stamp  Act  of  1765  : 
WHEREAS,  by  an  act  made  in  the  last  session  of  Parliament,  several  duties 
were  granted,  continued,  and  appropriated  toward  defraying  the  expenses  of 

1  Page  213. 


542  SUPPLEMENT. 

defending,  protecting,  and  securing  the  British  colonies  and  plantations  in 
America;  and  whereas  it  is  just  and  necessary  that  provision  be  made  for 
raising  a  further  revenue  within  your  majesty's  dominions  in  America,  toward 
defray  ing  the  said  expenses ;  we,  your  majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  subjects, 
the  Commons  of  Great  Britain,  in  Parliament  assembled,  have  therefore  resolved 
to  give  and  grant  unto  your  majesty  the  several  rates  and  duties  hereinafter 
mentioned;  and  do  humbly  beseech  your  majesty  that  it  may  be  enacted,  and 
be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  commons,  in  this  present  Par- 
liament assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  from  and  after  the 
first  day  of  November,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-five,  there  shall 
be  raised,  levied,  collected,  and  paid  unto  his  majesty,  his  heirs,  and  successors, 
throughout  the  colonies  and  plantations  in  America,  which  now  are,  or  hereafter 
may  be,  under  the  dominion  of  his  majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors : 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  declaration,  plea,  replica- 
tion, rejoinder,  demurrer,  or  other  pleading,  or  any  copy  thereof,  in  any  court 
of  law  within  the  British  colonies  and  plantations  in  America,  a  stamp  duty  of 
three  pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  special  bail,  and  appear- 
ance upon  such  bail  in  any  such  court,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  may  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  petition,  bill,  answer, 
claim,  plea,  replication,  rejoinder,  demurrer,  or  other  pleading,  in  any  court  of 
chancery  or  equity  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of 
one  shilling  and  sixpence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  copy  of  any  petition,  bill, 
answer,  claim,  plea,  replication,  rejoinder,  demurrer,  or  other  pleading  in  any 
such  court,  a  stamp  duty  of  three  pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  motion,  libel,  answer, 
allegation,  inventory,  or  renunciation  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  in  any  court  of 
probate,  court  of  the  ordinary,  or  other  court  exercising  ecclesiastical  jurisdic- 
tion within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  one  shilling. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  copy  of  any  will  (other 
than  the  probate  thereof),  monition,  libel,  answer,  allegation,  inventory,  or 
renunciation  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  in  any  such  court,  a  stamp  duty  of  six 
pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  donation,  presentation, 
collation,  or  institution,  of  or  to  any  benefice,  or  any  writ  or  instrument  for  the 
like  purpose,  or  any  register,  entry,  testimonial,  or  certificate  of  any  degree 


THE    STAMP    ACT.  543 

taken  in  any  university,  academy,  college,  or  seminary  of  learning  within  the 
said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  pounds. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum'  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  monition,  libel,  claim, 
answer,  allegation,  information,  letter  of  request,  execution,  renunciation,  inven- 
tory, or  other  pleading,  in  any  admiralty  court  within  the  said  colonies  and 
plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  one  shilling. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  any  copy  of  any  such  monition,  libel,  claim,  answer,  allegation,  infor- 
mation, letter  of  request,  execution,  renunciation,  inventory,  or  other  pleading, 
shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  a  stamp  duty  of  six  pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  appeal,  writ  of  error,  writ 
of  dower,  ad  quod  damnum,  certiorari,  statute  merchant,  statute  staple,  attes- 
tation, or  certificate,  by  any  officer,  or  exemplification  of  any  record  or  proceed- 
ing, in  any  court  whatsoever,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations  (except 
appeals,  writs  of  error,  certiorari,  attestations,  certificates,  and  exemplifications, 
for,  or  relating  to  the  removal  of  any  proceedings  from  before  a  single  justice 
of  the  peace),  a  stamp  duty  of  ten  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  writ  of  covenant  for  levy- 
ing fines,  writ  of  entry  for  suffering  a  common  recovery,  or  attachment  issuing 
out  of,  or  returnable  into,  any  court  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a 
stamp  duty  of  Jive  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  judgment,  decree,  sen- 
tence, or  dismission,  or  any  record  of  nisi  prius  or  ^ostea,  in  any  court  within 
the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  four  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  affidavit,  common  bail, 
or  appearance,  interrogatory,  deposition,  rule,  order  or  warrant  of  any  court, 
or  any  dedimus  potestatem,  capias  subpcena,  summons,  compulsory  citation, 
commission,  recognizance,  or  any  other  writ,  process,  or  mandate,  issuing  out 
of,  or  returnable  into,  any  court,  or  any  office  belonging  thereto,  or  any  other 
proceeding  therein,  whatsoever,  or  any  copy  thereof,  or  of  any  record  not 
herein  before  charged,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations  (except  warrants 
relating  to  criminal  matters,  and  proceedings  thereon,  or  relating  thereto.)  a 
stamp  duty  of  one  shilling. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  note  or  bill  of  lading, 
which  shall  be  signed  for  any  kind  of  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise,  to  be 
exported  from,  or  any  cocket  or  clearance  granted  within  the  said  colonies  and 
plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  four  pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  pieee  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  letters  of  mart  or  commission 


544  SUPPLEMENT. 

for  private  ships  of  war,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty 
of  twenty  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  grant,  appointment,  or 
admission  of,  or  to,  any  public  beneficial  office  or  employment,  for  the  space  of 
one  year,  or  any  lesser  time,  of  or  above  tiventy  pounds  per  annum,  sterling 
money,  in  salary,  fees,  and  perquisites,  wTithin  the  said  colonies  and  plantations 
(except  commissions  and  appointments  of  officers  of  the  army,  navy,  ordnance, 
or  militia,  of  judges,  and  of  justices  of  the  peace),  a  stamp  duty  of  ten  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  any  grant  of  any  liberty,  privilege,  or  franchise,  under  the  seal  or 
sign-manual  of  any  governor,  proprietor,  or  public  officer,  alone,  or  in  conjunc- 
tion with  any  other  person  or  persons,  or  with  any  council,  or  any  council  and 
assembly,  or  any  exemplification  of  the  same,  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or 
printed,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  six  pounds. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  license  for  retailing  of 
spirituous  liquors,  to  be  granted  to  any  person  who  shall  take  out  the  same, 
within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  twenty  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  license  for  retailing  of 
wine,  to  be  granted  to  any  person  who  shall  not  take  out  a  license  for  retailing 
of  spirituous  liquors,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of 
four  pounds. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  license  for  retailing  of 
wine,  to  be  granted  to  any  person  who  shall  take  out  a  license  for  retailing  of 
spirituous  liquors;  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of 
three  pounds. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  probate  of  will,  letters  of 
administration,  or  of  guardianship  for  any  estate  above  the  value  of  twenty 
pounds,  sterling  money,  within  the  British  colonies  and  plantations  upon  the 
continent  of  America,  the  islands  belonging  thereto,  and  the  Bermuda  and 
Bahama  Islands,  a  stamp  duty  of  five  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  such  probate,  letters  of 
administration  or  of  guardianship,  within  all  other  parts  of  the  British  domin- 
ions in  America,  a  stamp  duty  of  ten  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  bond  for  securing  the  pay- 
ment of  any  sum  of  money,  not  exceeding  the  sum  of  ten  pounds  sterling 
money,  within  the  British  colonies  and  plantations  upon  the  continent  of  Amer- 
ica, the  islands  belonging  thereto,  and  the  Bermuda  and  Bahama  Islands,  a 
stamp  duty  of  six  pence. 


THE     STAMP    ACT.  545 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  bond  for  securing  the  pay- 
ment of  any  sum  of  money  above  ten  pounds,  and  not  exceeding  twenty  pounds 
sterling  money,  within  such  colonies,  plantations  and  islands,  a  stamp  duty  of 
one  shilling. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  bond  for  securing  the  pay- 
ment of  any  sum  of  money  above  twenty  pounds,  and  not  exceeding  forty 
pounds  sterling  money,  within  such  colonies,  plantations,  and  islands,  a  stamp 
duty  of  one  shilling  and  six  pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  order  or  warrant  for  sur- 
veying or  setting  out  any  quantity  of  land,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  acres, 
issued  by  any  governor,  proprietor,  or  any  public  officer,  alone,  or  in  conjunc- 
tion with  any  other  person  or  persons,  or  with  any  council,  or  any  council  and 
assembly,  within  the  British  colonies  and  plantations  in  America,  a  stamp  duty 
of  six  pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  such  order  or  warrant  for 
surveying  or  setting  out  any  quantity  of  land  above  one  hundred,  and  not  ex- 
ceeding two  hundred  acres,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp 
duty  of  one  shilling. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  such  order  or  warrant  for 
surveying  or  setting  out  any  quantity  of  land  above  two  hundred,  and  not  ex- 
ceeding three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and  in  proportion  for  every  such  order 
or  warrant  for  surveying  or  setting  out  every  other  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  one  shilling  and 
six  pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  original  grant,  or  any 
deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever,  by  which  any  quan- 
tity of  land,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  acres,  shall  be  granted,  conveyed,  or 
assigned,  within  the  British  colonies  or  plantations  upon  the  continent  of  Amer- 
ica, the  islands  belonging  thereto,  and  the  Bermuda  and  Bahama  Islands  (ex- 
cept leases  for  any  term  not  exceeding  the  term  of  twenty-one  years),  a  stamp 
duty  of  one  shilling  and  six  pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  such  original  grant,  or 
any  such  deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever,  by  which 
any  quantity  of  land  above  one  hundred,  and  not  exceeding  two  hundred  acres, 
shall  be  granted,  conveyed,  or  assigned,  within  such  colonies,  plantations,  and 
islands,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  such  original  grant,  or  any 

35 


546  SUPPLEMENT. 

such  deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever,  by  which  any 
quantity  of  land  above  two  hundred,  and  not  exceeding  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres,  shall  be  granted,  conveyed,  or  assigned,  and  in  proportion  for 
every  such  grant,  deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument,  granting, 
conveying,  or  assigning,  overy  other  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  within 
such  colonies,  plantations,  and  islands,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  shillings  and  six 
pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  such  original  grant,  or  any 
such  deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever,  by  which  any 
quantity  of  land,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  acres,  shall  be  granted,  conveyed, 
or  assigned,  within  all  other  parts  of  the  British  dominions  in  America,  a  stamp 
duty  of  three  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  such  original  grant,  or  any 
such  deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever,  by  which  any 
quadtity  of  land  above  one  hundred,  and  not  exceeding  two  hundred  acres,  shall 
be  granted,  conveyed,  or  assigned,  within  the  same  parts  of  the  said  dominions, 
a  stamp  duty  of  four  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  such  original  grant,  or  any 
such  deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever,  by  which  any 
quantity  of  land  above  two  hundred,  and  not  exceeding  three  hundred  and, 
twenty  acres,  shall  be  granted,  conveyed,  or  assigned,  and  in  proportion  for 
every  such  grant,  deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument,  granting,  con- 
veying, or  assigning,  every  other  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  within  the 
same  parts  of  the  said  dominions,  a  stamp  duty  of  Jive  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  .piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  grant,  appointment,  or 
admission,  of  or  to  any  beneficial  office  or  employment,  not  herein  before 
charged,  above  the  value  of  twenty  pounds  per  annum  sterling  money,  in  sal- 
ary, fees,  and  perquisites,  or  any  exemplification  of  the  same,  within  the  Brit- 
ish colonies  and  plantations  upon  the  continent  of  America,  the  islands  belong- 
ing thereto,  and  the  Bermuda  and  Bahama  Islands  (except  commissions  of 
officers  of  the  army,  navy,  ordnance,  or  militia,  and  of  justices  of  the  peace),  a 
stamp  duty  of  four  pounds. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  such  grant,  appointment, 
or  admission,  of  or  to  any  such  public  beneficial  office  or  employment,  or  any 
exemplificatton  of  the  same,  within  all  other  parts  of  the  British  dominions  in 
America,  a  stamp  duty  of  six  pounds. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  indenture,  lease,  convey- 
ance, contract,  stipulation,  bill  of  sale,  charter  party,  protest,  articles  of  ap- 
prenticeship or  covenant  (except  the  hire  of  servants  not  apprentices,  and  also 


THE    STAMP    ACT.  547 

except  such  other  matters  as  herein  before  charged),  within  the  British  colo- 
nies and  plantations  in  America,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  shillings  and  six  pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  any  warrant  or  order  for  auditing  any  public  accounts,  beneficial  war- 
rant, order,  grant,  or  certificate,  under  any  public  seal,  or  under  the  seal  or 
sign-manual  of  any  governor,  proprietor,  or  public  officer,  alone,  or  in  conjunc- 
tion with  any  person  or  persons,  or  with  any  council,  or  any  council  and  assem- 
bly, hot  herein  before  charged,  or  any  passport  or  let-pass,  surrender  of  office, 
or  policy  of  assurance,  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  within  the  said 
colonies  and  plantations  (except  warrants  or  orders  for  the  service  of  the  army, 
navy,  ordnance,  or  militia,  and  grants  of  offices  under  twenty  pounds  per  annum, 
in  salary,  fees,  and  perquisites),  a  stamp  duty  of  Jive  shillings. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  wrritten,  or  printed,  any  notarial  act,  bond,  deed, 
letter  of  attorney,  procuration,  mortgage,  release,  or  other  obligatory  instru- 
ment, not  herein  before  charged,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a 
stamp  duty  of  two  shillings  and  three  pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  register,  entry,  or  enroll- 
ment of  any  grant,  deed,  or  other  instrument  whatsover,  herein  before  charged, 
within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  three  pence. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper. 
*on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  any  register,  entry,  or  enroll- 
ment of  any  grant,  deed,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever,  not  herein  before 
charged,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  shil- 
lings. 

And  for  and  upon  every  pack  of  playing-cards,  and  all  dice,  which  shall  be 
sold  or  used  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  the  several  stamp  duties 
following  (that  is  to  say)  : 

For  every  pack  of  such  cards,  one  shilling. 

For  every  pair  of  such  dice,  ten  shillings. 

And  for  and  upon  every  paper  called  a  pamphlet,  and  upon  every  news- 
paper, containing  public  news  or  occurrences,  which  shall  be  printed,  dispersed, 
and  made  public,  within  any  of  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  and  for  and 
upon  such  advertisements  as  are  hereinafter  mentioned,  the  respective  duties 
following  (that  is  to  say)  : 

For  every  such  pamphlet  and  paper  contained  in  a  half  sheet,  or  any  lesser 
piece  of  paper  which  shall  be  so  printed,  a  stamp  duty  of  one  half  penny  for 
every  printed  copy  thereof. 

For  every  such  pamphlet  and  paper  (being  larger  than  a  half  sheet,  and  not 
exceeding  one  whole  sheet),  which  shall  be  printed,  a  stamp  duty  of  one  penny 
for  every  printed  copy  thereof. 

For  every  pamphlet  and  paper,  being  larger  than  one  whole  sheet,  and  not 
exceeding  six  sheets  in  octavo,  or  in  a  lesser  page,  or  not  exceeding  twelve 
sheets  in  quarto,  or  twenty  sheets  in  folio,  which  shall  be  so  printed,  a  duty 


548  SUPPLEMENT. 

after  the  rate  of  one  shilling  for  every  sheet  of  any  kind  of  paper  which  shall 
be  contained  in  one  printed  copy  thereof. 

For  every  advertisement  to  be  contained  in  any  gazette,  newspaper,  or  other 
paper,  or  any  pamphlet  which  shall  be  so  printed,  a  duty  of  two  shillings. 

For  every  almanac,  or  calendar,  for  any  one  particular  year,  or  for  any 
time  less  than  a  year,  which  shall  be  written  or  printed  on  one  side  only  of  any 
one  sheet,  skin,  or  piece  of  paper,  parchment,  or  vellum,  within  the  said  colo- 
nies and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  pence. 

For  every  other  almanac  or  calendar,  for  any  one  particular  year,  which 
shall  be  written  or  printed  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp 
duty  of  four  pence. 

And  for  every  almanac  or  calendar  written  or  printed  in  the  said  colonies 
and  plantations,  to  serve  for  several  years,  duties  to  the  same  amount  respect- 
ively shall  be  paid  for  every  such  year. 

For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper, 
on  which  any  instrument,  proceeding,  or  other  matter  or  thing  aforesaid,  shall 
be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  within  the  said  colonies  or  plantations,  in  any 
other  than  the  English  language,  a  stamp  duty  of  double  the  amount  of  the 
respective  duties  before  charged  thereon. 

And  there  shall  be  also  paid,  in  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  duty 
of  six  pence  for  every  twenty  shillings,  in  any  sum  not  exceeding  fifty  pounds 
sterling  money,  which  shall  be  given,  paid,  contracted,  or  agreed  for.  with,  or 
in  relation  to,  any  clerk  or  apprentice,  which  shall  be  put  or  placed  to  or  with' 
any  master  or  mistress,  to  learn  any  profession,  trade,  or  employment.  II. 
And  also  a  duty  of  one  shilling  for  every  twenty  shillings,  in  any  sum  exceed- 
ing fifty  pounds,  which  shall  be  given,  paid,  contracted,  or  agreed  for,  with,  or 
in  relation  to,  any  such  clerk  or  apprentice. 

Finally,  the  produce  of  all  the  aforementioned  duties  shall  be  paid  into  his 
majesty's  treasury,  and  there  held  in  reserve,  to  be  used  from  time  to  time  by 
the  Parliament,  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expenses  necessary  for  the 
defense,  protection,  and  security  of  the  said  colonies  and  plantations. 


III. 

STATE  PAPERS  PUT  FORTH  BY  THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL 
CONGRESS,  IN  1774. 1 


TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN.2 

WHEN  a  nation,  led  to  greatness  by  the  hand  of  liberty,  and  possessed  of 
all  the  glory  that  heroism,  munificence,  and  humanity  can  bestow,  descends  to 
the  ungrateful  task  of  forging  chains  for  her  friends  and  children,  and,  instead 
of  giving  support  to  freedom,  turns  advocate  for  slavery  and  oppression,  there 
is  reason  to  suspect  she  has  ceased  to  be  virtuous,  or  been  extremely  negligent 
in  the  appointment  of  her  rulers. 

In  almost  every  age,  in  repeated  conflicts,  in  long  and  bloody  wars,  as  well 
civil  as  foreign,  against  many  and  powerful  nations,  against  the  open  assaults 
of  enemies,  and  the  more  dangerous  treachery  of  friends,  have  the  inhabitants 
of  your  island,  your  great  and  glorious  ancestors,  maintained  their  independ- 
ence, and  transmitted  the  rights  of  men  and  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  you. 
their  posterity. 

Be  not  surprised,  therefore,  that  we,  who  are  descended  from  the  same 
common  ancestors ;  that  we,  whose  forefathers  participated  in  all  the  rights, 
the  liberties,  and  the  Constitutions  you  so  justly  boast  of,  and  who  have  care- 
fully conveyed  the  same  fair  inheritance  to  us,  guarantied  by  the  plighted  faith 
of  government  and  the  most  solemn  compacts  with  British  sovereigns,  should 
refuse  to  surrender  them  to  men  who  found  their  claims  on  no  principles  of 
reason,  and  who  prosecute  them  with  a  design,  that,  by  having  our  lives  and 
property  in  their  power,  they  may,  with  the  greatest  facility,  enslave  you.  The 
cause  of  America  is  now  the  object  of  universal  attention  :  it  has  at  length  be- 
come very  serious. .  This  unhappy  country  has  not  only  been  oppressed,  but 
abused  and  misrepresented ;  and  the  duty  we  owe  ourselves  and  posterity, .  to 
your  interest,  and  the  general  welfare  of  the  British  empire,  leads  us  to  address 
you  on  this  very  important  subject.  Know,  then,  that  we  consider  ourselves, 
and  do  insist,  that  we  are  and  ought  to  be,  as  free  as  our  fellow-subjects  in 
Britain,  and  that  no  power  on  earth  has  a  right  to  take  our  property  from  us 
without  our  consent.  That  we  claim  all  the  benefits  secured  to  the  subject  by 
the  English  Constitution,  and  particularly  that  inestimable  one  of  trial  by  jury. 
That  we  hold  it  essential  to  English  liberty,  that  no  man  be  condemned  un- 

1  Page  228. 

8  Adopted  October  21,  1774.—  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  i.,  p.  36.      This  was  written  by  John 
Jay,  of  New  York.     See  page  379. 


550  SUPPLEMENT. 

plantations  in  America,  &c.,  by  imposing  taxes  on  the  inhabitants  of  these 
colonies,  and  the  said  act,  and  several  other  acts,  by  extending  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  courts  of  admiralty  beyond  its  ancient  limits,  have  a  manifest  tendency 
to  subvert  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  colonists. 

IX.  That  the  duties  imposed  by  several  late  acts  of  Parliament,  from  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  these  colonies,   will   be  extremely  burdensome  and 
grievous ;  and,  from  the  scarcity  of  specie,  the  payment  of  them  absolutely  im- 
practicable. 

X.  That  as  the  profits  of  the  trade  of  these  colonies  ultimately  center  in 
Great  Britain,  to  pay  for  the  manufactures  which  they  are  obliged  to  take 
from  thence,   they  eventually  contribute  very  largely  to  all  supplies  granted 
there  to  the  crown. 

XI.  That  the  restrictions  imposed  by  several  late  acts  of  Parliament  on  the 
trade  of  these  colonies,  will  render  them  unable  to  purchase  the  manufactures 
of  Great  Britain. 

XII.  That  the  increase,  prosperity,  and  happiness  of  these  colonies  depend 
on  the  full  and  free  enjoyment  of  their  rights  and  liberties,  and  an  intercourse 
with  Great  Britain  mutually  affectionate  and  advantageous. 

XIII.  That  it  is  the  right  of  the  British  subjects  in  these  colonies  to  peti- 
tion the  king,  or  either  House  of  Parliament. 

Lastly,  That  it  is  the  indispensable  duty  of  these  colonies,  to  the  best  of 
sovereigns,  to  the  mother  country,  and  to  themselves,  to  endeavor,  by  a  loyal 
and  dutiful  address  to  his  majesty,  and  humble  applications  to  both  Houses  of 
Parliament,  to  procure  the  repeal  of  the  act  for  granting  and  applying  certain 
stamp  duties,  of  all  clauses  of  any  other  acts  of  Parliament,  whereby  the  juris- 
diction of  the  admiralty  is  extended  as  aforesaid,  and  of  the  other  late  acts  for 
the  restriction  of  American  commerce. 


PETITION    TO    THE   KING.1 

The  petition  of  the  Freeholders  and  other  Inhabitants  of  the  colonies  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations.  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  the  government  of  the  counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent, 
and  Sussex,  upon  Delaware,  and  province  of  Maryland, 

Most  humbly  showeth, 

That  the  inhabitants  of  these  colonies,  unanimously  devoted  with  the  warm- 
est sentiments  of  duty  and  affection  to  your  sacred  person  and  government,  and 
inviolably  attached  to  the  present  happy  establishment  of  the  Protestant  suc- 
cession in  your  illustrious  house,  and  deeply  sensible  of  your  royal  attention  to 

1  Adopted  October  22,  1765.     "Written  by  Robert  R.  Livingston,  of  New  York. 


STATE    PAPERS    BY    THE    STAMP    ACT    CONGRESS.  551 

their  prosperity  and  happiness,  humbly  beg  leave  to  approach  the  throne,  by 
representing  to  your  majesty,  that  these  colonies  were  originally  planted  by 
subjects  of  the  British  crown,  who,  animated  with  the  spirit  of  liberty,  encour- 
aged by  your  majesty's  royal  predecessors,  and  confiding  in  the  public  faith  for 
the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights  and  liberties  essential  to  freedom,  emigrated 
from  their  native  country  to  this  continent,  and,  by  their  successful  perseverance, 
in  the  midst  of  innumerable  dangers  and  difficulties,  together  with  a  profusion 
of  their  blood  and  treasure,  have  happily  added  these  vast  and  extensive  domin- 
ions to  the  Empire  of  Great  Britain. 

That,  for  the  enjoyment  of  these  rights  and  liberties,  several  governments 
were  early  formed  in  the  said  colonies,  with  full  power  of  legislation,  agreeably 
to  the  principles  of  the  English  constitution ;  that,  under  these  governments, 
these  liberties,  thus  vested  in  their  ancestors,  and  transmitted  to  their  posterity, 
have  been  exercised  and  enjoyed,  and  by  the  inestimable  blessings  thereof, 
under  the  favor  of  Almighty  God,  the  inhospitable  deserts  of  America  have 
been  converted  into  flourishing  countries  ;  science,  humanity,  and  the  knowledge 
of  divine  truths  diffused  through  remote  regions  of  ignorance,  infidelity,  and 
barbarism;  the  number  of  British  subjects  wonderfully  increased,  and  the 
wealth  and  power  of  Great  Britain  proportionably  augmented. 

That,  by  means  of  these  settlements  and  the  unparalleled  success  of  your 
majesty's  arms,  a  foundation  is  now  laid  for  rendering  the  British  empire  the 
most  extensive  and  powerful  of  any  recorded  in  history ;  our  connexion  with 
this  empire  we  esteem  our  greatest  happiness  and  security,  and  humbly  conceive 
it  may  now  be  so  established  by  your  royal  wisdom,  as  to  endure  to  the  latest 
period  of  time ;  this,  with  the  most  humble  submission  to  your  majesty,  we 
apprehend  will  be  most  effectually  accomplished  by  fixing  the  pillars  thereof  on 
liberty  and  justice,  and  securing  the  inherent  rights  and  liberties  of  your  sub- 
jects here,  upon  the  principles  of  the  English  constitution.  To  this  constitu- 
tion, these  two  principles  are  essential ;  the  rights  of  your  faithful  subjects 
freely  to  grant  to  your  majesty  such  aids  as  are  required  for  the  support  of  your 
government  over  them,  and  other  public  exigencies ;  and  trials  by  their  peers. 
By  the  one  they  are  secured  from  unreasonable  impositions,  and  by  the  other 
from  the  arbitrary  decisions  of  the  executive  power.  The  continuation  of  these 
liberties  to  the  inhabitants  of  America,  we  ardently  implore,  as  absolutely 
necessary  to  unite  the  several  parts  of  your  wide-extended  dominions,  in  that 
harmony  so  essential  to  the  preservation  and  happiness  of  the  whole.  Protected 
in  these  liberties,  the  emoluments  Great  Britain  receives  from  us,  however  great 
at  present,  are  inconsiderable,  compared  with  those  she  has  the  fairest  prospect 
of  acquiring.  By  this  protection,  she  will  forever  secure  to  herself  the  advan- 
tages of  conveying  to  all  Europe  the  merchandize  which  America  furnishes, 
and  for  supplying,  through  the  same  channel,  whatsoever  is  wanted  from  thence. 
Here  opens  a  boundless  source  of  wealth  and  naval  strength.  Yet  these 
immense  advantages,  by  the  abridgment  of  those  invaluable  rights  and  liberties, 
by  which  our  growth  has  been  nourished,  are  in  danger  of  being  forever  lost, 
and  our  subordinate  legislatures  in  effect  rendered  useless  by  the  late  acts  of 


552  SUPPLEMENT. 

Parliament  imposing  duties  and  taxes  on  these  colonies,  and  extending  the  juris- 
diction of  the  courts  of  admiralty  here,  beyond  its  ancient  limits ;  statutes  by 
which  your  majesty's  commons  in  Britain  undertake  absolutely  to  dispose  of  the 
property  of  their  fellow-subjects  in  America  without  their  consent,  and  for  the 
enforcing  whereof,  they  are  subjected  to  the  determination  of  a  single  judge,  in 
a  court  unrestrained  by  the  wise  rules  of  the  common  law,  the  birthright  of 
Englishmen,  and  the  safeguard  of  their  persons  and  properties. 

The  invaluable  rights  of  taxing  ourselves  and  trial  by  our  peers,  of  which 
we  implore  your  majesty's  protection,  are  not,  we  most  humbly  conceive,  uncon- 
stitutional, but  confirmed  by  the  Great  Charter  of  English  liberties.  On  the 
first  of  these  rights  the  honorable  House  of  Commons  found  their  practice 
of  originating  money,  a  right  enjoyed  by  the  kingdom  of  Ireland,  by  the  clergy 
of  England,  until  relinquished  by  themselves  ;  a  right,  in  fine,  which  all  other 
your  majesty's  English  subjects,  both  within  and  without  the  realm,  have 
hitherto  enjoyed. 

With  hearts,  therefore,  impressed  with  the  most  indelible  characters  of 
gratitude  to  your  majesty,  and  to  the  memory  of  the  kings  of  your  illustrious 
house,  whose  reigns  have  been  signally  distinguished  by  their  auspicious  influ- 
ence on  the  prosperity  of  the  British  dominions ;  and  convinced  by  the  most 
affecting  proofs  of  your  majesty's  paternal  love  to  all  your  people,  however  dis- 
tant, and  your  unceasing  and  benevolent  desires  to  promote  their  happiness ;  we 
most  humbly  beseech  your  majesty  that  you  will  be  graciously  pleased  to  take 
into  your  royal  consideration  the  distresses  of  your  faithful  subjects  on  this  con- 
tinent, and  to  lay  the  same  before  your  majesty's  Parliament,  and  to  afford  them 
such  relief  as,  in  your  royal  wisdom,  their  unhappy  circumstances  shall  be 
judged  to  require. 

And  your  petitioners  will  pray,  &c. 


MEMORIALS    TO    PARLIAMENT.1 

To   the   right  honorable   the   Lords,   spiritual   and   temporal,    of   Great 
Britain,  in  Parliament  assembled: 

The  memorial  of  the  Freeholders  and  other  Inhabitants  of  the  colonies  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  the  government  of  the  counties  of  New  Castle, 
Kent,  and  Sussex,  upon  Delaware,  and  province  of  Maryland,  in  America, 

Most  Immbly  shoiveth, 

That  his  majesty's  liege  subjects  in  his  American  colonies,  though  they 
acknowledge  a  due  subordination  to  that  august  body  the  British  Parliament, 
are  entitled,  in  the  opinion  of  your  memorialists,  to  all  the  inherent  rights  and 

1  Adopted  October  23,  1765.     Written  by  James  Otis,  of  Massachusetts. 


STATE    PAPERS    BY    THE    STAMP  ACT    CONGRESS.  553 

liberties  of  the  natives  of  Great  Britain,  and  have,  ever  since  the  settlement  of 
the  said  colonies,  exercised  those  rights  and  liberties,  as  far  as  their  local  cir- 
cumstances would  permit. 

That  your  memorialists  humbly  conceive  one  of  the  most  essential  rights  of 
these  colonists,  which  they  have  ever  till  lately  uninterruptedly  enjoyed,  to  be 
trial  by  jury. 

That  your  memorialists  also  humbly  conceive  another  of  these  essential 
rights,  to  bo  the  exemption  from  all  taxes,  but  such  as  are  imposed  on  the 
people  by  the  several  legislatures  in  these  colonies,  which  rights  they  have  also 
till  of  late  enjoyed.  But  your  memorialists  humbly  beg  leave  to  represent  to 
your  lordships,  that  the  act  granting  certain  stamp  duties  in  the  British  colonies 
in  America,  £c.,  fills  his  majesty's  American  subjects  with  the  deepest  concern, 
as  it  tends  to  deprive  them  of  the  two  fundamental  and  invaluable  rights  and 
liberties  above  mentioned ;  and  that  several  other  late  acts  of  Parliament,  wThich 
extend  the  jurisdiction  and  power  of  courts  of  admiralty  in  the  plantations 
beyond  their  limits  in  Great  Britain,  thereby  make  an  unnecessary,  unhappy 
distinction,  as  to  the  modes  of  trial  between  us  and  our  fellow-subjects  there,  by 
whom  we  never  have  been  excelled  in  duty  and  loyalty  to  our  sovereign. 

That  from  the  natural  connexion  between  Great  Britain  and  America,  the 
perpetual  continuance  of  which  your  memorialists  most  ardently  desire,  they 
conceive  that  nothing  can  conduce  more  to  the  interest  of  both,  than  the  colon- 
ists' free  enjoyment  of  their  rights  and  liberties,  and  an  affectionate  intercourse 
between  Great  Britain  and  them.  But  your  memorialists  (not  waiving  their 
claim  to  these  rights,  of  which,  with  the  most  becoming  veneration  and  defer- 
ence to  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  your  lordships,  they  apprehend,  they  cannot 
reasonably  be  deprived),  humbly  represent,  that,  from  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  these  colonies,  the  duties  imposed  by  the  aforesaid  act,  and  several 
other  late  acts  of  Parliament,  are  extremely  grievous  and  burdensome ;  and  the 
payment  of  the  several  duties  will  very  soon,  for  want  of  specie,  become  abso- 
lutely impracticable ;  and  that  the  restrictions  on  trade  by  the  said  acts,  will 
not  only  distress  the  colonies,  but  must  be  extremely  detrimental  to  the  trade 
and  true  interest  of  Great  Britain. 

Your  memorialists,  therefore,  impressed  with  a  just  sense  of  the  unfortunate 
circumstances  of  the  colonies,  the  impending  destructive  consequences  which 
must  necessarily  ensue  from  the  execution  of  these  acts,  and  animated  with  the 
warmest  sentiments  of  filial  affection  for  their  mother  country,  most  earnestly 
and  humbly  entreat  your  lordships  will  be  pleased  to  hear  their  counsel  in  sup- 
port of  this  memorial,  and  take  the  premises  into  your  most  serious  considera- 
tion, and  that  your  lordships  will  also  be  thereupon  pleased  to  pursue  such 
measures  for  restoring  the  just  rights  and  liberties  of  the  colonies,  and  preserv- 
ing them  forever  inviolate ;  for  redressing  their  present,  and  preventing  future 
grievances,  thereby  promoting  the  united  interests  of  Great  Britain  and  Amer- 
ica, as  to  your  lordships,  in  your  great  wisdom,  shall  seem  most  conducive  and 
effectual  to  that  important  end. 

And  your  memorialists  will  pray,  &c. 


554  SUPPLEMENT. 


To  the  honorable  the  Knights,  Citizens,  and  Burgesses,  of  Great  Britain, 
in  Parliament  assembled : 

The  petition  of  his  Majesty's  dutiful,  loyal  subjects,  the  Freeholders  and  other 
Inhabitants  of  the  colonies  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode  Island  and  Prov- 
idence Plantations,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  the  government 
of  the  counties  of  Newcastle,  Kent,  and  Sussex,  upon  Delaware,  and  prov- 
ince of  Maryland,  in  America, 

Most  humbly  showeth, 

That  the  several  late  acts  of  Parliament,  imposing  divers  duties  and  taxes 
on  the  colonies,  and  laying  the  trade  and  commerce  under  very  burdensome 
restrictions ;  but,  above  all,  the  act  for  granting  and  applying  certain  stamp 
duties  in  America,  have  filled  them  with  the  deepest  concern  and  surprise,  and 
they  humbly  conceive  the  execution  of  them  will  be  attended  with  consequences 
very  injurious  to  the  commercial  interests  of  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies, 
and  must  terminate  in  the  eventual  ruin  of  the  latter.  Your  petitioners, 
therefore,  most  ardently  implore  the  attention  of  the  honorable  House  to  the 
united  and  dutiful  representation  of  their  circumstances,  and  to  their  earnest 
supplications  for  relief  from  their  regulations,  that  have  already  involved  this 
continent  in  anxiety,  confusion,  and  distress.  We  most  sincerely  recognize  our 
allegiance  to  the  crown,  and  acknowledge  all  due  subordination  to  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Great  Britain,  and  shall  always  retain  the  most  grateful  sense  of  their 
assistance  and  approbation ;  it  is  from  and  under  the  English  constitution  we 
derive  all  our  civil  and  religious  rights  and  liberties  ;  we  glory  in  being  sub- 
jects of  the  best  of  kings,  having  been  born  under  the  most  perfect  form  of 
government.  But  it  is  with  the  most  ineffable  and  humiliating  sorrow  that  we 
find  ourselves  of1  late  deprived  of  the  right  of  granting  our  own  property  for  his 
majesty's  service,  to  which  our  lives  and  fortunes  are  entirely  devoted,  and  to 
which,  on  his  royal  requisitions,  we  have  been  ready  to  contribute  to  the  utmost 
of  our  abilities. 

We  have  also  the  misfortune  to  find  that  all  the  penalties  and  forfeitures 
mentioned  in  the  Stamp  Act,  and  clivers  late  acts  of  trade  extending  to  the 
plantations,  are,  at  the  election  of  the  informers,  recoverable  in  any  court  of 
admiralty  in  America.  This,  as  the  newly-elected  court  of  admiralty  has  a 
general  jurisdiction  over  all  British  America,  renders  his  majesty's  subjects  in 
these  colonies  liable  to  be  carried,  at  an  immense  expense,  from  one  end  of  the 
continent  to  the  other.  It  always  gives  us  great  pain  to  see  a  manifest  distinc- 
tion made  therein  between  the  subjects  of  our  mother  country  and  the  colonies, 
in  that  the  like  penalties  and  forfeitures  recoverable  there  only  in  his  majesty's 
courts  of  record,  are  made  cognizable  here  by  a  court  of  admiralty.  By  this 
means  we  seem  to  be,  in  effect,  unhappily  deprived  of  two  privileges  essential 
to  freedom,  and  which  all  Englishmen  have  ever  considered  as  their  best  birth- 


STATE    PAPERS    BY    THE    STAMP  ACT    CONGRESS.  555 

rights — that  of  being  free  from  all  taxes  but  such  as  they  have  consented  to  in 
person,  or  by  their  representativss,  and  of  trial  by  their  peers. 

Your  petitioners  further  show,  that  the  remote  situation,  and  other  circum- 
stances of  the  colonies,  render  it  impracticable  that  they  should  be  represented 
but  in  their  respective  subordinate  legislatures  ;  and  they  humbly  conceive  that 
the  Parliament,  adhering  strictly  to  the  spirit  of  the  constitution,  have  never 
hitherto  taxed  any  but  those  who  were  therein  actually  represented ;  for  this 
reason,  we  humbly  apprehend,  they  never  have  taxed  Ireland,  nor  any  other 
of  the  subjects  without  the  realm.  But  were  it  ever  so  clear,  that  the  colonies 
might  in  law  be  reasonably  represented  in  the  honorable  House  of  Commons, 
yet  we  conceive  that  very  good  reasons,  from  inconvenience,  from  the  principles 
of  true  policy,  and  from  the  spirit  of  the  British  constitution,  may  be  adduced 
to  show,  that  it  would  be  for  the  real  interest  of  Great  Britain,  as  well  as  her 
colonies,  that  the  late  regulations  should  be  rescinded,  and  the  several  acts  of 
Parliament  imposing  duties  and  taxes  on  the  colonies,  and  extending  the  juris- 
diction of  the  courts  of  admiralty  here,  beyond  their  ancient  limits,  should  be 
repealed. 

We  shall  not  attempt  a  minute  detail  of  all  the  reasons  which  the  wisdom 
of  the  honorable  House  may  suggest,  on  this  occasion,  but  would  humbly 
submit  the  following  particulars  to  their  consideration : 

That  money  is  already  very  scarce  in  these  colonies,  and  is  still  decreasing 
by  the  necessary  exportation  of  specie  from  the  continent  for  the  discharging  of 
our  debts  to  British  merchants  ;  that  an  immensely  heavy  debt  is  yet  due  from 
the  colonists  for  British  manufactures  ;  and  that  they  are  still  heavily  bur- 
dened with  taxes  to  discharge  the  arrearages  due  for  aids  granted  by  them  in 
the  late  war ;  that  the  balance  of  trade  will  ever  be  much  against  the  colonies, 
and  in  favor  of  Great  Britain,  whilst  we  consume  her  manufactures ;  the  de- 
mand of  which  must  ever  increase  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  inhabitants 
settled  here,  with  the  means  of  purchasing  them.  We,  therefore,  humbly  con- 
ceive it  to  be  the  interest  of  Great  Britain  to  increase  rather  than  diminish 
those  means,  as  the  profit  of  all  the  trade  of  the  colonies  ultimately  centers 
there  to  pay  for  her  manufactures,  as  we  are  not  allowed  to  purchase  elsewhere, 
and  by  the  consumption  of  which,  at  the  advanced  prices  the  British  taxes 
oblige  the  makers  and  venders  to  set  on  them,  we  eventually  contribute  very 
largely  to  the  revenues  of  the  crown. 

That,  from  the  nature  of  American  business,  the  multiplicity  of  suits  and 
papers  used  in  matters  of  small  value,  in  a  country  where  freeholds  are  so  mi- 
nutely divided,  and  property  so  frequently  transferred,  a  stamp  duty  must  be 
ever  very  burdensome  and  unequal. 

That  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  the  honorable  House  of  Commons 
should  at  all  times  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  our  condition,  and  all  facts 
requisite  to  a  just  and  equal  taxation  of  the  colonies. 

It  is  also  humbly  submitted  whether  there  be  not  a  material  distinction,  in 
reason  and  sound  policy,  at  least,  between  the  necessary  exercise  of  parliament- 
ary jurisdiction  in  general  acts,  and  the  common  law,  and  the  regulations  of 


556  SUPPLEMENT. 

trade  and  commerce,  through  the  whole  empire,  and  the  exercise  of  that  juris- 
diction by  imposing  taxes  on  the  colonies. 

That  the  several  subordinate  provincial  legislatures  have  been  molded  into 
forms  as  nearly  resembling  that  of  the  mother  country,  as  by  his  majesty's 
royal  predecessors  was  thought  convenient ;  and  these  legislatures  seem  to  have 
been  wisely  and  graciously  established,  that  the  subjects  in  the  colonies  might, 
under  the  due  administration  thereof,  enjoy  the  happy  fruits  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment, which  in  their  present  circumstances  they  can  not  be  so  fully  and 
clearly  availed  of  any  other  way. 

Under  these  forms  of  government  we  and  our  ancestors  have  been  born  or 
settled,  and  have  had  our  lives,  liberties,  and  properties,  protected ;  the  people 
here,  as  everywhere  else,  retain  a  great  fondness  of  their  old  customs  and 
usages ;  and  we  trust  that  his  majesty's  service,  and  the  interest  of  the  nation, 
so  far  from  being  obstructed,  have  been  vastly  promoted  by  the  provincial  legis- 
latures. 

That  we  esteem  our  connection  with  and  dependence  on  Great  Britain,  as 
one  of  our  greatest  blessings,  and  apprehend  the  latter  will  be  sufficiently  secure. 
when  it  is  considered  that  the  inhabitants  in  the  colonies  have  the  most  un- 
bounded affection  for  his  majesty's  person,  family,  and  government,  as  well  as 
for  the  mother  country,  and  that  their  subordination  to  the  Parliament  is  uni- 
versally acknowledged. 

We,  therefore,  most  humbly  entreat  that  the  honorable  House  would  be 
pleased  to  hear  our  counsel  in  support  of  this  petition,  and  to  take  our  dis- 
tressed and  deplorable  case  into  their  serious  consideration,  and  that  the  acts 
and  clauses  of  acts  so  grievously  restraining  our  trade  and  commerce,  imposing 
duties  and  taxes  on  our  property,  and  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  of 
admiralty  beyond  its  ancient  limits,  may  be  repealed ;  or  that  the  honorable 
House  would  otherwise  relieve  your  petitioners,  as  in  your  great  wisdom  and 
goodness  shall  seem  meet. 

And  your  petitioners  shall  ever  pray,  &c. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  STAMP  ACT  CONGRESS. 
The  following  delegates  wrere  present  at  the  organization  of  the  Convention : 

Massachusetts. — James  Otis,  Oliver  Partridge,  Timothy  Ruggles. 

New  York. — Robert  R.  Livingston,    John  Cruger,    Philip  Livingston,  William  Bayard,   Leonard 

Lispenard. 

New  Jersey. — Robert  Ogden,  Hendrick  Fisher,  Joseph  Bordcn. 
Rhode  Island.— Metcalf  Bovvler,  Henry  Ward. 
Pennsylvania. — John  Dickenson,  John  Morton,  George  Bryan. 
Delaware. — Thomas  M'Kean,  Caesar  Rodney. 

Connecticut. — Eliphalet  Dyer,  David  Rowland,  William  Samuel  Johnson. 
Maryland. — William  Murdock,  Edward  Tilghman,  Thomas  Ringgold. 
South  Carolina. — Thomas  Lynch,  Christopher  Gadsden,  John  Rutledge. 

Timothy  Ruggles,  of  Massachusetts,  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Congress, 
and  John  Gotten,  its  clerk. 


II. 

STATE  PAPERS  PUT  FORTH  BY  THE  STAMP  ACT  CONGRESS, 

IN  1765. 


DECLARATION   OF   RIGHTS.1 

THE  members  of  this  Congress,  sincerely  devoted,  with  the  warmest  senti- 
ments of  affection  and  duty,  to  his  Majesty's  person  and  government,  inviolably 
attached  to  the  present  happy  establishment  of  the  Protestant  succession,  and 
with  minds  deeply  impressed  by  a  sense  of  the  present  and  impending  misfor- 
tunes of  the  British  colonies  on  this  continent ;  having  considered,  as  maturely 
as  time  will  permit,  the  circumstances  of  the  said  colonies,  esteem  ii  our  indis- 
pensable duty  to  make  the  following  declarations  of  our  humble  opinion,  respect- 
ing the  most  essential  rights  and  liberties  of  the  colonists,  and  .of  the  grievances 
under  which  they  labor,  by  reason  of  several  late  acts  of  Parliament. 

I.  That  his  majesty's  subjects  in  these  colonies  owe  the  same  allegiance  to 
the  crown  of  Great  Britain  that  is  owing  from  his  subjects  born  within  the 
realm,  and  all  due  subordination  to  that  august  body  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain. 

II.  That  his  majesty's  liege  subjects  in  these  colonies  are  entitled  to  all  the 
inherent  rights  and  liberties  of  his  natural-born  subjects  within  the  kingdom  of 
Great  Britain. 

III.  That  it  is  inseparably  essential  to  the  freedom  of  a  people,  and  the 
undoubted  right  of  Englishmen,  that  no  taxes  be  imposed  on  them  but  with 
their  own  consent,  given  personally,  or  by  their  representatives. 

IV.  That  the  people  of  these  colonies  are  not,  and,  from  local  circumstances, 
can  not  be,  represented  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  Great  Britain. 

V.  That  the  only  representatives  of  the  people  of  these  colonies  are  persons 
chosen  therein  by  themselves,  and  that  no  taxes  ever  have  been,  or  can  be  con- 
stitutionally imposed  on  them,  but  by  their  respective  Legislatures. 

VI.  That  all  supplies  to  the  crown  being  free  gifts  of  the  people,  it  is  un- 
reasonable and  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  the  British  constitution  for  the 
people  of  Great  Britain  to  grant  to  his  mnjesty  the  property  of  the  colonists. 

VII.  That  trial  by  jury  is  the  inherent  and  invaluable  right  of  every  Brit- 
ish subject  in  these  colonies. 

VIII.  That  the  late  act  of  Parliament,  entitled,  An  act  for  granting  and 
applying  certain  stamp  duties,  and  other  duties,  in  the  British  colonies  and 

1  Adopted  October  19,  1765.     Written  by  John  Cruger,  of  New  York. 


558  SUPPLEMENT. 

heard,  or  punished  for  supposed  offenses,  without  having  an  opportunity  of 
making  his  defense.  That  we  think  the  Legislature  of  Great  Britain  is  not 
authorized,  by  the  Constitution,  to  establish  a  religion  fraught  with  sanguinary 
and  impious  tenets,  or  to  erect  an  arbitrary  form  of  government,  in  any  quar- 
ter of  the  globe.  These  rights  we,  as  well  as  you,  deem  sacred ;  and  yet,  sacred 
as  they  are,  they  have,  with  many  others,  been  repeatedly  and  flagrantly  violated. 

Are  not  the  proprietors  of  the  soil  of  Great  Britain  lords  of  their  own  prop- 
erty ?  can  it  be  taken  from  them  without  their  consent  ?  will  they  yield  it  to 
the  arbitrary  disposal  of  any  man,  or  number  of  men  whatever  ?  You  know 
they  will  not.  Why,  then,  are  the  proprietors  of  the  soil  in  America  less  lords 
of  their  property  than  you  are  of  yours  ?  or  why  should  they  submit  it  to  the 
disposal  of  your  Parliament,  or  of  any  other  parliament  or  council  in  the  world 
not  of  their  election  ?  Can  the  intervention  of  the  sea  that  divides  us  cause  dis- 
parity in  rights  ?  or  can  any  reason  be  given  why  English  subjects  who  live 
three  thousand  miles  from  the  royal  palace,  should  enjoy  less  liberty  than  those 
who  are  three  hundred  miles  distant  from  it? 

Reason  looks  with  indignation  on  such  distinctions,  and  freemen  can  never 
perceive  their  propriety.  And  yet,  however  chimerical  and  unjust  such  dis- 
criminations are,  the  Parliament  assert  they  have  a  right  to  bind  us  in  all  cases, 
without  exception,  whether  we  consent  or  not ;  that  they  may  take  and  use  our 
property  when  and  in  what  manner  they  please  ;  that  we  are  pensioners  on  their 
bounty  for  all  that  we  possess,  and  can  hold  it  no  longer  than  they  vouchsafe 
to  permit.  Such  declarations  we  consider  as  heresies  in  English  politics ;  and 
which  can  no  more  operate  to  deprive  us  of  our  property,  than  the  interdicts  of 
the  Pope  can  divest  kings  of  scepters  which  the  laws  of  the  land  and  the  voice 
of  the  people  have  placed  in  their  hands. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  late  war1 — a  war  rendered  glorious  by  the  abilities 
and  integrity  of  a  minister  to  whose  efforts  the  British  empire  owes  its  safety 
and  its  fame  ;  at  the  conclusion  of  this  war,  which  was  succeeded  by  an  inglorious 
peace,  formed  under  the  auspices  of  a  minister  of  principles  and  of  a  family  un- 
friendly to  the  Protestant  cause,  and  inimical  to  liberty  :  we  say,  at  this 
period,  and  under  the  influence  of  that  man,  a  plan  for  inslaving  your  fellow- 
subjects  in  America  was  concerted,  and  has  ever  since  been  pertinaciously  car- 
rying into  execution. 

Prior  to  this  era  you  were  content  with  drawing  from  us  the  wealth  pro- 
duced by  our  commerce.  You  restrained  our  trade  in  every  way  that  would 
conduce  to  your  emoluments.  You  exercised  unbounded  sovereignty  over  the 
sea.  You  named  the  ports  and  nations  to  which  alone  our  merchandise  should 
be  carried,  and  with  whom  alone  we  should  trade  ;  and  though  some  of  these 
restrictions  were  grievous,  we  nevertheless  did  not  complain ;  we  looked  up  to 
you  as  to  our  parent  State,  to  which  we  were  bound  by  the  strongest  ties,  and 
were  happy  in  being  instrumental  to  your  prosperity  and  your  grandeur. 

We  call  upon  you  yourselves  to  witness  our  loyalty  and  attachment  to  the 


The  French  and  Indian  "War.     See  page  179. 


STATE   PAPERS  BY  THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.         559 

common  interest  of  the  whole  empire :  did  we  not,  in  the  last  war,  add  all  the 
strength  of  this  vast  continent  to  the  force  which  repelled  our  common  enemy  ? 
did  we  not  leave  our  native  shores,  and  meet  disease  and  death  to  promote  the 
success  of  the  British  arms  in  foreign  climates  ?  did  you  not  thank  us  for  our 
zeal,  and  even  reimburse  us  large  sums  of  money,  which  you  professed  we  had 
advanced  beyond  our  proportion,  and  far  beyond  our  abilities  ?  You  did. 

To  what  causes,  then,  are  we  to  attribute  the  sudden  change  of  treatment, 
and  that  system  of  slavery  which  was  prepared  for  us  at  the  restoration  of 
peace  ? 

Before  we  had  recovered  from  the  distresses  which  ever  attend  war,  an 
attempt  was  made  to  drain  this  country  of  all  its  money  by  the  oppressive 
Stamp  Act.  Paint,  glass,  and  other  commodities,  which  you  would  not  permit 
us  to  purchase  of  other  nations,  were  taxed ;  nay,  although  no  wine  is  made  in 
any  country  subject  to  the  British  state,  you  prohibited  our  procuring  it  of 
foreigners  without  paying  a  tax,  imposed  by  your  Parliament,  on  all  we 
imported.  These  and  many  other  impositions  were  laid  upon  us  most  unjustly 
and  unconstitutionally,  for  the  express  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue.  In  order 
to  silence  complaint,  it  was,  indeed,  provided  that  this  revenue  should  be 
expended  in  America,  for  its  protection  and  defense.  These  exactions,  however, 
can  receive  no  justification  from  a  pretended  necessity  of  protecting  and  defend- 
ing us :  they  are  lavishly  squandered  on  court  favorites  and  ministerial  depend- 
ants, generally  avowed  enemies  to  America,  and  employing  themselves  by 
partial  representations  to  traduce  and  embroil  the  colonies.  For  the  necessary 
support  of  government  here  we  ever  were  and  ever  shall  be  ready  to  provide ; 
and  whenever  the  exigences  of  the  State  may  require  it,  we  shall,  as  we  have 
heretofore  done,  cheerfully  contribute  our  full  proportion  of  men  and  money. 
To  enforce  this  unconstitutional  and  unjust  scheme  of  taxation,  every  fence  that 
the  wisdom  of  our  British  ancestors  had  carefully  erected  against  arbitrary 
power  has  been  violently  thrown  down  in  America,  and  the  inestimable  right  of 
trial  by  jury  taken  away  in  cases  that  touch  both  life  and  property.  It  was 
ordained  that,  whenever  offenses  should  be  committed  in  the  colonies  against 
particular  acts,  imposing  various  duties  and  restrictions  upon  trade,  the  pros- 
ecutor might  bring  his  action  for  penalties  in  the  courts  of  admiralty ;  by  which 
maans  the  subject  lost  the  advantage  of  being  tried  by  an  honest  uninfluenced 
jury  of  the  vicinage,  and  was  subjected  to  the  sad  necessity  of  being  judged  by 
a  single  man,  a  creature  of  the  crown,  and  according  to  the  course  of  a  law 
which  exempts  the  prosecutor  from  the  trouble  of  proving  his  accusation,  and 
obliges  the  defendant  either  to  evince  his  innocence  or  suffer.  To  give  this  new 
judiciary  the  greater  importance,  and  as  if  with  design  to  protect  false  accusers, 
it  is  further  provided,  that  the  judge's  certificate  of  there  having  been  probable 
causes  of  seizure  and  prosecution  shall  protect  the  prosecutors  from  actions  at 
common  law  for  recovery  of  damages. 

By  the  course  of  our  laws,  offenses  committed  in  such  of  the  British 
dominions  in  which  courts  are  established  and  justice  duly  and  regularly  admin- 
istered, shall  be  there  tried  by  a  jury  of  the  vicinage.  There  the  offenders  and 


SUPPLEMENT. 

the  witnesses  are  known,  and  the  degree  of  credibility  to  be  given  to  their  tes- 
timony can  be  ascertained. 

In  all  these  colonies,  justice  is  regularly  and  impartially  administered,  and 
yet,  by  the  construction  of  some,  and  the  direction  of  other  acts  of  Parliament, 
offenders  are  to  be  taken  by  force,  together  with  all  such  persons  as  may  be 
pointed  out  as  witnesses,  and  carried  to  England,  there  to  be  tried  in  a  distant 
land  by  a  jury  of  strangers,  and  subject  to  all  the  disadvantages  that  result 
from  want  of  friends,  want  of  witnesses,  and  want  of  money. 

When  the  design  of  raising  a  revenue,  from  the  duties  imposed  on  the 
importation  of  tea  in  America,  had  in  a  great  measure  been  rendered  abortive, 
by  our  ceasing  to  import  that  commodity,  a  scheme  was  concerted  by  the  min- 
istry with  the  East  India  Company,  and  an  act  passed  enabling  and  encouraging 
them  to  transport  and  vend  it  in  the  colonies.  Aware  of  the  danger  of  giving 
success  to  this  insidious  maneuver,  and  of  permitting  a  precedent  of  taxation 
thus  to  be  established  among  us,  various  methods  were  adopted  to  elude  the 
stroke.  The  people  of  Boston,  then  ruled  by  a  governor  whom,  as  well  as  his 
predecessor,  Sir  Francis  Bernard,  all  America  considers  as  her  enemy,  ivere 
exceedingly  embarrassed.  The  ships  which  had  arrived  with  the  tea  were,  by 
his  management,  prevented  from  returning.  The  duties  would  have  been  paid, 
the  cargoes  landed  and  exposed  to  sale ;  a  governor's  influence  would  have  pro- 
cured and  protected  many  purchasers.  While  the  town  was  suspended  by 
deliberations  on  this  important  subject,  the  tea  was  destroyed.  Even  supposing 
a  trespass  was  thereby  committed,  and  the  proprietors  of  the  tea  entitled  to 
damages,  the  courts  of  law  were  open,  and  judges,  appointed  by  the  crown, 
presided  in  them.  The  East  India  Company,  however,  did  not  think  proper  to 
commence  any  suits,  nor  did  they  even  demand  satisfaction,  either  from  indi- 
viduals, or  from  the  community  in  general.  The  ministry,  it  seems,  officially 
made  the  case  their  own,  and  the  great  council  of  the  nation  descended  to  inter- 
meddle with  a  dispute  about  private  property.  Divers  papers,  letters,  and 
other  unauthenticated  ex  parte  evidence,  were  laid  before  them  ;  neither  the 
persons  who  destroyed  the  tea,  nor  the  people  of  Boston,  were  called  upon  to 
answer  the  complaint.  The  ministry,  incensed  by  being  disappointed  in  a 
favorite  scheme,  were  determined  to  recur  from  the  little  arts  of  finesse  to  open 
force  and  unmanly  violence.  The  port  of  Boston  was  blocked  up  by  a  fleet, 
and  an  army  placed  in  the  town.  Their  trade  was  to  be  suspended,  and 
thousands  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  gaining  subsistence  from  charity,  till  they 
should  submit  to  pass  under  the  yoke,  and  consent  to  become  slaves,  by  confess- 
ing the  omnipotence  of  Parliament,  and  acquiescing  in  whatever  disposition  they 
might  think  proper  to  make  of  their  lives  and  property. 

Let  justice  and  humanity  cease  to  be  the  boast  of  your  nation  !  Consult 
your  history,  examine  your  records  of  former  transactions  ;  nay,  turn  to  the 
annals  of  the  many  arbitrary  states  and  kingdoms  that  surround  you,  and  show 
us  a  single  instance  of  men  being  condemned  to  suffer  for  imputed  crimes, 
unheard,  unquestioned,  and  without  even  the  specious  formality  of  a  trial ;  and 
that,  too,  by  laws  made  expressly  for  the  purpose,  and  which  had  no  existence 


STATE   PAPERS   BY   THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.          561 

at  the  time  of  the  fact  committed.  If  it  be  difficult  to  reconcile  these  proceed- 
ings to  the  genius  and  temper  of  your  laws  and  Constitution,  the  task  will 
become  more  arduous  when  we  call  upon  our  ministerial  enemies  to  justify,  not 
only  condemning  men  untried  and  by  hearsay;  but  involving  the  innocent  in 
one  common  punishment  with  the  guilty,  and  for  the  acts  of  thirty  or  forty,  to 
bring  poverty,  distress,  and  calamity  on  thirty  thousand  souls,  and  those  not 
your  enomies,  but  your  friends,  brethren,  and  fellow-subjects. 

It  would  be  some  consolation  to  us  if  the  catalogue  of  American  oppressions 
ended  here.  It  gives  us  pain  to  be  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  reminding  you 
that,  under  the  confidence  reposed  in  the  faith  of  government,  pledged  in  a 
royal  charter  from  the  British  sovereign,  the  forefathers  of  the  present  inhabit- 
ants of  Massachusetts  Bay  left  their  former  habitations,  and  established  that 
great,  flourishing,  and  loyal  colony.  Without  incurring  or  being  charged  with 
a  forfeiture  of  their  right,  without  being  heard,  without  being  tried,  and  without 
justice,  by  an  act  of  Parliament  their  charter  is  destroyed,  their  liberties 
violated,  their  Constitution  and  form  of  government  changed  ;  and  all  this  upon 
no  better  pretense  than  because  in  one  of  their  towns  a  trespass  was  committed 
upon  some  merchandise  said  to  belong  to  one  of  the  companies,  and  because  the 
ministry  were  of  opinion  that  such  high  political  regulations  were  necessary  to 
due  subordination  and  obedience  to  their  mandates. 

Nor  are  these  the  only  capital  grievances  under  which  we  labor  :  we  might 
tell  of  dissolute,  weak,  and  wicked  governors  having  been  set  over  us;  of 
Legislatures  being  suspended  for  asserting  the  rights  of  British  subjects ;  of 
needy  and  ignorant  dependants  on  great  men  advanced  to  the  seats  of  justice, 
and  to  other  places  of  trust  and  importance  ;  of  hard  restrictions  on  commerce, 
and  a  great  variety  of  lesser  evils,  the  recollection  of  which  is  almost  lost  under 
the  pressure  and  weight  of  greater  and  more  poignant  calamities. 

But  mark  the  progression  of  the  ministerial  plan  for  inslaving  us. 

Well  aware  that  such  hardy  attempts  to  take  our  property  from  us,  to 
deprive  us  of  that  valuable  right  of  trial  by  jury,  to  seize  our  persons  and  carry 
us  for  trial  to  Great  Britain,  to  blockade  our  ports,  to  destroy  our  charters, 
and  change  our  form  of  government,  would  occasion,  and  had  already  occasioned, 
great  discontent  in  the  colonies,  which  might  produce  opposition  to  these 
measures,  an  act  was  passed  to  protect,  indemnify,  and  screen  from  punishment, 
such  as  might  be  guilty  even  of  murder,  in  endeavoring  to  carry  their  oppres- 
sive edicts  into  execution ;  and  by  another  act  the  dominion  of  Canada  is  to  be  so 
extended,  modeled,  and  governed,  as  that,  by  being  disunited  from  us,  detached 
from  our  interests,  by  civil  as  well  as  religious  prejudices,  that  by  their  numbers 
daily  swelling  with  Catholic  emigrants  from  Europe,  and  by  their  devotion 
to  administration,  so  friendly  to  their  religion,  they  might  become  formidable 
to  us,  and,  on  occasion,  be  fit  instruments  in  the  hands  of  power  to  reduce 
the  ancient,  free  Protestant  colonies  to  the  same  state  of  slavery  with  themselves. 

This  was  evidently  the  object  of  the  act ;  and  in  this  view,  being  extremely 
dangerous  to  our  liberty  and  quiet,  we  can  not  forbear  complaining  of  it  as 
hostile  to  British  America.  Superadded  to  these  considerations,  we  can  not 

36 


562  SUPPLEMENT. 

help  deploring  the  unhappy  condition  to  which  it  has  reduced  the  many  English 
settlers  who,  encouraged  by  the  royal  proclamation,  promising  the  enjoyment 
of  all  their  rights,  have  purchased  estates  in  that  country.  They  are  now  the 
subjects  of  an  arbitrary  government,  deprived  of  trial  by  jury,  and,  when 
imprisoned,  can  not  claim  the  benefit  of  the  habeas  corpus  act,  that  great  bul- 
wark and  palladium  of  English  liberty ;  nor  can  we  suppress  our  astonishment 
that  a  British  Parliament  should  ever  consent  to  establish  in  that  country  a 
religion  that  has  deluged  your  island  in  blood,  and  dispersed  impiety,  bigotry, 
persecution,  murder,  and  rebellion,  through  every  part  of  the  world. 

This  being  a  true  state  of  facts,  let  us  beseech  you  to  consider  to  what  end 
they  lead. 

Admit  the  ministry,  by  the  powers  of  Britain  and  the  aid  of  our  Roman 
Catholic  neighbors,  should  be  able  to  carry  the  point  of  taxation,  and  reduce  us 
to  a  state  of  perfect  humiliation  and  slavery.  Such  an  enterprise  would  doubt- 
less make  some  addition  to  your  national  debt,  which  already  presses  down  your 
liberty,  and  fills  you  with  pensioners  and  placemen.  We  presume  also  that 
your  commerce  will  be  somewhat  diminished.  However,  suppose  you  should 
prove  victorious,  in  what  condition  will  you  then  be?  What  advantages,  or 
what  laurels  will  you  reap  from  such  a  conquest? 

May  not  a  ministry  with  the  same  armies  inslave  you  ?  It  may  be  said, 
you  will  cease  to  pay  them  ;  but  remember  the  taxes  from  America,  the  wealth, 
and,  we  may  add,  the  men,  and  particularly  the  Roman  Catholics  of  this  vast 
continent,  will  then  be  in  the  power  of  your  enemies ;  nor  will  you  have  any 
reason  to  expect  that,  after  making  slaves  of  us,  many  among  us  should  refuse 
.to  assist  in  reducing  you  to  the  same  abject  state. 

Do  not  treat  this  as  chimerical.  Know  that  in  less  than  half  a  century  the 
quit-rents  reserved  to  the  crown,  from  the  numberless  grants  of  this  vast  con- 
tinent, will  pour  large  streams  of  wealth  into  the  royal  coffers ;  and  if  to  this 
be  added  the  power  of  taxing  America  at  pleasure,  the  crown  will  be  rendered 
independent  of  you  for  supplies,  and  will  possess  more  treasures  than  may  be 
necessary  to  purchase  the  remains  of  liberty  in  your  island.  In  a  word,  take 
care  that  you  do  not  fall  into  the  pit  that  is  preparing  for  us. 

We  believe  there  is  yet  much  virtue,  much  justice,  and  much  public  spirit 
in  the  English  nation.  To  that  justice,  we  now  appeal.  You  have  been  told 
that  we  are  seditious,  impatient  of  government,  and  desirous  of  independency. 
Be  assured  that  these  are  not  facts,  but  calumnies.  Permit  us  to  be  as  free  as 
yourselves,  and  we  shall  ever  esteem  a  union  with  you  to  be  our  greatest  glory 
and  our  greatest  happiness ;  we  shall  ever  be  ready  to  contribute  all  in  our 
power  to  the  welfare  of  the  empire  ;  wre  shall  consider  your  enemies  as  our  ene- 
mies, and  your  interest  as  our  own.  But  if  you  are  determined  that  your  min- 
isters shall  wantonly  sport  with  the  rights  of  mankind — if  neither  the  voice  of 
justice,  the  dictates  of  the  law,  the  principles  of  the  Constitution,  nor  the  sug- 
gestions of  humanity,  can  restrain  your  hands  from  shedding  human  blood  in 
such  an  impious  cause,  we  must  tell  you  that  we  will  never  submit  to  be  hewers 
of  wood  or  drawers  of  water  for  any  ministry  or  nation  n  the  world. 


STATE   PAPERS  BY   THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.          553 

Place  us  in  the  same  situation  that  we  were  at  the  close  of  the  last  war,  and 
our  former  harmony  will  be  restored. 

But,  lest  the  same  supineness,  and  the  same  inattention  to  our  common 
interest,  which  you  have  for  several  years  shown,  should  continue,  we  think  it 
prudent  to  anticipate  the  consequences. 

By  the  destruction  of  the  trade  of  Boston,  the  ministry  have  endeavored  to 
induce  submission  to  their  measures.  The  like  fate  may  befall  us  all.  We 
will  endeavor,  therefore,  to  live  without  trade,  and  recur,  for  subsistence,  to  the 
fertility  and  bounty  of  our  native  soil,  which  will  afford  us  all  the  necessaries, 
and  some  of  the  conveniences,  of  life.  We  have  suspended  our  importation  from 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland ;  and  in  less  than  a  year's  time,  unless  our  griev- 
ances should  be  redressed,  we  shall  discontinue  our  exports  to  those  kingdoms 
and  to  the  West  Indies. 

It  is  with  the  utmost  regret,  however,  that  we  find  ourselves  compelled,  by 
the  overruling  principles  of  self-preservation,  to  adopt  measures  detrimental  in 
their  consequences  to  numbers  of  our  fellow-subjects  in  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land. But  we  hope  that  the  magnanimity  and  justice  of  the  British  nation  will 
furnish  a  Parliament  of  such  wisdom,  independence,  and  public  spirit,  as  may 
save  the  violated  rights  of  the  whole  empire  from  the  devices  of  wicked  minis- 
ters and  evil  counselors,  whether  in  or  out  of  office ;  and  thereby  restore  that 
harmony,  friendship  and  fraternal  affection,  between  all  the  inhabitants  of  his 
majesty's  kingdoms  and  territories,  so  ardently  wished  for  by  every  true  and 
honest  American. 

The  Congress  then  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  memorial  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  British  colonies,  and  the  same,  being  debated  by  paragraphs,  and 
amended,  was  approved,  and  is  as  follows : 


TO   THE   INHABITANTS   OF  THE   SEVERAL  ANGLO-AMERICAN 

COLONIES.1 

WE,  the  delegates  appointed  by  the  good  people  of  these  colonies  to  meet  at 
Philadelphia  in  September  last,  for  the  purposes  mentioned  by  our  respective 
constituents,  have,  in  pursuance  of  the  trust  reposed  in  us,  assembled,  and  taken 
into  our  most  serious  consideration,  the  important  matters  recommended  to  the 
Congress.  Our  resolutions  thereupon  will  be  herewith  communicated  to  you. 
But  as  the  situation  of  public  affairs  grows  daily  more  and  more  alarming  ;  and 
as  it  may  be  more  satisfactory  to  you  to  be  informed  by  us  in  a  collective  body, 
than  in  any  other  manner,  of  those  sentiments  that  have  been  approved,  upon  a 
full  and  free  discussion,  by  the  representatives  of  so  great  a  part  of  America, 
we  esteem  ourselves  obliged  to  add  this  address  to  these  resolutions. 

In  every  case  of  opposition  by  a  people  to  their  rulers,  or  of  one  State  to 
another,  duty  to  Almighty  God,  the  Creator  of  all,  requires  that  a  true  and 

1  Adopted  October  21, 1774. — Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  i.,  p.  43.  This  was  written  by  William 
Livingston,  afterward  Governor  of  New  Jersey. 


SUPPLEMENT. 

impartial  judgment  be  formed  of  the  measures  leading  to  such  opposition,  and  of 
the  causes  by  which  it  lias  been  provoked  or  can  in  any  degree  be  justified,  that, 
neither  affection  on  one  hand,  nor  resentment  on  the  other,  being  permitted  to 
give  a  wrong  bias  to  reason,  it  may  be  enabled  to  take  a  dispassionate  view  of 
all  circumstances,  and  to  settle  the  public  conduct  on  the  solid  foundations  of 
wisdom  and  justice. 

From  counsels  thus  tempered  arise  the  surest  hopes  of  the  divine  favor,  the 
firmest  encouragement  of  the  parties  engaged,  and  the  strongest  recommenda- 
tion of  their  cause  to  the  rest  of  mankind. 

With  minds  deeply  impressed  by  a  sense  of  these  truths,  we  have  diligently, 
deliberately,  and  calmly  inquired  into  and  considered  those  exertions,  both  of 
the  legislative  and  executive  power  of  Great  Britain,  which  have  excited  so  much 
uneasiness  in  America,  and  have  with  equal  fidelity  and  attention  considered 
the  conduct  of  the  colonies.  Upon  the  whole,  we  find  ourselves  reduced  to  the 
disagreeable  alternative  of  being  silent  and  betraying  the  innocent,  or  of  speak- 
ing out  and  censuring  those  we  wish  to  revere.  In  making  our  choice  of  these 
distressing  difficulties,  we  prefer  the  course  dictated  by  honesty  and  a  regard 
for  the  welfare  of  our  country. 

Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  late  war,  there  commenced  a  memorable 
change  in  the  treatment  of  these  colonies.  By  a  statute  made  in  the  fourth 
year  of  the  present  reign,  a  time  of  profound  peace,  alleging  "the  expediency 
of  new  provisions  and  regulations  for  extending  the  commerce  between  Great 
Britain  and  his  majesty's  dominions  in  America,  and  the  necessity  of  raising  a 
revenue  in  the  said  dominions,  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  defending,  protect- 
ing, and  securing  the  same,''  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain  undertook  to  give 
and  grant  to  his  majesty  many  rates  and  duties  to  be  paid  in  these  colonies. 
To  enforce  the  observance  of  this  act,  it  prescribes  a  great  number  of  severe 
penalties  and  forfeitures ;  and  in  two  sections  makes  a  remarkable  distinction 
between  the  subjects  in  Great  Britain  and  those  in  America.  By  the  one,  the 
penalties  and  forfeitures  incurred  there  are  to  be  recovered  in  any  of  the  king's 
courts  of  record  at  Westminster,  or  in  the  court  of  exchequer  in  Scotland ;  and 
by  the  other,  the  penalties  and  forfeitures  incurred  here  are  to  be  recovered  in 
any  court  of  record,  or  in  any  court  of  admiralty  or  vice-admiralty,  at  the 
election  of  the  informer  or  prosecutor. 

The  inhabitants  of  these  colonies,  confiding  in  the  justice  of  Great  Britain, 
were  scarcely  allowed  sufficient  time  to  receive  and  consider  this  act,  before 
another,  well  known  by  the  name  of  the  Stamp  Act,  and  passed  in  the  fifth 
year  of  this  reign,  engrossed  their  whole  attention.  By  this  statute,  the  Brit- 
ish Parliament  exercised,  in  the  most  explicit  manner,  a  power  of  taxing  us, 
and  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  courts  of  admiralty  and  vice-admiralty  in  the 
colonies  to  matters  arising  within  the  body  of  a  county,  and  directed  the  numer- 
ous penalties  and  forfeitures  thereby  inflicted  to  be  recovered  in  the  said  courts. 

In  the  same  year  a  tax  was  imposed  upon  us  by  an  act  establishing  several 
new  fees  in  the  customs.  In  the  next  year  the  Stamp  Act  was  repealed,  not 
because  it  was  founded  in 'an  erroneous  principle,  but,  as  the  repealing  act  re- 


STATE   PAPERS  BY   THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.          555 

cites,  because  "  the  continuance  thereof  would  be  attended  with  many  incon- 
veniences, and  might  be  productive  of  consequences  greatly  detrimental  to  the 
commercial  interest  of  Great  Britain." 

In  the  same  year,  and  by  a  subsequent  act,  it  was  declared,  "  that  his  maj- 
esty in  Parliament,  of  right,  had  power  to  bind  the  people  of  these  colonies  by 
statutes  in  all  cases  whatsoever. "  In  the  same  year  another  act  was  passed  for 
imposing  rates  and  duties  payable  in  these  colonies.  In  this  statute,  the  Com- 
mons, avoiding  the  terms  of  giving  and  granting,  "  humbly  besought  his  maj- 
esty that  it  might  be  enacted,"  etc.  But  from  a  declaration  in  the  preamble, 
that  the  rates  and  duties  "were  in  lieu  of"  several  others  granted  by  the 
statute  first  before  mentioned  for  raising  a  revenue,  and  from  some  other  ex- 
pressions, it  appears  that  these  duties  were  intended  for  that  purpose. 

In  the  next  year  (1767)  an  act  was  made  "  to  enable  his  majesty  to  put  the 
customs  and  other  duties  in  America  under  the  management  of  commissioners," 
etc. ;  and  the  king  thereupon  erected  the  present  expensive  board  of  commis- 
sioners, for  the  express  purpose  of  carrying  into  execution  the  several  acts  relat- 
ing to  the  revenue  and  trade  in  America. 

After  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  having  again  resigned  ourselves  to  our 
ancient  unsuspicious  affections  for  the  parent  State,  and  anxious  to  avoid  any 
controversy  with  her,  in  hopes  of  a  favorable  alteration  in  sentiments  and  meas- 
ures toward  us,  we  did  not  press  our  objections  against  the  above-mentioned 
statutes  made  subsequent  to  that  repeal. 

Administration,  attributing  to  trifling  causes  a  conduct  that  really  pro- 
ceeded from  generous  motives,  were  encouraged  in  the  same  year  (1767)  to 
make  a  bolder  experiment  on  the  patience  of  America. 

By  a  statute  commonly  called  the  Glass,  Paper,  and  Tea  Act,  made  fifteen 
months  after  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain  re- 
sumed their  former  language,  and  again  undertook  to  "  give  and  grant  rates  and 
duties  to  be  paid  in  these  colonies,"  for  the  express  purpose  of  "raising  a  rev- 
enue to  defray  the  charges  of  the  administration  of  justice,  the  support  of  civil 
government,  and  defending  the  king's  dominions,"  on  this  continent.  The  pen- 
alties and  forfeitures  incurred  unter  this  statute  are  to  be  recovered  in  the  same 
manner  with  those  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  acts. 

To  this  statute,  so  naturally  tending  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  then  uni- 
versal throughout  the  colonies,  Parliament,  in  the  same  session,  added  another 
no  less  extraordinary. 

Ever  since  the  making  the  present  peace  a  standing  army  has  been  kept  in 
these  colonies.  From  respect  for  the  mother  country,  the  innovation  was  not 
only  tolerated,  but  the  provincial  Legislatures  generally  made  provision  for 
supplying  the  troops. 

The  Assembly  of  the  province  of  New  York  having  passed  an  act  of  this 
kind,  but  differing  in  some  articles  from  the  directions  of  the  act  of  Parliament 
made  in  the  fifth  year  of  this  reign,  the  House  of  Representatives  in  that  col- 
ony was  prohibited,  by  a  statute  made  in  the  last  session  mentioned,  from 
making  any  bill,  order,  resolution,  or  vote;  except  for  adjourning  or  choosing  a 


566 


SUPPLEMENT. 


speaker,  until  provision  shall  be  made  by  the  said  Assembly  for  furnishing  the 
troops  within  that  province  not  only  with  all  such  necessaries  as  were  required 
by  the  statute  which  they  were  charged  with  disobeying,  but  also  with  those 
required  by  two  other  subsequent  statutes,  which  were  declared  to  be  in  force 
until  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  March,  1769. 

These  statutes  of  the  year  1767  revived  the  apprehensions  and  discontents 
that  had  entirely  subsided  on  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act ;  and,  amid  the  just 
faars  and  jealousies  thereby  occasioned,  a  statute  was  made  in  the  next  year 
(1768)  to  establish  courts  of  admiralty  and  vice-admiralty  on  a  new  model, 
expressly  for  the  end  of  more  effectually  recovering  of  the  penalties  and  for- 
feitures inflicted  by  acts  of  Parliament  framed  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  rev- 
enue in  America,  etc.  The  immediate  tendency  of  these  statutes  is  to  subvert 
the  right  of  having  a  share  in  legislation,  by  rendering  assemblies  useless  ;  the 
right  of  property,  by  taking  the  money  of  the  colonists  without  their  consent ; 
the  right  of  trial  by  jury,  by  substituting  in  their  places  trials  in  admiralty  and 
vice-admiralty  courts,  where  single  judges  preside,  holding  their  commissions 
during  pleasure,  and  unduly  to  influence  the  courts  of  common  law  by  render- 
ing the  judges  thereof  totally  dependent  on  the  crown  for  their  salaries. 

These  statutes,  not  to  mention  many  others  exceedingly  exceptionable,  com- 
pared one  with  another,  will  be  found  not  only  to  form  a  regular  system  in 
which  every  part  has  great  force,  but  also  a  pertinacious  adherence  to  that  sys- 
tem for  subjugating  these  colonies,  that  are  not,  and  from  local  circumstances 
can  not  be,  represented  in  the  House  of  Commons,  to  the  uncontrollable  and 
unlimited  power  of  Parliament,  in  violation  of  their  undoubted  rights  and  lib- 
erties, in  contempt  of  their  humble  and  repeated  supplications. 

This  conduct  must  appear  equally  astonishing  and  unjustifiable,  when  it  is 
considered  how  unprovoked  it  has  been  by  any  behavior  of  these  colonies. 
From  their  first  settlement,  their  bitterest  enemies  never  fixed  on  any  of  them 
any  charge  of  disloyalty  to  their  sovereign  or  disaffection  to  their  mother  coun- 
try. In  the  wars  she  has  carried  on  they  have  exerted  themselves,  whenever 
required,  in  giving  her  assistance,  and  have  rendered  her  services  which  she 
has  publicly  acknowledged  to  be  extremely  important.  Their  fidelity,  duty, 
and  usefulness  during  the  last  war  were  frequently  and  affectionately  confessed 
by  his  late  majesty  and  the  present  king. 

The  reproaches  of  those  who  are  most  unfriendly  to  the  freedom  of  Amer- 
ica are  principally  leveled  against  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Ba^,  but  with 
what  little  reason  will  appear  by  the  following  declarations  of  a  person,  the 
truth  of  whose  evidence  in  their  favor  will  not  be  questioned.  Governor  Ber- 
nard thus  addresses  the  two  Houses  of  Assembly  in  his  speech  on  the  24th  of 
April,  1762  :  "  The  unanimity  and  dispatch  with  which  you  have  complied 
with  the  repuisitions  of  his  majesty  require  my  particular  acknowledgment,  and 
it  gives  me  additional  pleasure  to  observe  that  you  have  therein  acted  under  no 
other  influence  than  a  due  sense  of  your  duty,  both  as  members  of  a  general 
empire  and  as  the  body  of  a  particular  province." 

In  another  speech,  on  the  27th  of  May  in  the  same  year,  he  says,  "What- 


STATE    PAPERS    BY    THE    CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.        557 

ever  shall  be  the  event  of  the  war,  it  must  be  no  small  satisfaction  to  us  that 
this  province  has  contributed  its  full  share  to  the  support  of  it.  Every  thing 
that  hath  been  required  of  it  hath  been  complied  with ;  and  the  execution  of  the 
powers  committed  to  me  for  raising  the  provincial  troops  hath  been  as  full  and 
complete  as  the  grant  of  them.  Never  before  were  regiments  so  easily  levied, 
so  well  composed,  and  so  early  in  the  field,  as  they  have  been  this  year :  the 
common  people  seem  to  be  animated  with  the  spirit  of  the  General  Court,  find 
to  vie  with  them  in  their  readiness  to  serve  the  king." 

Such  was  the  conduct  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts  Bay  during  the  last 
war.  As  to  their  behavior  before  that  period,  it  ought  not  to  have  been  forgot 
in  Great  Britain  that  not  only  on  every  occasion  they  had  constantly  and  cheer- 
fully complied  with  the  frequent  royal  requisitions,  but  that  chiefly  by  their 
vigorous  efforts  Nova  Scotia  was  subdued  in  1710,  and  Louisbourg  in  1745. 

Foreign  quarrels  being  ended,  and  the  domestic  disturbances  that  quickly 
succeeded  on  account  of  the  Stamp  Act  being  quieted  by  its  repeal,  the  Assem- 
bly of  Massachusetts  Bay  transmitted  an  humble  address  of  thanks  to  the  king 
and  divers  noblemen,  and  soon  after  passed  a  bill  for  granting  compensation  to 
the  sufferers  in  the  disorders  occasioned  by  that  act. 

These  circumstances,  and  the  following  extracts  from  Governor  Bernard's 
letters,  in  1768,  to  the  Earl  of  Shelburne,  Secretary  of  State,  clearly  show 
with  what  grateful  tenderness  they  strove  to  bury  in  oblivion  the  unhappy  oc- 
casion of  the  late  discords,  and  with  what  respectful  deference  they  endeavored 
to  escape  other  subjects  of  future  controversy.  "The  House,"  says  the  gov- 
ernor, "from  the  time  of  opening  the  session  to  this  day,  has  shown  a  disposi- 
tion to  avoid  all  dispute  with  me,  every  thing  having  passed  with  as  much  good 
humor  as  I  could  desire,  except  only  their  continuing  to  act  in  addressing  the 
king,  remonstrating  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  employing  a  separate  agent, 
It  is  the  importance  of  this  innovation,  without  any  willfulness  of  my  own. 
which  induces  me  to  make  this  remonstrance  at  a  time  when  I  have  a  fair  pros- 
pect of  having  in  all  other  business  nothing  but  good  to  say  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  House. 

"  They  have  acted  in  all  things,  even  in  their  remonstrance,  with  temper  and 
moderation ;  they  have  avoided  some  subjects  of  dispute,  and  have  laid  a 
foundation  for  removing  some  causes  of  former  altercation. 

"  I  shall  make  such  a  prudent  and  proper  use  of  this  letter  as  I  hope  will 
perfectly  restore  the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  this  province,  for  which  purpose 
considerable  steps  have  been  made  by  the  House  of  Representatives." 

The  vindication  of  the  province  of  Massachuetts  Bay  contained  in  these 
letters  will  have  greater  force  if  it  be  considered  that  they  were  written  several 
months  after  the  fresh  alarm  given  to  the  colonies  by  the  statutes  passed  in  the 
preceding  year. 

In  this  place  it  seems  proper  to  take  notice  of  the  insinuation  of  one  of  those 
statutes,  that  the  interference  of  Parliament  was  necessary  to  provide  for  u  de- 
fraying the  charges  of  the  administration  of  justice,  the  support  of  civil  govern- 
ment, and  defending  the  king's  dominions  in  America." 


568  SUPPLEMENT. 

As  to  the  first  two  articles  of  expense,  every  colony  had  made  such  pro- 
vision as  by  their  respective  Assemblies,  the  best  judges  on  such  occasions,  was 
thought  expedient  and  suitable  to  their  several  circumstances ;  respecting  the 
last,  it  is  well  known  to  all  men  the  least  acquainted  with  American  affairs, 
that  the  colonies  were  established,  and  generally  defended  themselves,  without 
the  least  assistance  from  Great  Britain ;  and  that,  at  the  time  of  her  taxing 
them  by  the  statutes  before-mentioned,  most  of  them  were  laboring  under  very 
heavy  debts  contracted  in  the  last  war.  So  far  wrere  they  from  sparing  their 
money  when  their  sovereign  constitutionally  asked  their  aids,  that,  during  the 
course  of  that  war,  Parliament  repeatedly  made  them  compensations  for  the 
expenses  of  those  strenuous  efforts  which,  consulting  their  zeal  rather  than  their 
strength,  they  had  cheerfully  incurred. 

Severe  as  the  acts  of  Parliament  before-mentioned  are,  yet  the  conduct  of 
administration  hath  been  equally  injurious  and  irritating  to  this  devoted  coun- 
try. 

Under  pretense  of  governing  them,  so  many  new  institutions,  uniformly 
rigid  and  dangerous,  have  been  introduced,  as  could  only  be  expected  from  in- 
censed masters  for  collecting  the  tribute,  or,  rather  the  plunder  of  conquered 
provinces. 

By  an  order  of  the  king,  the  authority  of  the  commander-in-chief,  and 
under  him  of  the  brigadier-generals,  in  time  of  peace,  is  rendered  supreme  in 
all  civil  governments  in  America,  and  thus  an  uncontrollable  military  power  is 
vested  in  officers  not  known  to  the  Constitutions  of  these  colonies. 

A  large  body  of  troops,  and  a  considerable  armament  of  ships  of  war,  have 
been  sent  to  assist  in  taking  their  money  without  their  consent. 

Expensive  and  oppressive  officers  have  been  multiplied,  and  the  acts  of  cor- 
ruption industriously  practiced  to  divide  and  destroy. 

The  judges  of  the  admiralty  and  vice-admiralty  courts  are  empowered  to 
receive  their  salaries  and  fees  from  the  effects  to  be  condemned  by  themselves. 

The  commissioners  of  the  customs  are  empowered  to  break  open  and  enter 
houses  without  the  authority  of  any  civil  magistrate,  founded  on  legal  informa- 
tion. 

Judges  of  courts  of  common  law  have  been  made  entirely  dependent  on  the 
crown  for  their  commissions  and  salaries.  A  court  has  been  established  at 
Rhode  Island  for  the  purpose  of  taking  colonists  to  England  to  be  tried.  Hum- 
ble and  reasonable  petitions  from  the  representatives  of  the  people  have  been 
frequently  treated  with  contempt,  and  assemblies  have  been  repeatedly  and  arbi- 
trarily dissolved. 

From  some  few  instances  it  will  sufficiently  appear  on  what  pretenses  of 
justice  those  dissolutions  have  been  founded. 

The  tranquillity  of  the  colonies  having  been  again  disturbed,  as  has  been 
mentioned,  by  the  statutes  of  the  year  1767,  the  Earl  of  Hillsborough,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Bernard,  dated  April  22d,  1768,  censures 
the  " presumption"  of  the  House  of  Representatives  for  "resolving  upon  a 
measure  of  so  inflammatory  a  nature  as  that  of  writing  to  the  other  colonies  on 


STATE    PAPERS    BY    THE    CONTINENTAL    CONGRESS. 

the  subject  of  their  intended  representations  against  some  late  acts  of  Parlia- 
ment," then  declares  that  "his  majesty  considers  this  step  as  evidently  tending 
to  create  unwarrantable  combinations,  to  excite  an  unjustifiable  opposition  to 
the  constitutional  authority  of  Parliament,"  and  afterward  adds,  "it  is  the 
king's  pleasure  that,  as  soon  as  the  General  Court  is  again  assembled  at  the 
time  prescribed  by  the  charter,  you  should  require  of  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives, in  his  majesty's  name,  to  rescind  the  resolutions  which  gave  birth  to  the 
circular  letter  of  the  speaker,  and  to  declare  their  disapprobation  of  and  dissent 
to  that  rash  and  hasty  proceeding." 

';If  the  new  Assembly  should  refuse  to  comply  with  his  majesty's  reason- 
able expectation,  it  is  the  king's  pleasure  that  you  should  immediately  dissolve 
them." 

This  letter  being  laid  before  the  House,  and  the  resolution  not  being  re- 
scinded, according  to  order  the  Assembly  was  dissolved.  A  letter  of  a  similar 
nature  was  sent  to  other  governors,  to  procure  resolutions  approving  the  con- 
duct of  the  representatives  of  Massachusetts  Bay  to  be  rescinded  also ;  and  the 
Houses  of  Representatives  in  other  colonies  refusing  to  comply,  assemblies  were 
dissolved. 

These  mandates  spoke  a  language  to  which  the  ears  of  English  subjects  had 
for  several  generations  been  strangers.  The  nature  of  assemblies  implies  a  power 
and  right  of  deliberation ;  but  these  commands,  proscribing  the  exercise  of 
judgment  on  the  propriety  of  the  requisitions  made,  left  to  the  assemblies  only 
the  election  between  dictated  submission  and  threatened  punishment :  a  punish- 
ment, too,  founded  on  no  other  act  than  such  as  is  deemed  innocent  even  in 
slaves,  of  agreeing  in  petitions  for  redress  of  grievances  that  equally  affect 
all. 

The  hostile  and  unjustifiable  invasion  of  the  town  of  Boston  soon  followed 
these  events  in  the  same  year,  though  that  town,  the  province  in  which  it  is  sit- 
uated, and  all  the  colonies,  from  abhorrence  of  a  contest  with  their  parent  State, 
permitted  the  execution  even  of  those  statutes  against  which  they  were  so  unan- 
imously complaining,  remonstrating,  and  supplicating. 

Administration,  determined  to  subdue  a  spirit  of  freedom  which  English 
ministers  should  have  rejoiced  to  cherish,  entered  into  a  monopolizing  combina- 
tion with  the  East  India  Company  to  send  to  this  continent  vast  quantities  of 
tea,  an  article  on  which  a  duty  was  laid  by  a  statute  that  in  a  particular  man- 
ner attacked  the  liberties  of  America,  and  which,  therefore,  the  inhabitants  of 
these  colonies  had  resolved  not  to  import.  The  cargo  sent  to  South  Carolina 
was  stored  and  not  allowed  to  be  sold.  Those  sent  to  Philadelphia  and  New 
York  were  not  permitted  to  be  landed.  That  sent  to  Boston  was  destroyed, 
because  Governor  Hutchinson  would  not  suffer  it  to  be  returned. 

On  the  intelligence  of  these  transactions  arriving  in  Great  Britain,  the 
public-spirited  town  last  mentioned  was  singled  out  for  destruction,  and  it  was 
determined  the  province  it  belongs  to  should  partake  of  its  fate.  In  the  last 
session  of  Parliament,  therefore,  were  passed  the  acts  for  shutting  up  the  port 
of  Boston,  indemnifying  the  murderers  of  the  inhabitants  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 


570  SUPPLEMENT. 

and  changing  their  chartered  constitution  of  government.  To  enforce  theso 
acts,  that  province  is  again  invaded  by  a  fleet  and  army. 

To  mention  these  outrageous  proceedings  is  sufficient  to  explain  them.  For 
though  it  is  pretended  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  has  been  particularly 
disrespectful  to  Great  Britain,  yet,  in  truth,  the  behavior  of  the  people  in  other 
colonies  has  been  an  equal  "opposition  to  the  power  assumed  by  Parliament." 
No  step,  however,  has  been  taken  against  any  of  the  rest.  This  artful  conduct 
conceals  several  designs.  It  is  expected  that  the  province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  will  be  irritated  into  some  violent  action  that  may  displease  the  rest  of  the 
continent,  or  that  may  induce  the  people  of  Great  Britain  to  approve  the  medi- 
tated veno-eanee  of  an  imprudent  and  exasperated  ministry.  If  the  unexampled 
pacific  temper  of  that  province  shall  disappoint  this  part  of  the  plan,  it  is  hoped 
the  other  colonies  will  be  so  far  intimidated  as  to  desert  their  brethren  suffering 
in  a  common  cause,  and  that,  thus  disunited,  all  may  be  subdued. 

To  promote  these  designs  another  measure  has  been  pursued.  In  the  ses- 
sion of  Parliament  last  mentioned,  an  act  was  passed  for  changing  the  govern- 
ment of  Quebec,  by  which  act  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  instead  of  being 
tolerated,  as  stipulated  by  the  treaty  of  peace,  is  established,  and  the  people 
there  are  deprived  of  a  right  to  an  assembly,  trials  by  jury,  and  the  English 
laws  in  civil  cases  are  abolished,  and  instead  thereof  the  French  laws  are  estab- 
lished, in  direct  violation  of  his  majesty's  promise  by  his  royal  proclamation, 
under  the  faith  of  which  many  English  subjects  settled  in  that  province  ;  and 
the  limits  of  that  province  are  extended  so  as  to  comprehend  those  vast  regions 
that  lie  adjoining  to  the  northerly  and  westerly  boundaries  of  these  colonies. 

The  authors  of  this  arbitrary  enactment  flatter  themselves  that  the  inhabit- 
ants, deprived  of  liberty,  and  artfully  provoked  against  those  of  another  religion, 
will  be  proper  instruments  for  assisting  in  the  oppression  of  such  as  differ  from 
them  in  modes  of  government  and  in  faith. 

From  the  detail  of  facts  herein-before  recited,  as  well  as  from  authentic 
intelligence  received,  it  is  clear,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  a  resolution  is  formed  and 
now  carrying  into  execution  to  extinguish  the  freedom  of  these  colonies,  by 
subjecting  them  to  a  despotic  government. 

At  this  unhappy  period  we  have  been  authorized  and  directed  to  meet  and 
consult  together  for  the  welfare  of  our  common  country.  We  accepted  the 
important  trust  with  diffidence,  but  have  endeavored  to  discharge  it  with 
integrity.  Though  the  state  of  these  colonies  would  certainly  justify  other 
measures  than  we  have  advised,  yet  weighty  reasons  determined  us  to  prefer 
those  which  we  have  adopted.  In  the  first  place,  it  appeared  to  us  a  conduct 
becoming  the  character  these  colonies  have  ever  sustained,  to  perform,  even  in 
the  midst  of  the  unnatural  distresses  and  immed:ate  dangers  which  surround 
them,  every  act  of  loyalty,  and  therefore  we  were  induced  once  more  to  offer  to 
his  majesty  the  petitions  of  his  faithful  and  oppressed  subjects  in  America. 
Secondly,  regarding  with  the  tender  affection  which  we  knew  to  be  so  universal 
among  our  countrymen,  the  people  of  the  kingdom  from  which  we  derive  our 
origin,  we  could  not  forbear  to  regulate  our  steps  by  an  expectation  of  receiving 


STATE    PAPERS    BY    THE    CONTINENTAL    CONGRESS.        671 

full  conviction  that  the  colonists  are  equally  dear  to  them.  Between  theso 
provinces  and  that  body  subsists  the  social  band,  which  we  ardently  wish  may 
never  be  dissolved,  and  which  can  not  be  dissolved,  until  their  minds  shall 
become  indisputably  hostile,  or  their  inattention  shall  permit  those  who  are  thus 
hostile  to  persist  in  prosecuting,  with  the  powers  of  the  realm,  the  destructive 
measures  already  operating  against  the  colonists,  and  in  either  case  shall  reduce 
the  latter  to  such  a  situation  that  they  shall  be  compelled  to  renounce  every 
regard  but  that  of  self-preservation.  Notwithstanding  the  violence  with  which 
affairs  have  been  impelled,  they  have  not  yet  reached  that  fatal  point.  \Ye  do 
not  incline  to  accelerate  their  motion,  already  alarmingly  rapid  ;  we  have  chosen 
a  method  of  opposition  that  does  not  preclude  a  hearty  reconciliation  with  our 
fellow-citizens  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  We  deeply  deplore  the  urgent 
necessity  that  presses  us  to  an  immediate  interruption  of  commerce  that  may 
prove  injurious  to  them.  We  trust  they  will  acquit  us  of  any  unkind  inten- 
tions toward  them,  by  reflecting  that  we  are  driven  by  the  hands  of  violence 
into  unexperienced  and  unexpected  public  convulsions,  and  that  we  are  contend- 
ing for  freedom,  so  often  contended  for  by  our  ancestors. 

The  people  of  England  will  soon  have  an  opportunity  of  declaring  their  sen- 
timents concerning  our  cause.  In  their  piety,  generosity,  and  good  sense,  we 
repose  high  confidence,  and  can  not,  upon  a  review  of  past  events,  be  persuaded 
that  they,  the  defenders  of  true  religion,  and  the  asserters  of  the  rights  of  man- 
kind, will  take  part  against  their  affectionate  Protestant  brethren  in  the  colonies, 
in  favor  of  our  open  and  their  own  secret  enemies,  whose  intrigues,  for  several 
years  past,  have  been  wholly  exercised  in  sapping  the  foundations  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty. 

Another  reason  that  engaged  us  to  prefer  the  commercial  mode  of  operation 
arose  from  an  assurance  that  the  mode  will  prove  efficacious  if  it  be  persisted  in 
with  fidelity  and  virtue,  and  that  your  conduct  will  be  influenced  by  these 
laudable  principles,  can  not  be  doubted.  Your  own  salvation  and  that  of  your 
posterity,  now  depends  upon  yourselves.  You  have  already  shown  that  you 
entertain  a  proper  sense  of  the  blessings  you  are  striving  to  retain.  Against 
the  temporary  inconveniences  you  may  suffer  from  a  stoppage  of  trade,  you  will 
weigh  in  the  opposite  balance  the  endless  miseries  you  and  your  descendants 
must  endure  from  an  established  arbitrary  power.  You  will  not  forget  the  honor 
of  your  country,  that  you  must,  from  your  behavior,  take  its  title,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  the  world,  to  glory  or  to  shame ;  and  you  will,  with  the  deepest 
attention,  reflect  that  if  the  peaceable  mode  of  opposition  recommended  by  us  be 
broken  and  rendered  ineffectual,  as  your  cruel  and  haughty  ministerial  enemies, 
from  a  contemptuous  opinion  of  your  firmness,  insolently  predict  will  be  the 
case,  you  must  inevitably  be  reduced  to  choose  either  a  more  dangerous  contest, 
or  a  final,  ruinous,  and  infamous  submission. 

Motives  thus  cogent,  arising  from  the  emergency  of  your  unhappy  condition, 
must  excite  your  utmost  diligence  and  zeal  to  give  all  possible  strength  and 
energy  to  the  pacific  measures  calculated  for  your  relief;  but  we  think  our- 
selves bound  in  duty  to  observe  to  you,  that  the  schemes  agitated  against  these 


572  SUPPLEMENT. 

colonies  have  been  so  conducted  as  to  render  it  prudent  that  you  should  extend 
your  views  to  mournful  events,  and  be,  in  all  respects,  prepared  for  every  con- 
tingency. Above  all  things,  we  earnestly  entreat  you,  with  devotion  of  spirit, 
penitence  of  heart,  and  amendment  of  life,  to  humble  yourselves,  and  implore 
the  favor  of  Almighty  God ;  and  we  fervently  beseech  his  divine  goodness  to 
take  you  into  his  gracious  protection. 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  INHABITANTS  OF  THE  PROVINCE  OF 

QUEBEC.1 

Friends  and  Fellow -subjects : 

WE,  the  delegates  of  the  colonies  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay, 
Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  the  counties  of  Newcastle,  Kent,  and  Sussex,  on  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  deputed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  said 
colonies  to  represent  them  in  a  general  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  province 
of  Pennsylvania,  to  consult  together  concerning  the  best  methods  to  obtain 
redress  of  our  afflicting  grievances,  having  accordingly  assembled,  and  taken 
into  our  most  serious  consideration  the  state  of  public  affairs  on  this  continent, 
have  thought  proper  to  address  your  province,  as  a  member  therein  deeply 
interested. 

When  the  fortune  of  war,  after  a  gallant  and  glorious  resistance,  had 
incorporated  you  with  the  body  of  English  subjects,  we  rejoiced  in  the  truly 
valuable  addition,  both  on  our  own  and  your  account,  expecting,  as  courage  and 
generosity  are  naturally  united,  our  brave  enemies  would  become  our  hearty 
friends,  and  that  the  Divine  Being  would  bless  to  you  the  dispensations  of  his 
overruling  providence,  by  securing  to  you  and  your  latest  posterity  the  ines- 
timable advantages  of  a  free  English  constitution  of  government,  which  it  is  the 
privilege  of  all  English  subjects  to  enjoy. 

These  hopes  were  confirmed  by  the  king's  proclamation,  issued  in  the  year 
1763,  plighting  the  public  faith  for  the  full  enjoyment  of  those  advantages. 

Little  did  we  imagine  that  any  succeeding  ministers  would  so  audaciously 
and  cruelly  abuse  the  royal  authority  as  to  withhold  from  you  the  fruition  of 
the  irrevocable  rights  to  which  you  were  thus  justly  entitled. 

But  since  we  have  lived  to  see  the  unexpected  time  when  ministers  of  this 
flagitious  temper  have  dared  to  violate  the  most  sacred  compacts  and  obligations, 
and  as  you,  educated  under  another  form  of  government,  have  artfully  been 
kept  from  discovering  the  unspeakable  worth  of  that  form  you  are  now  undoubt- 
edly entitled  to,  we  esteem  it  our  duty,  for  the  weighty  reasons  hereinafter 
mentioned,  to  explain  to  you  some  of  its  most  important  branches. 

"In  every  human  society,"  says  the  celebrated  Marquis  Beccaria,  "  there 

1  Adopted  October  26th,  1774. — Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  i.,  page  55.  This  was  written  by 
John  Dickenson.  See  page  219.  Peter  Force,  Esq.,  of  "Washington  City,  has  a  printed  copy  of  tho 
Journals  of  that  Congress,  on  the  margin  of  which,  in  the  handwriting  of  Ceesar  Rodney,  one  of  the 
members,  the  authorship  of  these  several  state  papers  is  thus  given. 


STATE   PAPERS   BY   THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.          573 

is  an  effort  continually  tending  to  confer  on  one  part  the  height  of  power  and 
happiness,  and  to  reduce  the  other  to  the  extreme  of  weakness  and  misery. 
The  intent  of  good  laws  is  to  oppose  this  effort,  and  to  diffuse  their  influence 
universally  and  equally." 

Rulers  stimulated  by  this  pernicious  "effort,"  and  subjects  animated  by  the 
just  "intent  of  opposing  good  laws  against  it,"  have  occasioned  that  vast  variety 
of  events  that  fill  the  histories  of  so  many  nations.  All  these  histories  demon- 
strate the  truth  of  this  simple  position,  that  to  live  by  the  will  of  one  man,  or 
set  of  men,  is  the  production  of  misery  to  all  men. 

On  the  solid  foundation  of  this  principle,  Englishmen  reared  up  the  fabric 
of  their  Constitution  with  such  a  strength,  as  for  ages  to  defy  time,  tyranny, 
treachery,  internal  and  foreign  wars ;  and,  as  an  illustrious  author1  of  your 
nation,  hereafter  mentioned,  observes,  "  They  gave  the  people  of  their  colonies 
the  form  of  their  own  government,  and  this  government  carrying  prosperity  along 
with  it,  they  have  grown  great  nations  in  the  forests  they  were  sent  to  inhabit." 

In  this  form,  the  first  grand  right  is  that  of  the  people  having  a  share  in 
their  own  government,  by  their  representatives  chosen  by  themselves,  and,  in 
cohsequence,  of  being  ruled  by  laws  which  they  themselves  approve,  not  by  the 
edicts  of  men  over  whom  they  have  no  control.  This  is  a  bulwark  surrounding 
and  defending  their  property,  so  that  no  portions  of  it  can  legally  be  taken  from 
them  but  with  their  own  full  and  free  consent,  when  they  in  their  judgment  deem 
it  just  and  necessary  to  give  them  for  public  services,  and  precisely  direct  the 
easiest,  cheapest,  and  most  equal  methods  in  which  they  shall  be  collected. 

The  influence  of  this  right  extends  still  further.  If  money  is  wanted  by 
rulers  who  have  in  any  manner  oppressed  the  people,  they  may  retain  it  until 
their  grievances  are  redressed,  and  thus  peaceably  procure  relief  without  trust- 
ing to  despised  petitions  or  disturbing  the  public  tranquillity. 

The  next  great  right  is  that  of  trial  by  jury.  This  provides  that  neither 
life,  liberty,  nor  property  can  be  taken  from  the  possessor  until  twelve  of  his 
unexceptionable  countrymen  and  peers  of  his  vicinage,  who,  from  that  neighbor- 
hood, may  reasonably  be  supposed  to  be  acquainted  with  his  character  and  the 
characters  of  his  witnesses,  upon  a  fair  trial  and  full  inquiry,  face  to  face,  in 
open  court,  before  as  many  of  the  people  as  choose  to  attend,  shall  pass  their 
sentence  upon  oath  against  him — a  sentence  that  can  not  injure  him  without 
injuring  their  own  reputation,  and  probably  their  interest  also,  as  the  question 
may  turn  on  points  that  in  some  degree  concern  the  general  welfare ;  and  if  it 
does  not,  their  verdict  may  form  a  precedent  that,  on  a  similar  trial  of  their 
own,  may  militate  against  themselves. 

Another  right  relates  merely  to  the  liberty  of  the  person.  If  a  subject  be 
seized  and  imprisoned,  though  by  order  of  government,  he  may,  by  virtue  of 
this  right,  immediately  obtain  a  writ  termed  a  habeas  corpus  from  a  judge, 
whose  sworn  duty  it  is  to  grant  it,  and  thereupon  procure  any  illegal  restraint 
to  be  quickly  inquired  into  and  redressed. 

1  Montesquieu. 


574 


SUPPLEMENT. 


A  fourth  right  is  that  of  holding  lands  by  the  tenure  of  easy  rents,  and  not 
by  rigorous  and  oppressive  services,  frequently  forcing  the  possessors  from  their 
families  and  their  business,  to  perform  what  ought  to  be  done  in  all  well-regu- 
lated states  by  men  hired  for  the  purpose. 

The  last  right  we  shall  mention  regards  the  freedom  of  the  press.  The 
importance  of  this  consists,  besides  the  advancement  of  truth,  science,  morality, 
and  arts  in  general,  in  its  diffusion  of  liberal  sentiments  on  tlie  administration 
of  government,  its  ready  communication  of  thoughts  between  subjects,  and  its 
consequential  promotion  of  union  among  them,  whereby  oppressive  officers  are 
shamed  or  intimidated  into  more  honorable  and  just  modes  of  conducting  affairs. 

These  are  the  invaluable  rights  that  form  a  considerable  part  of  our  mild 
system  of  government ;  that,  sending  its  equitable  energy  through  all  ranks  and 
classes  of  men,  defends  the  poor  from  the  rich,  the  weak  from  the  powerful,  the 
industrious  from  the  rapacious,  the  peaceable  from  the  violent,  the  tenants  from 
the  lords,  and  all  from  their  superiors. 

These  are  the  rights  without  which  a  people  can  not  be  free  and  happy,  and 
Under  the  protecting  and  encouraging  influence  of  which  these  colonies  have 
hitherto  so  amazingly  flourished  and  increased.  These  are  the  rights  a  prof- 
ligate ministry  are  now  striving  by  force  of  arms  to  ravish  from  us,  and  which 
we  are  with  one  mind  resolved  never  to  resign  but  with  our  lives. 

These  are  the  rights  you  are  entitled  to,  and  ought  at  this  moment  in  per- 
fection to  exercise.  And  what  is  offered  to  you  by  the  late  act  of  Parliament 
in  their  place?  Liberty  of  conscience  in  your  religion  ?  No.  God  gave  it  to 
you,  and  the  temporal  powers  with  which  you  have  been  and  are  connected 
firmly  stipulated  for  your  enjoyment  of  it.  If  laws  divine  and  human  could 
secure  it  against  the  despotic  caprices  of  wicked  men,  it  was  secured  before. 
Are  the  French  laws  in  civil  cases  restored  ?  It  seems  so.  But  observe  the 
cautious  kindness  of  the  ministers  who  pretend  to  be  your  benefactors.  The 
words  of  the  statute  are,  ' '  that  those  laws  shall  be  the  rule  until  they  shall  be 
varied  or  altered  by  any  ordinances  of  the  governor  and  council."  Is  the 
"certainty  and  lenity  of  the  criminal  law  of  England,  and  its  benefits  and 
advantages,"  commended  in  the  said  statute,  and  said  to  have  been  "sensibly 
felt  by  you,"  secured  to  you  and  your  descendants?  No.  They  too  are  sub- 
jected to  arbitrary  "  alterations"  by  the  governor  and  council ;  and  a  power  is 
expressly  reserved  of  appointing  "such  courts  of  criminal,  civil,  and  ecclesias- 
tical jurisdiction  as  shall  be  thought  proper."  Such  is  the  precarious  tenure 
of  mere  will  by  which  you  hold  your  lives  and  religion.  The  crown  and  its 
ministers  are  empowered,  as  far  as  they  could  be  by  Parliament,  to  establish 
even  the  Inquisition  itself  among  you.  Have  you  an  Assembly  composed  of 
worthy  men,  elected  by  yourselves,  and  in  whom  you  can  confide,  to  make  laws 
for  you,  to  watch  over  your  welfare,  and  to  direct  in  what  quantity  and  in  what 
manner  your  money  shall  be  taken  from  you  ?  No.  The  power  of  making 
laws  for  you  is  lodged  in  the  governor  and  council,  all  of  them  dependent  upon 
and  removable  at  the  pleasure  of  a  minister.  Besides,  another  late  statute, 
made  without  your  consent,  has  subjected  you  to  the  impositions  of  excise,  the 


STATE   PAPERS   BY   THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.         575 

horror  of  all  free  states,  thus  wresting  your  property  from  you  by  the  most 
odious  of  taxes,  and  laying  open  to  insolent  tax-gatherers  houses,  the  scenes  of 
domestic  peace  and  comfort,  and  called  the  castles  of  English  subjects  in  the  books 
of  their  law.  And  in  the  very  act  for  altering  your  government,  and  intended  to 
flatter  you,  you  are  not  authorized  to  "  assess,  levy,  or  apply  any  rates  and  taxes 
but  for  the  inferior  purposes  of  making  roads,  and  erecting  and  repairing  public 
buildings,  or  for  other  local  conveniences  within  your  respective  towns  and  dis- 
tricts." Why  this  degrading  distinction?  Ought  not  the  property  honestly 
acquired  by  Canadians  to  be  held  as  sacred  as  that  of  Englishmen  ?  Have  not 
Canadians  sense  enough  to  attend  to  any  other  public  affairs  than  gathering  stones 
from  one  place  and  piling  them  up  in  another  ?  Unhappy  people  !  who  are  not 
only  injured,  but  insulted.  Nay,  more  !  With  such  a  superlative  contempt  of 
your  understanding  and  spirit  has  an  insolent  ministry  presumed  to  think  of  you, 
our  respectable  fellow-subjects,  according  to  the  information  we  have  received,  as 
firmly  to  persuade  themselves  that  your  gratitude  for  the  injuries  and  insults 
they  have  recently  offered  to  you  will  engage  you  to  take  up  arms,  and  render 
yourselves  the  ridicule  and  detestation  of  the  world,  by  becoming  tools  in  their 
hands  in  taking  that  freedom  from  us  which  they  have  treacherously  denied  to 
you ;  the  unavoidable  consequences  of  which  attempt,  if  successful,  would  be 
the  extinction  of  all  hopes  of  you  or  your  posterity  being  ever  restored  to  free- 
dom ;  for  idiocy  itself  can  not  believe  that,  when  their  drudgery  is  performed, 
they  will  treat  you  with  less  cruelty  than  they  have  us,  who  are  of  the  same 
blood  with  themselves. 

What  would  your  countryman,  the  immortal  Montesquieu,  have  said  to  such 
a  plan  of  domination  as  has  been  framed  for  you  ?  Hear  his  words,  with  an 
intenseness  of  thought  suited  to  the  importance  of  the  subject :  "  In  a  free  state, 
every  man  who  is  supposed  a  free  agent  ought  to  be  concerned  in  his  own  gov- 
ernment ;  therefore  the  legislative  should  reside  in  the  whole  body  of  the 
people  or  their  representatives."  "The  political  liberty  of  the  subject  is  a 
tranquillity  of  mind,  arising  from  the  opinion  each  person  has  of  his  safety.  In 
order  to  have  this  liberty,  it  is  requisite  the  government  be  so  constituted  as 
that  one  man  need  not  be  afraid  of  another.  When  the  power  of  making  laws 
and  the  power  of  executing  them  are  united  in  the  same  person,  or  in  the  same 
body  of  magistrates,  there  can  be  no  liberty,  because  apprehensions  may  arise 
lest  the  same  monarch  or  senate  should  enact  tyrannical  laws  to  execute  them 
in  a  tyrannical  manner." 

"  The  power  of  judging  should  be  exercised  by  persons  taken  from  the  body 
of  the  people,  at  certain  times  of  the  year,  and  pursuant  to  a  form  and  manner 
prescribed  by  law.  There  is  no  liberty  if  the  power  of  judging  be  not  sepa- 
rated from  the  legislative  and  executive  powers." 

"Military  men  belong  to  a  profession  which  may  be  useful,  but  is  often 
dangerous."  l' The  enjoyment  of  liberty,  and  even  its  support  and  preserva- 
tion, consists  in  every  man's  being  allowed  to  speak  his  thoughts  and  lay  open 
his  sentiments." 

Apply  these  decisive  maxims,  sanctified  by  the  authority  of  a  name  which 


576  SUPPLEMENT. 

all  Europe  reveres,  to  your  own  State.  You  have  a  governor,  it  may  be  urged, 
vested  with  the  executive  powers,  or  the  powers  of  administration :  in  him  and 
in  your  Council  is  lodged  the  power  of  making  laws.  You  have  judges,  who 
are  to  decide  every  cause  affecting  your  lives,  liberty,  or  property.  Here  is, 
indeed,  an  appearance  of  the  several  powers  being  separated  and  distributed 
into  different  hands,  for  checks  upon  one  another — the  only  effectual  mode  ever 
invented  by  the  wit  of  men  to  promote  their  freedom  and  prosperity.  But, 
scorning  to  be  illuded  by  a  tinseled  outside,  and  exerting  the  natural  sagacity 
of  Frenchmen,  examine  the  specious  device,  and  you  will  find  it,  to  use  an 
expression  of  holy  writ,  "  a  whited  sepulchre"  for  burying  your  lives,  liberty, 
and  property. 

Your  judges  and  your  Legislative  Council,  as  it  is  called,  are  dependent  on 
your  governor,  and  he  is  dependent  on  the  servant  of  the  crown  in  Great  Brit- 
ain. The  legislative,  executive,  and  judging  powers  are  all  moved  by  the  nods 
of  a  minister.  Privileges  and  immunities  last  no  longer  than  his  smiles. 
When  he  frowns,  their  feeble  forms  dissolve.  Such  a  treacherous  ingenuity 
has  been  exerted  in  drawing  up  the  code  lately  offered  to  you,  that  every  sen- 
tence beginning  with  a  benevolent  pretension  concludes  with  a  destructive  power ; 
and  the  substance  of  the  whole,  divested  of  its  smooth  words,  is,  that  the  crown 
and  its  ministers  shall  be  as  absolute  throughout  your  extended  province  as  the 
despots  of  Asia  or  Africa.  What  can  protect  your  property  from  taxing  edicts, 
and  the  rapacity  of  necessitous  and  cruel  masters  ?  your  persons  from  lettres- 
de-cachct,  jails,  dungeons,  and  oppressive  services?  your  lives  and  general 
liberty  from  arbitrary  and  unfeeling  rulers  ?  We  defy  you,  casting  your  view 
upon  every  side,  to  discover  a  single  circumstance  promising  from  any  quarter 
the  faintest  hope  of  liberty  to  you  or  your  posterity,  but  from  an  entire  adoption 
into  the  union  of  these  colonies. 

What  advice  would  the  truly  great  man  before  mentioned,  that  advocate  of 
freedom  and  humanity,  give  you,  were  he  now  living,  and  knew  that  we,  your 
numerous  and  powerful  neighbors,  animated  by  a  just  love  of  our  invaded 
rights,  and  united  by  the  indissoluble  bands  of  affection  and  interest,  called 
upon  you  by  every  obligation  of  regard  for  yourselves  and  your  children,  as  we 
now  do,  to  join  us  in  our  righteous  contest,  to  make  common  cause  with  us 
therein,  and  take  a  noble  chance  for  emerging  from  a  humiliating  subjection 
under  governors,  intendants,  and  military  tyrants,  into  the  firm  rank  and  con- 
dition of  English  freemen,  whose  custom  it  is,  derived  from  their  ancestors,  to 
make  those  tremble  who  dare  to  think  of  making  them  miserable  ? 

Would  not  this  be  the  purport  of  his  address  ?  l '  Seize  the  opportunity 
presented  to  you  by  Providence  itself.  You  have  been  conquered  into  liberty, 
if  you  act  as  you  ought.  This  work  is  not  of  man.  You  are  a  small  people 
compared  with  those  who,  with  open  arms,  invite  you  into  a  fellowship.  A 
moment's  reflection  should  convince  you  which  will  be  most  for  your  interest 
and  happiness,  to  have  all  the  rest  of  North  America  your  unalterable  friends, 
or  your  inveterate  enemies.  The  injuries  of  Boston  have  roused  and  associated 
every  colony  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Georgia.  Your  province  is  the  only  link 


STATE  PAPERS  BY  THE  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS.    577 

wanting  to  complete  the  bright  and  strong  chain  of  union.  Nature  has  joined 
your  country  to  theirs.  Do  you  join  your  political  interests.  For  their  own 
sakes  they  will  never  desert  or  betray  you.  Be  assured  that  the  happiness  of 
a  people  inevitably  depends  on  their  liberty  and  their  spirit  to  assert  it.  The 
value  and  extent  of  the  advantages  tendered  to  you  are  immense.  Heaven 
grant  you  may  not  discover  them  to  be  blessings  after  they  have  bid  you  an 
eternal  adieu." 

We  are  too  well  acquainted  with  the  liberality  of  sentiment  distinguishing 
your  nation,  to  imagine  that  differ ence  of  religion  will  prejudice  you  against  a 
hearty  amity  with  us.  You  know  that  the  transcendant  nature  of  freedom 
elevates  those  who  unite  in  her  cause  above  all  such  low-minded  infirmities. 
The  Swiss  Cantons  furnish  a  memorable  proof  of  this  truth.  Their  union  is 
composed  of  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant  States,  living  in  the  utmost  con- 
cord and  peace  with  one  another,  and  thereby  enabled,  ever  since  they  bravely 
vindicated  their  freedom,  to  defy  and  defeat  every  tyrant  that  has  invaded 
them. 

Should  there  be  any  among  you,  as  there  generally  are  in  all  societies,  who 
prefer  the  favor  of  ministers  and  their  own  private  interests  to  the  welfare  of 
their  country,  the  temper  of  such  selfish  persons  will  render  them  incredibly 
active  in  opposing  all  public-spirited  measures,  from  an  expectation  of  being 
well  rewarded  for  their  sordid  industry  by  their  superiors ;  but  we  doubt  not 
you  will  be  upon  your  guard  against  such  men,  and  not  sacrifice  the  liberty  and 
happiness  of  the  whole  Canadian  people  and  their  posterity  to  gratify  the  avar- 
ice and  ambition  of  individuals. 

We  do  not  ask  you,  by  this  address,  to  commence  acts  of  hostility  against 
our  common  sovereign.  We  only  invite  you  to  consult  your  own  glory  and 
welfare,  and  not  to  suifer  yourselves  to  be  inveigled  or  intimidated  by  infamous 
ministers,  so  far  as  to  become  the  instruments  of  their  cruelty  and  despotism, 
but  to  unite  with  us  in  one  social  compact,  formed  on  the  generous  principles 
of  equal  liberty,  and  cemented  by  such  an  exchange  of  beneficial  and  endearing 
offices  as  to  render  it  perpetual.  In  order  to  complete  this  highly-desirable 
union,  we  submit  it  to  your  consideration,  whether  it  may  not  be  expedient  for 
you  to  meet  together  in  your  several  towns  and  districts,  and  elect  deputies 
who,  afterward  meeting  in  a  Provincial  Congress,  may  choose  delegates  to 
represent  your  province  in  the  Continental  Congress  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia 
on  the  tenth  day  of  May,  1775. 

In  this  present  Congress,  beginning  on  the  fifth  of  the  last  month,  and 
continued  to  this  day,  it  has  been  with  universal  pleasure,  and  a  unanimous 
vote,  resolved  that  we  should  consider  the  violation  of  your  rights,  by  the  act 
for  altering  the  government  of  your  province,  as  a  violation  of  our  own,  and 
that  you  should  be  invited  to  accede  to  our  confederation,  which  has  no  other 
objects  than  the  perfect  security  of  the  natural  and  civil  rights  of  all  the  con- 
stituent members,  according  to  their  respective  circumstances,  and  the  preser- 
vation of  a  lasting  and  happy  connection  with  Great  Britain  on  the  salutary 
and  constitutional  principles  hereinbefore  mentioned.  For  effecting  these  prr- 

37 


578  SUPPLEMENT. 

poses,  we  have  addressed  an  humble  and  loyal  petition  to  his  majesty,  praying 
relief  of  our  and  your  grievances,  and  have  associated  to  stop  all  importations 
from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  after  tae  first  day  of  December,  and  all 
exportations  to  those  kingdoms  and  the  West  Indies,  after  the  tenth  day  of 
next  September,  unless  the  said  grievances  are  redressed. 

That  Almighty  God  may  incline  your  minds  to  approve  our  equitable  and 
necessary  measures,  to  add  yourselves  to  us,  to  put  your  fate,  whenever  you 
suffer  injuries  which  you  are  determined  to  oppose,  not  on  the  small  influence 
of  your  single  province,  but  on  the  consolidated  powers  of  North  America, 
and  may  grant  to  our  joint  exertions  an  event  as  happy  as  our  cause  is  just,  is 
the  fervent  prayer  of  us,  your  sincere  and  affectionate  friends  and  fellow-sub- 
jects. 

By  order  of  the  Congress, 

HENRY  MIDDLETOX,  President. 


PETITION   OF  CONGRESS  TO   THE   KING.1 

To  the  King's  most  excellent  Majesty : 

MOST  GRACIOUS  SOVEREIGN — We  your  majesty's  faithful  subjects,  of  the 
colonies  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence 
Plantations,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  the  counties 
of  Newcastle,  Kent,  and  Sussex,  on  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  and  South  Carolina,  in  behalf  of  ourselves  and  the  inhabitants  of 
these  colonies,  who  have  deputed  us  to  represent  them  in  general  Congress,  by 
this  our  humble  petition  beg  leave  to  lay  our  grievances  before  the  throne. 

A  standing  army  has  been  kept  in  these  colonies  ever  since  the  conclusion  of 
the  late  war,  without  the  consent  of  our  Assemblies ;  and  this  army,  with  a  con- 
siderable naval  armament,  has  been  employed  to  force  the  collection  of  taxes. 

The  authority  of  the  commander-in-chief,  and  under  him  the  brigadier- 
general,  has,  in  time  of  peace,  been  rendered  supreme  in  all  the  civil  govern- 
ments of  America. 

The  commander-in-chief  of  all  your  majesty's  forces  in  North  America  has, 
in  time  of  peace,  been  appointed  governor  of  a  colony. 

The  charges  of  usual  officers  have  been  greatly  increased,  and  new,  expens- 
ive, and  oppressive  offices  have  been  multiplied. 

The  judges  of  admiralty  and  vice-admiralty  courts  are  empowered  to  receive 
their  salaries  and  fees  from  the  effects  condemned  by  themselves. 

The  officers  of  the  customs  are  empowered  to  break  open  and  enter  houses 
without  the  authority  of  any  civil  magistrate,  founded  on  legal  information. 

The  judges  of  courts  of  common  law  have  been  made  entirely  dependent  on 
one  part  of  the  Legislature  for  their  salaries,  as  well  as  for  the  duration  of  their 
commissions. 

1  Adopted  October  26th,  1774. — Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  i.,  p.  63.     This  was  drawn  up  by 
John  Adams,  and  corrected  by  John  Dickenson. 


STATE   PAPERS  BY   THE   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.         579 

•  Counselors,  holding  their  commissions  during  pleasure,  exercise  legislative 
authority. 

Humble  and  reasonable  petitions,  from  the  representatives  of  the  people, 
have  been  fruitless. 

The  agents  of  the  people  have  been  discountenanced,  and  governors  have 
been  instructed  to  prevent  the  payment  of  the  salaries. 

Assemblies  have  been  repeatedly  and  injuriously  dissolved. 

Commerce  has  been  burdened  with  many  useless  and  oppressive  restrictions. 

By  several  acts  of  Parliament,  made  in  the  fourth,  fifth,  sixth,  seventh,  and 
eighth  years  of  your  majesty's  reign,  duties  are  imposed  on  us  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  a  revenue ;  and  the  powers  of  admiralty  and  vice-admiralty  courts  are 
extended  beyond  their  ancient  limits,  whereby  our  property  is  taken  from  us 
without  our  consent,  the  trial  by  jury  in  many  civil  cases  is  abolished,  enormous 
forfeitures  are  incurred  for  slight  offenses,  vexatious  informers  are  exempted 
from  paying  damages  to  which  they  are  justly  liable,  and  oppressive  security  is 
required  from  owners  before  they  are  allowed  to  defend  their  right. 

Both  Houses  of  Parliament  have  resolved  that  colonists  may  be  tried  in 
England  for  offenses  alleged  to  have  been  committed  in  America,  by  virtue  of  a 
statute  passed  in  the  thirty-fifth  year  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  and  in  consequence 
thereof,  attempts  have  been  made  to  enforce  that  statute. 

A  statute  was  passed  in  the  twelfth  year  of  your  majesty's  reign,  directing 
that  persons  charged  with  committing  any  offense  therein  described,  in  any 
place  out  of  the  realm,  may  be  indicted  and  tried  for  the  same  in  any  shire  or 
county  within  the  realm,  whereby  inhabitants  of  these  colonies  may,  in  sundry 
cases  by  that  statute  made  capital,  be  deprived  of  a  trial  by  their  peers  of  the 
vicinage. 

In  the  last  session  of  Parliament,  an  act  was  pissed  for  blocking  up  the 
harbor  of  Boston ;  another,  empowering  the  governor  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
19  send  persons  indicted  for  murder  in  that  province  to  another  colony,  or  even 
to  Great  Britain,  for  trial,  whereby  such  'offenders  may  escape  legal  punish- 
ment ;  a  third  for  altering  the  chartered  constitution  of  government  in  that 
province ;  and  a  fourth  for  altering  the  limits  of  Quebec,  abolishing  the  English 
and  restoring  the  French  laws,  whereby  great  numbers  of  British  Frenchmen 
are  subjected  to  the  latter,  and  establishing  an  absolute  government  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion  throughout  those  vast  regions  that  border  on  the  west- 
erly and  northerly  boundaries  of  the  free,  Protestant  English  settlements ;  and 
a  fifth  for  the  better  providing  suitable  quarters  for  officers  and  soldiers  in  his 
majesty's  service  in  North  America. 

To  a  sovereign  who  glories  in  the  name  of  Britain,  the  bare  recital  of  these 
acts  must,  we  presume,  justify  the  loyal  subjects  who  fly  to  the  foot  of  his 
throne  and  implore  his  clemency  for  protection  against  them. 

From  this  destructive  system  of  colony  administration,  adopted  since  the 
conclusion  of  the  last  war,  have  flowed  those  distresses,  dangers,  fears,  and 
jealousies  that  overwhelm  your  majesty's  dutiful  colonists  with  affliction ;  and 
we  defy  our  most  subtile  and  inveterate  enemies  to  trace  the  unhappy  differ- 


580  SUPPLEMENT. 

ences  between  Great  Britain  and  these  colonies  from  an  earlier  period,  or  from 
other  causes  than  we  have  assigned. 

Had  they  proceeded  on  our  part  from  restless  levity  of  temper,  unjust 
impulses  of  ambition,  or  artful  suggestions  of  seditious  persons,  we  should  merit 
the  opprobrious  terms  frequently  bestowed  on  us  by  those  we  revere.  But,  so 
far  from  promoting  innovations,  we  have  only  opposed  them,  and  can  be 
charged  with  no  offense  unless  it  be  one  to  recieve  injuries,  and  be  sensible  of 
them. 

Had  our  creator  been  pleased  to  give  us  existence  in  a  land  of  slavery,  the 
sense  of  our  condition  might  have  been  mitigated  by  ignorance  and  habit.  But, 
thanks  be  to  his  adorable  goodness,  we  were  born  the  heirs  of  freedom,  and  ever 
enjoyed  our  right,  under  the  auspices  of  your  royal  ancestors,  whose  family  wras 
seated  on  the  throne  to  rescue  and  secure  a  pious  and  gallant  nation  from  the 
popery  and  despotism  of  a  superstitious  and  inexorable  tyrant.  Your  majesty, 
we  are  confident,  justly  rejoices  that  your  title  to  the  crown  is  thus  founded  on 
the  title  of  your  people  to  liberty ;  and,  therefore,  we  doubt  not  but  your  royal 
wisdom  must  approve  the  sensibility  that  teaches  your  subjects  anxiously  to 
guard  the  blessing  they  received  from  divine  Providence,  and  thereby  to  prove 
the  performance  of  that  compact  which  elevated  the  illustrious  house  of  Bruns- 
wick to  the  imperial  dignity  it  now  possesses. 

The  apprehension  of  being  degraded  into  a  state  of  servitude  from  the  pre- 
eminent rank  of  English  freemen,  while  our  minds  retain  the  strongest  love  of 
liberty,  and  clearly  foresee  the  miseries  preparing  for  us  and  our  posterity, 
excites  emotions  in  our  breasts  which,  though  we  can  not  describe,  we  should 
not  wish  to  conceal.  Feeling  as  men,  and  thinking  as  subjects,  in  the  manner 
we  do,  silence  would  be  disloyalty.  By  giving  this  faithful  information,  we  do 
all  in  our  powder  to  promote  the  great  objects  of  your  royal  cares,  the  tranquil- 
lity of  your  government  and  the  welfare  of  your  people. 

Duty  to  your  majesty,  and  regard  for  the  preservation  of  ourselves  and  oiy 
posterity,  the  primary  obligations  of  nature  and  society,  command  us  to  entreat 
your  royal  attention;  and,  as  your  majesty  enjoys  the  signal  distinction  of 
reigning  over  freemen,  we  apprehend  the  language  of  freemen  can  not  be  dis- 
pleasing. Your  royal  indignation,  we  hope,  will  rather  fall  on  those  designing 
and  dangerous  men,  who,  daringly  interposing  themselves  between  your  royal 
person  and  your  faithful  subjects,  and  for  several  years  past  incessantly 
employed  to  dissolve  the  bonds  of  society,  by  abusing  your  majesty's  authority, 
misrepresenting  your  American  subjects,  and  prosecuting  the  most  desperate 
and  irritating  projects  of  oppression,  have  at  length  compelled  us,  by  the  force 
of  accumulated  injuries,  too  severe  to  be  any  longer  tolerable,  to  disturb  your 
majesty's  repose  by  our  complaints. 

These  sentiments  are  extorted  from  hearts  that  much  more  willingly  would 
bleed  in  your  majesty's  service.  Yet  so  greatly  have  we  been  misrepresented, 
that  a  necessity  has  been  alleged  of  taking  away  our  property  from  us  without 
our  consent,  "to  defray  the  charge  of  the  administration  of  justice,  the  support 
of  civil  government,  and  the  defense,  protection,  and  security  of  the  colonies." 


STATE  PAPERS  BY  THE  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS.    581 

But  we  beg  leave  to  assure  jour  majesty  that  such  provision  has  been  and  will 
be  made  for  defraying  the  first  two  articles  as  has  been  and  shall  be  judged,  by 
the  Legislatures  of  the  several  colonies,  just  and  suitable  to  their  respective  cir- 
cumstances ;  and,  for  the  defense,  protection,  and  security  of  the  colonies,  their 
militia,  if  properly  regulated,  as  they  earnestly  desire  may  immediately  be  done, 
would  be  fully  sufficient,  at  least  in  times  of  peace  ;  and  in  case  of  war,  your 
faithful  colonists  will  be  ready  and  willing,  as  they  ever  have  been,  when  con- 
stitutionally required,  to  demonstrate  their  loyalty  to  your  majesty,  by  exert- 
ing their  most  strenuous  efforts  in  granting  supplies  and  raising  forces.  Yielding 
to  no  British  subjects  in  affectionate  attachment  to  your  majesty's  person,  family, 
and  government,  we  too  dearly  prize  the  privilege  of  expressing  that  attachment 
by  those  proofs  that  are  honorable  to  the  prince  who  receives  them,  and  to  the 
people  who  give  them,  ever  to  resign  it  to  any  body  of  men  upon  earth. 

Had  we  been  permitted  to  enjoy  in  quiet  the  inheritance  left  us  by  our 
forefathers,  we  should  at  this  time  have  been  peaceably,  cheerfully,  and  usefully 
employed  in  recommending  ourselves  by  every  testimony  of  devotion  to  your 
majesty,  and  of  veneration  to  the  State  from  which  we  derive  our  origin.  But 
though  now  exposed  to  unexpected  and  unnatural  scenes  of  distress  by  a  con- 
tention with  that  nation  in  whose  parental  guidance,  on  all  important  affairs,  we 
have  hitherto,  with  filial  reverence,  constantly  trusted,  and  therefore  can  derive 
no  instruction  in  our  present  unhappy  and  perplexing  circumstances  from  any 
former  experience,  yet  we  doubt  not  the  purity  of  our  intention  and  the  integ- 
rity of  our  conduct  w~ill  justify  us  at  that  grand  tribunal  before  which  all  man- 
kind must  submit  to  judgment. 

We  ask  but  for  peace,  liberty,  and  safety.  We  wish  not  a  diminution  of 
the  prerogative,  nor  do  we  solicit  the  grant  of  any  new  right  in  our  favor. 
Your  royal  authority  over  us,  and  our  connection  with  Great  Britain,  we  shall 
always  carefully  and  zealously  endeavor  to  support  and  maintain. 

Filled  with  sentiments  of  duty  to  your  majesty,  and  of  affection  to  our 
parent  State,  deeply  impressed  by  our  education,  and  strongly  confirmed  by 
our  reason,  and  anxious  to  evince  the  sincerity  of  these  dispositions,  we  present 
this  petition  only  to  obtain  redress  of  grievances  and  relief  from  fears  and 
jealousies  occasioned  by  the  system  of  statutes  and  regulations,  adopted  since 
the  close  of  the  late  war,  for  raising  a  revenue  in  America ;  extending  the 
powers  of  courts  of  admiralty  and  vice-admiralty ;  trying  persons  in  Great 
Britain  for  offenses  alleged  to  be  committed  in  America,  affecting  the  province 
of  Massachusetts  Bay ;  and  altering  the  government  and  extending  the  limits 
of  Quebec ;  by  the  abolition  of  which  system  the  harmony  between  Great  Brit- 
ain and  these  colonies,  so  necessary  to  the  happiness  of  both,  and  so  ardently 
desired  by  the  latter,  and  the  usual  intercourse  will  be  immediately  restored. 
In  the  magnanimity  and  justice  of  your  majesty  and  Parliament,  we  confide  for 
a  redress  of  our  other  grievances,  trusting  that,  when  the  causes  of  our  appre- 
hensions are  removed,  our  future  conduct  will  prove  us  not  unworthy  of  the 
regard  we  have  been  accustomed,  in  our  happier  days,  to  enjoy :  for,  appealing 
to  that  Being  who  searches  thoroughly  the  hearts  of  his  creatures,  we  solemnly 


532  SUPPLEMENT. 

profess  that  our  councils  have  been  influenced  by  no  other  motives  than  a  dread 
of  impending  destruction. 

Permit  us,  then,  most  gracious  sovereign,  in  the  name  of  all  your  faithful 
people  in  America,  with  the  utmost  humility,  to  implore  you,  for  the  honor  of 
Almighty  God,  whose  pure  religion  our  enemies  are  undermining;  for  your 
glory,  which  can  be  advanced  only  by  rendering  your  subjects  happy,  and  keep- 
ing them  united ;  for  the  interests  of  your  family,  depending  on  an  adherence 
to  the  principles  that  enthroned  it ;  for  the  safety  and  welfare  of  your  kingdoms 
and  dominions,  threatened  with  almost  unavoidable  dangers  and  distresses,  that 
your  majesty,  as  the  loving  father  of  your  whole  people,  connected  by  the  same 
bonds  of  law,  loyalty,  faith,  and  blood,  though  dwelling  in  various  countries, 
will  not  suffer  the  transcendant  relation  formed  by  these  ties  to  be  further  vio- 
lated, in  uncertain  expectation  of  effects  that,  if  attained,  never  can  compensate 
for  the  calamities  through  which  they  must  be  gained. 

We,  therefore,  most  earnestly  beseech  your  majesty  that  your  royal  author- 
ity and  interposition  may  be  used  for  our  relief,  and  that  a  gracious  answer  may 
be  given  to  this  petition. 

That  your  majesty  may  enjoy  every  felicity  through  a  long  and  glorious 
reign,  over  loyal  and  happy  subjects,  and  that  your  descendants  may  inherit 
your  prosperity  and  dominions  till  time  shall  be  no  more,  is,  and  always  will 
be,  our  sincere  and  fervent  prayer. 


IV. 

A  DECLARATION,  BY  THE  SECOND  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS, 

SETTING   FORTH   THE   CAUSES   AND   NECESSITY 

OF  THE  PEOPLE  TAKING  UP  ARMS.1 

IF  it  was  possible  for  men,  who  exercise  their  reason,  to  believe  that  the 
Divine  Author  of  our  existence  intended  a  part  of  the  human  race  to  hold  an 
absolute  property  in,  and  an  unbounded  power  over,  others,  marked  out  by  his 
infinite  goodness  and  wisdom,  as  the  objects  of  a  legal  domination  never  right- 
fully resistible,  however  severe  and  oppressive,  the  inhabitants  of  these  colonies 
might  at  least  require  from  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  some  evidence  that 
this  dreadful  authority  over  them  has  been  granted  to  that  body.  But  a  rever- 
ence for  our  great  Creator,  principles  of  humanity,  and  the  dictates  of  common 
sense,  must  convince  all  those  who  reflect  upon  the  subject,  that  government  was 
instituted  to  promote  the  welfare  of  mankind,  and  ought  to  be  administered  for 
the  attainment  of  that  end.  The  Legislature  of  Great  Britain,  however,  stim- 
ulated by  an  inordinate  passion  for  a  power  not  only  unjustifiable,  but  which 
they  know  to  be  peculiarly  reprobated  by  the  very  constitution  of  that  kingdom, 
and  desperate  of  success  in  any  mode  of  contest  where  regard  should  be  had  to 
truth,  law,  or  right,  have,  at  length,  deserting  those,  attempted  to  effect  their 
cruel  and  impolitic  purpose  of  enslaving  these  colonies  by  violence,  and  have 
thereby  rendered  it  necessary  for  us  to  close  with  their  last  appeal  from  reason 
to  arms.  Yet,  however  blinded  that  assembly  may  be  by  their  intemperate 
rage  for  unlimited  domination,  so  to  slight  justice  and  the  opinion  of  mankind, 
we  esteem  ourselves  bound  by  obligations  of  respect  to  the  rest  -of  the  world  to 
make  known  the  justice  of  our  cause. 

Our  forefathers,  inhabitants  of  the  island  of  Great  Britain,  left  their  native 
land  to  seek  on  these  shores  a  residence  for  civil  and  religious  freedom.  At 
the  expense  of  their  blood,  at  the  hazard  of  their  fortunes,  without  the  least 
charge  to  their  country  from  which  they  removed,  by  unceasing  labor  and  an 
unconquerable  spirit,  they  effected  settlements  in  the  distant  and  inhospitable 
wilds  of  America,  then  filled  with  numerous  arid  warlike  nations  of  barbarians. 
Societies  or  governments  vested  with  perfect  Legislatures  were  formed  under 
charters  from  the  crown,  and  an  harmonious  intercourse  was  established  between 
the  colonies  and  the  kingdom  from  which  they  derived  their  origin.  The  mu- 
tual benefits  of  this  union  became,  in  a  short  time,  so  extraordinary  as  to  excite 
astonishment.  It  is  universally  confessed  that  the  amazing  increase  of  the 


1  Adopted  July  6,  1775. — See  Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  1,  p.  134. 


584  SUPPLEMENT. 

wealth,  strength,  and  navigation  of  the  realm  arose  from  this  source ;  and  the 
minister  who  so  wisely  and  successfully  directed  the  measures  of  Great  Britain 
in  the  late  war  publicly  declared,  that  these  colonies  enabled  her  to  triumph 
over  her  enemies.  Toward  the  close  of  that  war  it  pleased  our  sovereign  to 
make  a  change  in  his  councils.  From  that  fatal  moment  the  affairs  of  the  Brit- 
ish empire  began  to  fall  into  confusion,  and  gradually  sliding  from  the  summit 
of  glorious  prosperity,  to  which  they  had  been  advanced  by  the  virtues  and 
abilities  of  one  man,  are  at  length  distracted  by  the  convulsions  that  now  shake 
it  to  its  deepest  foundations.  The  new  ministry,  finding  the  brave  foes  of 
Britain,  though  frequently  defeated,  yet  still  contending,  took  up  the  unfor- 
tunate idea  of  granting  them  a  hasty  peace,  and  of  then  subduing  her  faithful 
friends. 

These  devoted  colonies  were  judged  to  be  in  such  a  state,  as  to  present  vic- 
tories without  bloodshed,  and  all  the  easy  emoluments  of  statuteable  plunder. 
The  uninterrupted  tenor  of  their  peaceable  and  respectful  behavior  from  the 
beginning  of  colonization — their  dutiful,  zealous,  and  useful  services  during  the 
war,  though  so  recently  and  amply  acknowledged  in  the  most  honorable  man- 
ner by  his  majesty,  by  the  late  king,  and  by  Parliament,  could  not  save  them 
from  the  meditated  innovations.  Parliament  was  influenced  to  adopt  the  per- 
nicious project,  and,  assuming  a  new  power  over  them,  have,  in  the  course  of 
eleven  years,  given  such  decisive  specimens  of  the  spirit  and  consequences  at- 
tending this  power,  as  to  leave  no  doubt  concerning  the  effects  of  acquiescence 
under  it.  They  have  undertaken  to  give  and  grant  our  money  without  our  con- 
sent, though  we  have  ever  exercised  an  exclusive  right  to  dispose  of  our  own 
property ;  statutes  have  been  passed  for  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  admiralty 
and  vice-admiralty  courts  beyond  their  ancient  limits ;  for  depriving  us  of  the 
accustomed  and  inestimable  privilege  of  trial  by  jury,  in  cases  affecting  both 
life  and  property ;  for  suspending  the  Legislature  of  one  of  the  colonies ;  for 
interdicting  all  commerce  with  the  capital  of  another ;  and  for  altering  funda- 
mentally the  form  of  government  established  by  charter,  and  secured  by  acts 
of  its  own  Legislature  solemnly  confirmed  by  the  crown ;  for  exempting  the 
"  murderers"  of  colonists  from  legal  trial,  and,  in  effect,  from  punishment;  for 
erecting  in  a  neighboring  province,  acquired  by  the  joint  arms  of  Great  Britain 
and  America,  a  despotism  dangerous  to  our  very  existence ;  and  for  quartering 
soldiers  upon  the  colonists  in  time  of  profound  peace.  It  has  also  been  resolved 
in  Parliament,  that  colonists  charged  with  committing  certain  offenses  shall  be 
transported  to  England  to  be  tried. 

But  why  should  we  enumerate  our  injuries  in  detail  ?  By  one  statute  it  is 
declared,  that  Parliament  can  "  of  right  make  laws  to  bind  us  in  all  cases  what- 
soever." What  is  to  defend  us  against  so  enormous,  so  unlimited,  a  power? 
Not  a  single  man  of  those  who  assume  it  is  chosen  by  us,  or  is  subject  to  our 
control  or  influence ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  are  all  of  them  exempt  from 
the  operation  of  such  laws,  and  an  American  revenue,  if  not  diverted  from  the 
ostensible  purposes  for  which  it  is  raised,  would  actually  lighten  their  own  bur- 
dens in  proportion  as  they  increase  ours.  We  saw  the  misery  to  which  such 


A  DECLARATION  BY  SECOND  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS.     585 

despotism  would  reduce  us.  We  for  ten  years  incessantly  and  ineffectually  be- 
sieged the  throne  as  supplicants :  we  reasoned,  we  remonstrated  with  Parlia- 
ment in  the  most  mild  and  decent  language. 

Administration,  sensible  that  we  should  regard  these  oppressive  measures  as 
freemen  ought  to  do,  sent  over  fleets  and  armies  to  enforce  them.  The  indig- 
nation of  the  Americans  was  roused,  it  is  true,  but  it  was  the  indignation  of  a 
virtuous,  loyal,  and  affectionate  people.  A  Congress  of  delegates  from  the 
united  colonies  was  assembled  at  Philadelphia  on  the  fifth  day  of  last  Septem- 
ber. We  resolved  again  to  offer  an  humble  and  dutiful  petition  to  the  king, 
and  also  addressed  our  fellow-subjects  of  Great  Britain.  We  have  pursued 
every  temperate,  every  respectful  measure ;  we  have  even  proceeded  to  break 
off  our  commercial  intercourse  with  our  fellow-subjects,  as  the  last  peaceable 
admonition,  that  our  attachment  to  no  nation  on  earth  should  supplant  our 
attachment  to  liberty.  This,  we  flattered  ourselves,  was  the  ultimate  step  of 
the  controversy ;  but  subsequent  events  have  shown  how  vain  was  the  hope  of 
finding  moderation  in  our  enemies. 

Several  threatening  expressions  against  the  colonies  were  inserted  in  his 
majesty's  speech ;  our  petition,  though  we  were  told  it  was  a  decent  one,  and 
that  his  majesty  had  been  pleased  to  receive  it  graciously,  and  to  promise  laying 
it  before  his  Parliament,  was  huddled  into  both  Houses  among  a  bundle  of 
American  papers,  and  there  neglected.  The  Lords  and  Commons,  in  their  ad- 
dress in  the  month  of  February,  said,  that  "a  rebellion  at  that  time  actually 
existed  within  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay ;  and  that  those  concerned  in 
it  had  been  countenanced  and  encouraged  by  unlawful  combinations  and  en- 
gagements, entered  into  by  his  majesty's  subjects  in  several  of  the  other  colo- 
nies ;  and  therefore  they  besought  his 'majesty  that  he  would  take  the  most 
effectual  measures  to  enforce  due  obedience  to  the  laws  and  authority  of  the 
supreme  Legislature."  Soon  after,  the  commercial  intercourse  of  the  whole 
colonies,  with  foreign  countries,  and  with  each  other,  was  cut  off  by  an  act  of 
Parliament :  by  another,  several  of  them  were  entirely  prohibited  from  the  fish- 
eries in  the  seas  near  their  coasts,  on  which  they  always  depended  for  their  sus- 
tenance ;  and  large  reinforcements  of  ships  and  troops  were  immediately  sent 
over  to  General  Gage. 

Fruitless  were  all  the  entreaties,  arguments,  and  eloquence  of  an  illustrious 
band  of  the  most  distinguished  peers  and  commoners,  who  nobly  and  stren- 
uously asserted  the  justice  of  our  cause,  to  stay,  or  even  to  mitigate  the  heed- 
less fury  with  which  these  accumulated  and  unexampled  outrages  were  hurried 
on.  Equally  fruitless  was  the  interference  of  the  city  of  London,  of  Bristol, 
and  many  other  respectable  towns  in  our  favor.  Parliament  adopted  an  insid- 
ious movement  calculated  to  divide  us,  to  establish  a  perpetual  auction  of  tax- 
ations where  colony  should  bid  against  colony,  all  of  them  uninformed  what 
ransom  would  redeem  their  lives,  and  thus  to  extort  from  us,  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  the  unknown  sums  that  should  be  sufficient  to  gratify,  if  possible  to 
gratify,  ministerial  rapacity,  with  the  miserable  indulgence  left  to  us  of  raising, 
in  our  own  mode,  the  prescribed  tribute.  What  terms  more  rigid  and  humiliat- 


586  SUPPLEMENT. 

ing  could  have  been  dictated  by  remorseless  victors  to  conquered  enemies  ?  In 
our  circumstances  to  accept  them,  would  be  to  deserve  them. 

Soon  after  the  intelligence  of  these  proceedings  arrived  on  this  continent, 
General  Gage,  who  in  the  course  of  the  last  year  had  taken  possession  of  the 
town  of  Boston,  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  still  occupied  it  as  a 
garrison,  on  the  nineteenth  day  of  April,  sent  out  from  that  place  a  large  de- 
tachment of  his  army,  who  made  an  unprovoked  assault  on  the  inhabitants  of 
the  said  province,  at  the  town  of  Lexington,  as  appears  by  the  affidavits  of  a 
great  number  of  persons,  some  of  whom  were  officers  and  soldiers  of  that  de- 
tachment, murdered  eight  of  the  inhabitants,  and  wounded  many  others.  From 
thence  the  troops  proceeded,  in  warlike  array,  to  the  town  of  Concord,  where 
they  set  upon  another  party  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  same  province,  killing  sev- 
eral and  wounding  more,  until  compelled  to  retreat  by  the  country  people  sud- 
denly assembled  to  repel  this  cruel  aggression.  Hostilities,  thus  commenced 
by  the  British  troops,  have  been  since  prosecuted  by  them  without  regard  to 
faith  or  reputation.  The  inhabitants  of  Boston  being  confined  within  that  town 
by  the  general,  their  governor,  and  having,  in  order  to  procure  their  dismission, 
entered  into  a  treaty  with  him,  it  was  stipulated  that  the  said  inhabitants,  hav- 
ing deposited  their  arms  with  their  own  magistrates,  should  have  liberty  to  de- 
part, taking  with  them  their  other  effects.  They  accordingly  delivered  up  their 
arms,  but  in  open  violation  of  honor,  in  defiance  of  the  obligation  of  treaties, 
which  even  savage  nations  esteem  sacred,  the  governor  ordered  the  arms  depos- 
ited as  aforesaid,  that  they  might  be  preserved  for  their  owners,  to  be  seized  by 
a  body  of  soldiers ;  detained  the  greatest  part  of  the  inhabitants  in  the  town, 
and  compelled  the  few  who  were  permitted  to  retire,  to  leave  their  most  valu- 
able effects  behind. 

By  this  perfidy  wives  are  separated  from  their  husbands,  children  from 
their  parents,  the  aged  and  the  sick  from  their  relations  and  friends,  who  wish 
to  attend  and  comfort  them ;  and  those  who  had  been  used  to  live  in  plenty  and 
even  elegance,  arc  reduced  to  deplorable  distress. 

The  general,  further  emulating  his  ministerial  masters,  by  a  proclamation 
bearing  date  on  the  twelfth  day  of  June,  after  venting  the  grossest  falsehoods 
and  calumnies  against  the  good  people  of  these  colonies,  proceeds  to  ' i  declare 
them  all,  either  by  name  or  description,  to  be  rebels  and  traitors,  to  supersede 
the  course  of  the  common  law,  and  instead  thereof  to  publish  and  order  the  use 
and  exercise  of  the  law  martial."  His  troops  have  butchered  our  countrymen, 
have  wantonly  burned  Charlestown,  besides  a  considerable  number  of  houses  in 
other  places ;  our  ships  and  vessels  are  seized ;  the  necessary  supplies  of  pro- 
visions are  intercepted ;  and  he  is  exerting  his  utmost  power  to  spread  destruc- 
tion and  devastation  around  him. 

We  have  received  certain  intelligence  that  General  Carleton,  the  governor 
of  Canada,  is  instigating  the  people  of  that  province  and  the  Indians  to  fall  upon 
us ;  and  we  have  but  too  much  reason  to  apprehend  that  schemes  have  been 
formed  to  excite  domestic  enemies  against  us.  In  brief,  a  part  of  these  colonies 
now  feel,  and  all  of  them  are  sure  of  feeling,  as  far  as  the  vengeance  of  admin- 


A   DECLARATION  BY   SECOND   CONTINENTAL   CONGRESS.      587 

istration  can  inflict  them,  the  complicated  calamities  of  fire,  sword,  and  famine. 
We  are  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  choosing  an  unconditional  submission  to 
the  tyranny  of  irritated  ministers,  or  resistance  by  force.  The  latter  is  our 
choice.  We  have  counted  the  cost  of  this  contest,  and  find  nothing  so  dreadful 
as  voluntary  slavery.  Honor,  justice,  and  humanity,  forbid  us  tamely  to  sur- 
render that  freedom  which  we  received  from  our  gallant  ancestors,  and  which 
our  innocent  posterity  have  a  right  to  receive  from  us.  We  can  not  endure  the 
infamy  and  guilt  of  resigning  succeeding  generations  to  that  wretchedness 
which  inevitably  awaits  them,  if  we  basely  entail  hereditary  bondage  upon 
them. 

Our  cause  is  just :  our  union  is  perfect :  our  internal  resources  are  great, 
and,  if  necessary,  foreign  assistance  is  undoubtedly  attainable.  We  gratefully 
acknowledge, -as  signal  instances  of  the  Divine  favor  toward  us,  that  His  Prov- 
idence would  not  permit  us  to  be  called  into  this  severe  controversy  until  we 
were  grown  up  to  our  present  strength,  had  been  previously  exercised  in  war- 
like operations,  and  possessed  of  the  means  of  defending  ourselves.  With  hearts 
fortified  with  these  animating  reflections,  we  most  solemnly,  before  God  and 
the  world,  declare,  that,  exerting  the  utmost  energy  of  those  powers  which  our 
beneficent  Creator  hath  graciously  bestowed  upon  us,  the  arms  we  have  been 
compelled  by  our  enemies  to  assume,  we  will,  in  defiance  of  every  hazard,  with 
unabating  firmness  and  perseverance,  employ  for  the  preservation  of  our  liber- 
ties ;  being  with  one  mind  resolved  to  die  freemen  rather  than  to  live  slaves. 

Lest  this  declaration  should  disquiet  the  minds  of  our  friends  and  fellow- 
subjects  in  any  part  of  the  empire,  we  assure  them  that  we  mean  not  to  dissolve 
that  union  which  has  long  and  so  happily  subsisted  between  us,  and  which  we 
sincerely  wish  to  see  restored.  Necessity  has  not  yet  driven  us  into  that  des- 
perate measure,  or  induced  us  to  excite  any  other  nation  to  war  against  them. 
We  have  not  raised  armies  with  ambitious  designs  of  separating  from  Great 
Britain,  and  establishing  independent  States.  We  fight  not  for  glory  nor  for 
conquest.  We  exhibit  to  mankind  the  remarkable  spectacle  of  a  people  attacked 
by  unprovoked  enemies,  without  any  imputation  or  even  suspicion  of  offense. 
They  boast  of  their  privileges  and  civilization,  and  yet  proffer  no  milder  condi- 
tions than  servitude  or  death. 

In  our  native  land,  in  defense  of  the  freedom  that  is  our  birthright,  and 
which  we  ever  enjoyed  till  the  late  violation  of  it — for  the  protection  of  our 
property,  acquired  solely  by  the  honest  industry  of  our  forefathers  and  our- 
selves, against  violence  actually  offered,  we  have  taken  up  arms.  We  shall  lay 
them  down  when  hostilities  shall  cease  on  the  part  of  the  aggressors,  and  all 
danger  of  their  being  renewed  shall  be  removed,  and  not  before. 

With  an  humble  confidence  in  the  mercies  of  the  supreme  and  impartial 
Judge  and  Ruler  of  the  universe,  we  most  devoutly  implore  His  divine  goodness 
to  protect  us  happily  through  this  great  conflict,  to  dispose  our  adversaries  to 
reconciliation  on  reasonable  terms,  and  thereby  to  relieve  the  empire  from  the 
calamities  of  civil  war. 


588  SUPPLEMENT. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  FIRST  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS. 

THE  following  are  the  names  of  the  members  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  who  assembled  at  Carpenter's  Hall,  Philadelphia,  on  the  5th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1774.  Many  of  these  were  members  of  the  second  Congress,  also, 
which  assembled  at  the  same  pltice  on  the  10th  of  May,  1775. 

New  Hampshire. — John  Sullivan,  Nathanial  Folsom. 

Massachusetts. — Thomas  Gushing,  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams,  Eobert  Treat  Paine. 

Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations. — Stephen  Hopkins,  Samuel  Ward. 

Connecticut. — Eliphalet  Dyer,  Roger  Sherman,  Silas  Deane. 

New  York. — James  Duane,  John  Jay,  Isaac  Low,  John  Alsop,  William  Floyd,  Philip  Livingston, 

Henry  Wisner. 

New  Jersey. — James  Kinsey,  Stephen  Crane,  "William  Livingston,  Richard  Smith,  John  De  Hart. 
Pennsylvania. — Joseph   Galloway,   John   Morton,    Charles   Humphreys,   Thomas   Mifflin,   Samuel 

Rhodes,  Edward  Biddle,  George  Ross,  John  Dickenson. 
Delaware. — Caesar  Rodney,  Thomas  M'Kean,  George  Read. 
Maryland. — Robert  Goldsborough,  Samuel  Chase,  Thomas  Johnson,  Matthew  Tilghman,  William 

Paca. 
Virginia. — Peyton  Randolph,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry,  Richard 

Bland,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Edmund  Pendleton. 
North  Carolina. — William  Hooper,  Joseph  Hughes,  Richard  Caswell. 
South  Carolina. — Henry  Middleton,  John  Rutledge,  Thomas  Lynch,  Christopher  Gadsden,  Edward 

Rutledge. 

The  several  sessions  of  the  Continental  Congress  were  commenced  as  fol- 
lows: September  5,  1774,  also  May  10,  1775,  at  Philadelphia;  December  20, 
1776,  at  Baltimore;  March  4,  1777,  at  Philadelphia;  September  27,  1777,  at 
Lancaster,  Pennsylvania;  September  30,  1777,  at  York,  Pennsylvania;  July 
2,  1778,  at  Philadelphia;  June  30,  1783,  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey;  Novem- 
ber 26,  1783,  at  Annapolis,  Maryland ;  November  1,  1784,  at  Trenton,  New 
Jersey ;  June  11,  1785,  at  New  York,  which,  from  that  time,  continued  to  be 
the  place  of  meeting  until  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 


V. 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 


THE  bold  Resolution  offered  in  the  Continental  Congress,  by  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  of  Virginia,  on  the  7th  of  June,  1776,  which  declared  the  American 
colonies  FREE  AND  INDEPENDENT  STATES,  was,  as  we  have  observed,1  debated 
for  three  days,  when  the  further  consideration  of  it  was  postponed  until  the 
first  of  July,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draw  up  an  accompanying 
Declaration.  On  the  day  specified,  the  motion  was  brought  up  in  the  commit- 
tee of  the  whole  House,  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Virginia  (father  of  the  late 
President  Harrison),  in  the  chair.  The  draft  of  a  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  reported  at  the  same  time,  and  for  three  consecutive  days,  it  was  debated 
by  paragraphs,  seriatim.  Many  alterations,  omissions,  and  amendments  were 
made.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  original  draft,  from  the  pen  of  Thomas 
Jefferson,  before  any  amendments  were  made  in  committee  of  the  whole.  The 
passages  omitted  by  Congress  are  printed  in  italics,  and  the  substitutions  are 
given  in  notes  at  the  bottom  of  the  page  :2 

1  Page  251. 

3  John  Adams,  in  his  autobiography,  gives  the  following  reasons  why  Mr.  Jefferson  was  chosen 
to  write  the  Declaration :   "  Mr.  Jefferson  had  been  now  about  a  year  a  member  of  Congress,  but 


590  SUPPLEMENT. 

A  Declaration  by  the  Representatives  of  the  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 
in  general  Congress  assembled  : 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary  for  one  people 
to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to 
assume,  among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal  station  to  which 
the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the 
opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which  impel 
them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident :  that  all  men  are  created  equal ; 
that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  inherent  and  inalienable1  rights  ; 
that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness ;  that,  to  secure 
these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed;  that,  whenever  any  form  of  government 
becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  to 
abolish  it,  and  to  institute  new  government,  laying  its  foundation  on  such  prin- 
ciples, and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most 
likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate,  that 
governments  long  established,  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient 

had  attended  his  duty  in  the  House  a  very  small  part  of  the  time,  and  when  there  had  never  spoken 
in  public.  During  the  whole  time  I  sat  \v  ith  him  in  Congress,  I  never  heard  him  utter  three  sen' 
tences  together. 

"  It  will  naturally  be  inquired  how  it  happened  that  he  was  appointed  on  a  committee  of  such 
importance.  There  were  more  reasons  than  one.  Mr.  Jefferson  had  the  reputation  of  a  masterly 
pen ;  he  had  been  chosen  a  delegate  in  Virginia  in  con^equt  nee  of  a  very  handsome  public  paper 
which  he  had  written  for  the  House  of  Burgesses,  which  had  given  him  the  character  of  a  tine 
writer.  Another  reason  was,  that  Mr.  Richard  Henry  Lee  was  not  beloved  by  the  most  of  his 
colleagues  from  Virginia,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  was  sent  up  to  rival  and  supplant  him.  This  could  be 
done  only  by  the  pen,  for  Mr.  Jefferson  could  stand  no  competition  with  him,  or  any  one  else,  in 
elocution  and  public  debate. 

"  The  committee  had  several  meetings,  in  which  were  proposed  the  articles  of  which  the  Decla- 
ration was  to  consist,  and  minutes  made  of  them.  The  committee  then  appointed  Mr.  Jefferson  and 
me  to  draw  them  up  in  form,  and  clothe  them  in  a  proper  dress.  The  sub-committee  met.  and  con- 
sidered the  minutes,  making  such  observations  on  them  as  then  occurred,  when  Mr.  Jefferson 
desired  me  to  take  them  to  my  lodgings  and  make  the  draft.  This  I  declined,  and  gave  several 
reasons  for  so  doing : 

"  1.  That  he  was  a  Virginian,  and  I  a  Massachusettensian.  2.  That  he  was  a  Southern  man. 
and  I  a  Northern  one.  3.  That  I  had  been  so  obnoxious  for  my  early  and  constant  zeal  in  pro- 
moting the  measure,  that  every  draft  of  mine  would  undergo  a  more  severe  scrutiny  and  criticism 
in  Congress  than  one  of  his  composition.  4.  And  lastly,  and  that  would  be  reason  enough,  if  there 
were  no  other,  I  had  a  great  opinion  of  the  elegance  of  his  pen,  and  none  at  all  of  my  own.  I 
therefore  insisted  that  no  hesitation  should  be  made  on  his  part.  He  accordingly  took  the  minutes, 
and  in  a  day  or  two  produced  to  me  his  draft." 

On  the  8th  of  July,  four  days  after  the  amended  Declaration  was  adopted,  Mr.  Jefferson  wrote 
the  following  letter,  and  sent  it,  with  the  original  draft  to  Mr.  Lee,  who  was  then  at  his  home  in 
Virginia,  with  his  sick  wife : 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  July  8, 1776. 

"  DEAR  SIR — For  news,  I  refer  you  to  your  brother,  who  writes  on  that  head.  I  inclose  you  a 
copy  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  as  agreed  to  by  the  House,  and  also  as  originally  framed ; 
you  will  judge  whether  it  is  the  better  or  the  worse  for  the  critics.  I  shall  return  to  Virginia  after 
the  llth  of  August.  I  wish  my  successor  may  be  certain  to  come  before  that  time;  in  that  case,  I 
hope  I  shall  see  you,  and  not  Wythe,  in  convention,  that  the  business  of  government,  which  is  of 
everlasting  concern,  may  receive  your  aid.  Adieu,  and  believe  me  to  be  your  friend  and  servant, 

"THOMAS  JEFFERSON." 

"To  RICHARD  HENBY  LEE,  ESQ." 
1  Certain  unalienable 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE.  591 

causes.  And,  accordingly,  all  experience  hath  shown  that  mankind  are  more 
disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by  abolish- 
ing the  forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed.  But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses 
and  usurpations,  begun  at  a  distinguished  period,  and  pursuing  invariably  the 
same  object,  evinces  a  design  to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is 
their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off  such  government,  and  to  provide  new 
guards  for  their  future  security.  Such  has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  these 
colonies  ;  and  such  is  now  the  necessity  which  constrains  them  to  expunge^  their 
former  systems  of  government.  The  history  of  the  present  King  of  Great 
Britain  is  a  history  of  unremitting1'  injuries  and  usurpations ;  among  which 
appears  no  solitary  fact  to  contradict  tin  uniform  tenor  of  the  rest ;  but  all 
have,*  in  direct  object,  the  establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  these 
States.  To  prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world ;  for  the  truth 
of  which  we  pledge  a  faith  yet  unsullied  by  falsehood. 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and  necessary  for  the 
public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate  and  pressing 
importance,  unless  suspended  in  their  operation  till  his  assent  should  be 
obtained ;  and  when  so  suspended,  he  has  neglected  utterly*  to  attend  to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation  of  large  districts 
of  people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in 
the  Legislature ;  a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual,  uncomfortable, 
and  distant  from  the  repository  of  their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
fatiguing  them  into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  Houses  repeatedly  and  continually,  for 
opposing  with  manly  firmness  his  invasions  of  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions,  to  cause  others  to 
be  elected,  whereby  the  legislative  powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have 
returned  to  the  people  at  large  for  their  exercise,  the  State  remaining,  in  the 
mean  time,  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasion  from  without  and  convulsions 
within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  States ;  for  that  pur- 
pose obstructing  the  laws  for  naturalization  of  foreigners  ;  refusing  to  pass 
others  to  encourage  their  migrations  hither ;  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new 
appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  suffered  the  administration  of  justice  totally  to  cease  in  some  of 
these  States*  refusing  his  assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  our  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone,  for  the  tenure  of  their 
offices  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices  by  a  self-assumed  power,  and 
sent  hither  swarms  of  officers  to  harass  our  people  and  eat  out  their  substance. 

1  Alter  a  Repeated  3  Having  4  Utterly  neglected 

5  He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by 


592  SUPPLEMENT. 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of  peace,  standing  armies  and  ships  of 
war,  without  the  consent  of  our  Legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of,  and  superior  to,  the 
civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction  foreign  to  our 
constitutions,  and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws ;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts 
of  pretended  legislation : 

Tor  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us ; 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment  for  any  murders 
which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of  these  States ; 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world ; 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent ; 

For  depriving  us1  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury; 

For  transporting  us  beyond  the  seas  to  be  tried  for  pretended  offenses ; 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighboring  province, 
establishing  therein  an  arbitrary  government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so 
as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the  same 
absolute  rule  into  these  States  ;2 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable  laws,  and  alter- 
ing fundamentally  the  forms  of  our  governments ; 

For  suspending  our  own  Legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves  invested 
with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  withdrawing  his  governors,  and3  de- 
claring us  out  of  his  allegiance  and  protection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burned  our  towns,  and  de- 
stroyed the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mercenaries  to  com- 
plete the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny,  already  begun  with  circum- 
stances of  cruelty  and  perfidy4  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

He  has  endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers  the  merciless 
Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule  of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction 
of  all  ages,  sexes,  and  conditions  of  existence  ;  he  has  excited  treasonable  in- 
surrections of  our  fellow-citizens  with  the  allurements  of  forfeiture  and 
confiscation  of  our  property. 

He  has  constrained  others*  taken  captive  on  the  high  seas,  to  bear  arms 
against  their  country,  to  become  the  executioners  of  their  friends  and  brethren, 
or  to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  waged  cruel  war  against  human  nature  itself,  violating  its  most 
sacred  rights  of  life  and  liberty  in  the  persons  of  a  distant  people,  who 
never  offended  him,  captivating  and  carrying  them  into  slavery  in  another 
hemisphere,  or  to  incur  miserable  death  in  their  transportation  thither. 
This  piratical  warfare,  the  opprobrium  of  infidel  powers,  is  the  warfare  of 
the  CHRISTIAN  King  of  Great  Britain.  Determined  to  keep  open  a  market 

1  In  many  cases  2  Colonies.  s  By 

4  Scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and  totally  6  Our  fellow-citizens 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE.  593 

where  MEN  should  be  bought  and  sold,  he  has  prostituted  his  negative  for 
suppressing  every  legislative  attempt  to  prohibit  or  to  restrain  this  execrable 
commerce.  And  that  this  assemblage  of  horrors  might  want  no  fact  oj 
distinguished  dye,  he  is  now  exciting  those  very  people  to  rise  in  arms 
among  us,  and  to  purchase  that  liberty  of  which  he  has  deprived  them,  by 
murdering  the  people  upon  whom  he  obtruded  them :  thus  paying  off  former 
crimes  committed  against  the  LIBERTIES  of  one  people  ivith  crimes  which  he 
urges  them  to  commit  against  the  LIVES  of  another.* 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  we  have  petitioned  for  redress  in  the 
most  humble  terms :  our  repeated  petitions  have  been  answered  only  by  re- 
peated injury.  A  prince  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which 
may  define  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  people  who  mean  to  be  free.1 
Future  ages  will  scarce  believe  that  the  hardiness  of  one  man  adventured, 
within  the  short  compass  of  twelve  years  only,  to  build  a  foundation,  so 
broad  and  undisguised,  for  tyranny  over  a  people  fostered  and  fixed  in 
principles  of  freedom. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attentions  to  our  British  brethren.  We  have 
warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts  by  their  Legislature  to  extend  «2 
jurisdiction  over  these  our  States.3  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  circum- 
stances of  our  emigration  and  settlement  here,  no  one  of  which  could  warrant 
so  strange  a  pretension  ;  that  these  were  effected  at  the  expense  of  our  own 
blood  and  treasure,  unassisted  by  the  wealth  or  the  strength  of  Great  Brit- 
ain ;  that,  in  constituting,  indeed,  our  several  forms  of  government,  ive  had 
adopted  one  common  king,  thereby  laying  a  foundation  for  perpetual  league 
and  amity  with  them :  but  that  submission  to  their  Parliament  was  no  part 
of  our '  Constitution,  nor  ever  in  idea,  if  history  may  be  credited ;  and  we4 
appealed  to  their  native  justice  and  magnanimity,  as  well  as  to5  the  ties  of  our 
common  kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which  were  likely  to0  interrupt 
our  connection  and  correspondence.  They,  too,  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice 
of  justice  and  consanguinity ;  and  when  occasions  have  been  given  them,  by 
the  regular  course  of  their  laws,  of  removing  from  their  councils  the  dis- 
turbers of  our  harmony,  they  have,  by  their  free  election,  re-established  them 
in  power.  At  this  very  time,  too,  they  are  permitting  their  chief  magis- 
trate to  send  over,  not  only  soldiers  of  our  common  blood,  but  [Scotch^  and] 
foreign  mercenaries  to  invade  and  destroy  us.  These  facts  have  given 

*  It  has  been  asserted  that  this  paragraph  was  expunged  because  it  was  not  palatable  to  those 
delegates  who  were  slaveholders,  and  that  it  was  stricken  out  lest  it  should  cause  them  to  cast  a 
negative  vote  on  the  question.  There  is  no  proof  that  such  selfish  motives  actuated  any  member 
of  that  assembly.  It  was  a  sacred  regard  for  truth  which  caused  it  to  be  stricken  out.  No  such 
charge  as  the  paragraph  contained  could  justly  be  made  against  George  III.,  then  under  arraign- 
ment. The  slave-trade  was  begun  and  carried  on  long  before  the  reign  of  any  of  his  house,  and  it 
is  not  known  that  he  ever  gave  his  assent  to  any  thing  relating  to  slavery,  except  to  abolish  it,  and 
to  declare  the  trade  a  piracy.  By  a  resolution  offered  by  Charles  F.  Mercer,  of  Virginia,  and 
adopted  by  Congress  in  1817,  the  slave-trade  was  declared  "a  piracy."  Mr.  Jefferson  was  the  first 
American  statesman,  and  probably  the  first  writer  of  modern  times,  who  denounced  that  infamous 
traffic  as  "  a  piratical  warfare." — See  Life  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  i.,  176. 

1  Free  people  2  An  unwarrantable  8  Us 

4  Have  6  And  we  have  conjured  them  by  6  Would  inevitably 

f  Dr.  "Witherspoon,  who  was  a  Scotchman  by  birth,  moved  the  striking  out  of  the  word  Scotch, 

37 


594  SUPPLEMENT. 

the  last  stab  to  agonizing  affection,  and  manly  spirit  bids  us  to  renounce 
forever  these  unfeeling  brethren.  We  must  endeavor  to  forget  our  former 
love  for  them  ;  we  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in  the  necessity  which  denounces 
our  separation,  and  hold  them  as  we  hold  the  rest  of  mankind,  enemies  in  war. 
in  peace,  friends. 

We  might  have  been  a  free  and  great  people  together  ;  but  a  communi- 
cation of  grandeur  and  of  freedom,  it  seems,  is  below  their  dignity.  Be  it 
so,  since  they  will  have  it.  The  road  to  happiness  and  to  glory  is  open  to 
us,  too  ;  we  will  climb  it  apart  from  them,  and  acquiesce  in  the  necessity 
which  denounces  our  eternal  separation. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  gen- 
eral Congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for  the 
rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  good 
people  of  these  States,1  reject  and  renounce  all  allegiance  and  subjection  to 
the  kings  of  Great  Britain,  and  all  others  who  may  hereafter  claim  by, 
through,  or  under  them ;  we  utterly  dissolve  all  political  connection  which 
may  heretofore  have  subsisted  between  us  and  the  Parliament  or  people  of 
Great  Britain  ;  and,  finally,  we  do  assert  the  colonies  to  be  free  and  inde- 
pendent States;  and  that,  as  free  and  independent  States,  they  have  full 
power  to  levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  commerce,  and 
to  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  independent  States  may  of  right  do.  And 
for  the  support  of  this  Declaration,  wo  mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our  lives, 
our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor. 

Mr.  Lee's  resolution,  declaring  the  colonies  "  free  and  independent  States," 
was  adopted  on  the  2d  of  July,  and  that  day,  rather  than  the  4th,  should  be 
celebrated  as  our  national  anniversary.  It  was  only  the  form  of  the  Declara- 
tion, which  accompanied  the  resolution,  that  was  adopted  on  the  latter  day. 

The  debates  on  the  question  of  the  adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence were  long  and  animated,  for  there  was  very  little  unanimity  in  feeling 
when  they  began  in  June.  Richard  Henry  Lee,  the  Adamses,  of  Massachu- 
setts, Dr.  Witherspoon,  of  New  Jersey,  and  Edward  Rutledge,  of  South  Car- 
olina, were  the  chief  speakers  in  favor  of  the  measure ;  and  John  Dickenson, 
of  Pennsylvania,  against  it.  Although  it  was  evident,  from  the  first  introduc- 
tion of  the  resolution,  that  a  majority  of  the  colonies  would  vote  for  it,  its 
friends  were  fearful  that  a  unanimous  vote  could  not  be  obtained,  inasmuch  as 
two  of  the  Assemblies  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  had  refused  to  sanction 
the  measure,  and  those  of  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  and  New  York,  were  silent. 
Anxiously  did  the  friends  of  the  measure  endeavor  to  win  the  wavering,  and  at 
length  they  were  successful.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  a  unanimous  vote  of 
the  thirteen  colonies  was  given  in  favor  of  the  great  Declaration.2  The  record 


1  Colonies.     See  concluding  paragraph  of  the  Declaration,  page  601. 

2  On  the  9th  of  September,  1776,  Congress  resolved,  "That  in  all  continental  commissions,  and 
other  instruments,  where,  heretofore,  the  words  "  United  Colonies"  have  been  used,  the  style  be 
altered,  for  the  future,  to  the  "United  States."     From  that  day,  the  word  "Colony"  is  not  known 
in  our  history. 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE.  595 

of  the  event  was  made  in  the  following  plain  manner,  in  the  journal  of  Congress 
for  that  day  i1 

"Agreeably  to  the  order  of  the  day,  the  Congress  resolved  itself  into  a 
committee  of  the  whole,  to  take  into  their  further  consideration  the  Declaration  ; 
and,  after  some  time,  the  president  resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Harrison 
reported  that  the  committee  have  agreed  to  a  Declaration,  which  they  desired 
him  to  report.  The  Declaration  being  read,  was  agreed  to  as  follows :" 

A    DECLARATION    BY    THE     REPRESENTATIVES    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES    OF 
AMERICA,    IN    CONGRESS    ASSEMBLED. 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary  for  one  people 
to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to 
assume,  among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal  station,  to  which 
the  laws  of  nature,  and  of  nature's  God  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the 
opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which  impel 
them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident — that  all  men  are  created  equal ; 
that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights ;  that 
among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That,  to  secure 
these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed ;  that,  whenever  any  form  of  government 
becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  abolish 
it,  and  to  institute  a  new  government,  laying  its  foundations  on  such  principles, 
and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely  to 
effect  their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that  govern- 
ments long  established  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes ; 
and,  accordingly,  all  experience  hath  shown  that  mankind  are  more  disposed  to 
suffer,  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by  abolishing  the 
forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed.  But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and 
usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object,  evinces  a  design  to  reduce 
them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off 
such  a  government,  and  to  provide  new  guards  for  their  future  security.  Such 
has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  these  colonies,  and  such  is  now  the  necessity 
which  constrains  them  to  alter  their  former  systems  of  government.  The 
history  of  the  present  King  of  Great  Britain,  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries 
and  usurpations,  all  having  in  direct  object  the  establishment  of  an  absolute 
tyranny  over  these  States.  To  prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid 
world. 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and  necessary  for  the 
public  good.2 

1  The  great  importance  of  the  event  does  not  seem  to  have  been  realized  even  by  many  men  in 
public  life.     Anderson,  in  his  Constitutional  Gazette,  announced  the  fact  thus,  as  a  mere  on  dit,  with- 
out comment  or  further  reference  to  the  subject :   "  On   Tuesday  last,  the  Continental  Congress 
declared  the  United  Colonies  free  and  independent  States." 

2  The  colonial  assemblies  from  time  to  time  made  enactments  touching  their  commercial  opera- 
tions, the  emission  of  a  colonial  currency,  and  concerning  representatives  in  the  imperial. parliament, 


596  SUPPLEMENT. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate  and  pressing  im- 
portance, unless  suspended  in  their  operations  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained  ; 
and,  when  so  suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  .to  attend  to  them.1 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation  of  large  districts 
of  people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in  the 
Legislature — a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only.2 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual,  uncomfortable, 
and  distant  from  the  repository  of  their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
fatiguing  them  into  compliance  with  his  measures.3 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly,  for  opposing,  with  manly 
firmness,  his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the  people.4 


but  the  assent  of  the  sovereign  to  these  laws  was  withheld.  After  the  Stamp  Act  excitements 
[page  214],  Secretary  Conway  informed  the  Americans  that  the  tumults  should  be  overlooked,  pro- 
vided the  Assemblies  would  make  provision  for  full  compensation  for  all  public  property  which  had 
been  destroyed.  In  complying  with  this  demand,  the  Assembly  of  Massachusetts  thought  it  would 
be  "wholesome  and  necessary  for  the  public  good,"  to  grant  free  pardon  to  all  who  had  been 
engaged  in  the  disturbances,  and  passed  an  act  accordingly.  It  would  have  produced  quiet  and 
good  feeling,  but  the  royal  assent  was  refused. 

1  In  1764,  the  Assembly  of  New  York  took  measures  to  conciliate  the  Six  NATIONS,  and  other 
Indian  tribes.     The  motives  of  the  Assembly  were  misconstrued,  representations  having  been  made 
to  the  king  that  the  colonies  wished  to  make  allies  of  the  Indians,  so  as  to  increase  their  physical 
power  and  proportionate  independence  of  the  British  crown.     The  monarch  sent  instructions  to  all 
his  governors  to  desist  from  such  alliances,  or  to  suspend  their  operations  until  his  assent  should  be 
given.     He  then  "  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them."     The  Massachusetts  Assembly  passed  a  law 
in  1770,  for  taxing  officers  of  the  British  government  in  that  colony.     The  governor  was  ordered  to 
withhold  his  assent  to  such  tax-bill.      This  was  in  violation  of  the  colonial  charter,  and  the  people 
justly  complained.     The  Assembly  was  prorogued  from  time  to  time,  and  laws  of  great  importance 
were  "  utterly  neglected." 

2  A  law  was  passed  by  Parliament  in  the  spring  of  1774,  by  which  the  popular  representative 
system  in  the  province  of  Quebec  (Canada)  was  annulled,  and  officers  appointed  by  the  crown, 
had  all  power  as  legislators,  except  that  of  levying  taxes.     The  Canadians  being  Roman  Catholics, 
were  easily  pacified  under  the  new  order  of  things,  by  having  their  religious  system  declared  the 
established  religion  of  the  province.     But  "large  districts  of  people"  bordering  on  Nova  Scotia,  felt 
this  deprivation  to  bo  a  great  grievance.     Their  humble  petitions  concerning  commercial  regulations 
were  unheeded,  because  they  remonstrated  against  the  new  order  of  things,  and  Governor  Carleton 
[page  240]  plainly  told  them  that  they  must  cease  their  clamor  about  representatives,  before  they 
should  have  any  new  commercial  laws.     A  bill  for  "better  regulating  the  government  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  passed  that  year,  provided  for  the  abridgment  of  the  privileges  of  pop- 
ular elections,  to  take  the  government  out  of  the  hands  of  the  people,  and  to  vest  the  nomination 
of  judges,  magistrates,  and  even  sheriffs,  in  the  crown.     "When  thus  deprived  of  "  free  representation 
in  the  Legislature,"  and  the  governor  refused  to  issue  warrants  for  the  election  of  members  of  the 
Assembly,  they  called  a  convention  of  the  freemen,  and  asked  for  the  passage  of  "  laws  for  the 
accommodation  of  large  districts  of  people."     These  requests  were  disregarded,  and  they  were  told 
that  no  laws  should  be  passed  until  they  should  quietly  "  relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in 
the  Legislature — a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only." 

3  In  consequence  of  the  destruction  of  tea  in  Boston  Harbor  [page  225]  in  1773,  the  inhabitants 
of  that  town  became  the  special  objects  of  royal  displeasure.     The  Boston  Port  Bill  [page  225]  was 
passed  as  a  punishment.     The  custom-house,  courts,  and  other  public  operations  were  removed  to 
Salem,  while  the  public  records  were  kept  in  Boston,  and  so  well  guarded  by  two  regiments  of 
soldiers,  that  the  patriotic  members  of  the  colonial  Assembly  could  not  have  referred  to  them. 
Although  compelled  to  meet  at  a  place  [page  225]  "  distant  from  the  repository  of  the  public 
records,"  and  in  a  place  extremely  "uncomfortable,"  they  were  not  fatigued  into  compliance,  but  in 
spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  governor,  they  elected  delegates  to  a  general  Congress  [page  227],  and 
adopted  other  measures  for  the  public  good. 

4  "When  the  British  government  became  informed  of  the  fact  that  the  Assembly  of  Massachu- 
setts, in  1768,  had  issued  a  circular  [page  219]  to  other  Assemblies,  inviting  their  co-operation  in 
asserting  the  principle  that  Great  Britain  had  no  right  to  tax  the  colonists  without  their  consent, 
Lord  Hillsborough,  the  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  was  directed  to  order  the  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts to  require  the  Assembly  of  that  province  to  rescind  its  obnoxious  resolutions  expressed  in 
the  circular.     In  case  of  their  refusal  to  do  so,  the  governor  was  ordered  to  dissolve  them  imme- 
diately.    Other  Assemblies  were  warned  not  to  imitate  that  of  Massachusetts,  and  when  they 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE.  597 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions,  to  cause  others  to 
be  elected,  whereby  the  legislative  powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have 
returned  to  the  people  at  large  for  their  exercise ;  the  State  remaining,  in  the 
mean  time,  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasions  from  without,  and  convul- 
sions from  within.1 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  States  ;  for  that  pur- 
pose obstructing  the  laws  for  the  naturalization  of  foreigners ;  refusing  to  pass 
others  to  encourage  their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new 
appropriations  of  lands.2 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  refusing  his  assent  to 
laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers.3 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone  for  the  tenure  of  their 
offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries.4 


refused  to  accede  to  the  wishes  of  the  king,  as  expressed  by  the  several  royal  governors,  they  were 
repeatedly  dissolved.  The  Assemblies  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  were  dissolved  for  denying 
the  right  of  the  king  to  tax  the  colonies,  or  to  remove  offenders  out  of  the  country,  for  trial.  [See 
page  221.]  In  1774,  when  the  several  Assemblies  entertained  the  proposition  to  elect  delegates  to 
a  general  Congress  [page  227],  nearly  all  of  them  were  dissolved. 

1  When  the  Assembly  of  New  York,  in  1760,  refused  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  the 
Mutiny  Act  [page  218],  its  legislative  functions  were  suspended  by  royal  authority  [page  218], 
and  for  several  months  the  State  remained  "  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasion  from  without, 
and  convulsions  within."     The  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  after  its  dissolution  in  July,   1768, 
was  not  permitted  to  meet  again  until  the  last  Wednesday  of  May,  1769,  and  then  they  found  the 
place  of  meeting  surrounded  by  a  military  guard,  with  cannons  pointed  directly  at  their  place  of 
meeting.     They  refused  to  act  under  such  tyrannical  restraint,  and  their  legislative  powers  "  returned 
to  the  people." 

2  Secret  agents  were  sent  to  America  soon  after  the  accession  of  George  the  Third  to  the  throne 
of  England  [page  212],  to  spy  out  the  condition  of  the  colonists.     A  large  influx  of  liberty -loving 
German  emigrants  was  observed,  and  the  king  was  advised  to  discourage  these  immigrations. 
Obstacles  in  the  way  of  procuring  lands,  arid  otherwise,  were  put  in  the  way  of  all  emigrants,  except 
from  England,  and  the  tendency  of  French  Roman  Catholics  to  settle  in  Maryland,  was  also  dis- 
couraged.    The  British  government  was  jealous  of  the  increasing  power  of  the  colonies,  and  the 
danger  of  having  that  power  controlled  by  democratic  ideas,  caused  the  employment  of  restrictive 
measures.     The  easy  conditions  upon  which  actual  settlers  might  obtain  lands  on  the  western  fron- 
tier, after  the  peace  of  1763  [page  211],  were  so  changed,  that  toward  the  dawning  of  the  Revolur 
tion,  the  vast  solitudes  west  of  the  Alleghanies  were  seldom  penetrated  by  any  but  the  hunter  from 
the  sea-board  provinces.     When  the  War  for  Independence  broke  out,  immigration  had  almost 
ceased.     The  king  conjectured  wisely,  for  almost  the  entire  German  population  in  the  colonies,  were 
on  the  side  of  the  patriots. 

3  By  an  Act  of  Parliament  in  1774,  the  judiciary  was  taken  from  the  people  of  Massachusetts. 
The  judges  were  appointed  by  the  king,  were  dependent  on  him  for  their  salaries,  and  were  subject 
to  his  will.     Their  salaries  were  paid  from  moneys  drawn  from  tire  people  by  the  commissioners  of 
customs  [page  22u],  in  the  form  of  duties.     The  same  act  deprived  them,  in  most  cases,  of  the 
benefit  of  trial  by  jury;  and  the  "administration  of  justice"  was  effectually  obstructed.     The  rights 
for  which  Englishmen  so  manfully  contended  in  1688  [note  7,  page  113],  were  trampled  under  foot. 
Similar  grievances  concerning  the  courts  of  law,  existed  in  other  colonies,  and  throughout  the 
Anglo-American  [note  1,  page  195]  domain  there  was  but  a  semblance  of  justice  left.      The  people 
met  in  conventions,  when  Assemblies  were  dissolved,  and  endeavored  to  establish  "judiciary- 
powers,"  but  in  vain,  and  were  finally  driven  to  rebellion. 

4  As  we  have  observed  in  note'  2,  page  596,  judges  were  made  independent  of  the  people. 
Royal  governors  were  placed  in  the  same   position.     Instead  of  checking  their  tendency  to  petty 
tyranny,  by  having  them  depend  upon  the  colonial  Assemblies  for  their  salaries,  these  were  paid 
out  of  the  national  treasury.     Independent  of  the  people,  they  had  no  sympathies  with  the  people, 
and  thus  became  fit  instruments  of  oppression,  and  ready  at  all  times  to  do  the  bidding  of  the  king 
and  his  ministers.     The  colonial  Assemblies  protested  against  the  measure,  and  out  of  the  excite- 
ment which  it  produced,  grew  that  power  of  the  Revolution,  the  committees  of  correspondence 
[note  2,  page  224].     When,   in   1774,   Chief  Justice  Oliver,  of  Massachusetts,  declared  it  to  be 
his  intention  to  receive  his  salary  from  the  crown,  the  Assembly  proceeded  to  impeach  him,  and 
petitioned  the  governor  for  his  removal.     The  governor  refused  compliance,  and  great  irritation 
ensued. 


598  SUPPLEMENT. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither  swarms  of  officers 
to  harass  our  people  and  eat  out  their  substance.1 

He  has  kept  among  us  in  times  of  peace,  standing  armies,  without  the  con- 
sent of  our  Legislatures.2 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of,  and  superior  to,  the 
civil  power.3 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction  foreign  to  our 
constitutions,  and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws ;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts 
of  pretended  legislation  :4 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us;5 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment  for  any  murders 
which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of  these  States  ;6 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world  ;7 


1  After  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  stamp  distributors  were  appointed  in  every  considerable 
town.     In  1766  and  1767,  acts  for  the  collection  of  duties  created  "  swarms  of  officers,"  all  of  whom 
received  high  salaries;  and  when,  in  1768,  admiralty  and  vice-admiralty  courts  were  established 
on  a  new  basis,  an  increase  in  the  number  of  officers  was  made.     The  high  salaries  and  extensive 
perquisites  of  all  of  these,  were  paid  with  the  people's  money,  and  thus  "  swarms  of  officers"  "  eat 
out  their  substance." 

2  After  the  treaty  of  peace  with  France,  in  1763    [page  211],  Great  Britain  left  quite  a  large 
number  of  troops  in  America,  and  required  the  colonists  to  contribute  to  their  support.     There  was 
no  use  for  this  standing  army,  except  to  repress  the  growing  spirit  of  democracy  among  the 
colonists,  and  to  enforce  compliance  with  taxation  laws.     The  presence  of  troops  was  always  a 
cause  of  complaint,  and  when,  finally,  the  colonists  boldly  opposed  the  unjust  measures  of  the 
British  government,  armies  were  sent  hither  to  awe  the  people  into  submission.     It  was  one  of 
those  "standing  armies,"  kept  here  "  without  the  consent  of  the  Legislature,"  against  which  the 
patriots  at  Lexington,  and  Concord  [page  233],  and  Bunker  Hill  [page  235],  so  manfully  battled  in 
1775. 

3  General  Gage,  commander-in-chief  of  the  British  forces  in  America,  was  appointed  governor 
of  Massachusetts,  in  1774;  and  to  put  the  measures  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill  [page  225],  into  execu- 
tion, he  encamped  several  regiments  of  soldiers  upon  Boston  Common.     The  militan^  there,  and 
also  in  New  York,  was  made  independent  of,  and  superior  to,  the  civil  power,  and  this,  too,  in  a 
time  of  peace,  before  the  minute  men  [page  229]  were  organized. 

4  The  establishment  of  a  Board  of  Trade,  to  act  independent  of  colonial  legislation  through  its 
creatures  (resident  commissioners  of  customs)  in  the  enforcement  of  revenue  laws,  was  altogether 
foreign  to  the  constitution  of  any  of  the  colonies,  and  produced  great  indignation.     The  establish- 
ment of  this  power,  and  the  remodelling  of  the  admiralty  courts,  so  as  to  exclude  trial  by  jury 
therein,  in  most  cases,  rendered  the  government  fully  obnoxious  to  the  charge  in  the  text.     The 
people  felt  their  degradation  under  such  petty  tyranny,  and  resolved  to  spurn  it.     It  was  effectually 
done  in  Boston,  as  we  have  seen  [page  220],  and  the  government,  after  all  its  bluster,  was  obliged 
to  recede.     In  1774,  the  members  of  the  council  of  Massachusetts  (answering  to  our  Senate)  were, 
by  a  parliamentary  enactment,  chosen  by  the  king,  to  hold  the  office  during  his  pleasure.     Almost 
unlimited  power  was  also  given  to  the  governor,  and  the  people  were  indeed  subjected  to  "a  juris- 
diction foreign  to  their  constitution,"  by  these  creatures  of  royalty. 

5  In  1774  seven  hundred  troops  were  landed  in  Boston,  under  cover  of  the  cannons  of  British 
armed  ships  in  the  harbor ;  and  early  the  following  year,  Parliament  voted  ten  thousand  men  for 
the  American  service,  for  it  saw  the  wave  of  rebellion  rising  high  under  the  gale  of  indignation 
which  unrighteous  acts  had  spread  over  the  land.     The  tragedies  at  Lexington  and  Concord  soon 
followed,  and  at  Bunker  Hill  the  War  for  Independence  was  opened  in  earnest. 

6  In  1768,  two  citizens  of  Annapolis,  in  Maryland,  were  murdered  by  some  marines  belonging 
to  a  British  armed  ship.     The  trial  was  a  mockery  of  justice,  and  in  the  face  of  clear  evidence 
against  them,  they  were  acquitted.     In  the  difficulties  with  the  Regulators  [page  223]  in  North 
Carolina,  in  1771,  some  of  the  soldiers  who  had  shot  down  citizens,  when  standing  up  in  defense  of 
their  rights,  were  tried  for  murder  and  acquitted,  while  Governor  Tryon  mercilessly  hung  six  pris- 
oners, who  were  certainly  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  laws  of  war,  if  his  own  soldiers  were. 

7  The  navigation  laws  [note  3,  page  177]  were  always  oppressive  in  character;  and  in  1764, 
the  British  naval  commanders  having  been  clothed  with  the  authority  of  custom-house  officers, 
completely  broke  up  a  profitable  trade  which  the  colonists  had  long  enjoyed  with  the  Spanish  and 
French  West  Indies,  notwithstanding  it  was  in  violation  of  the  old  Navigation  Act  of  1660  [note  4, 
page  109],  which  had  been  almost  ineffectual.      Finally,  Lord  North  concluded  to  punish  the 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE.  599 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent  ;x 
For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury  ;2 
For  transporting  us  beyond  seas,  to  be  tried  for  pretended  offenses  ;3 
For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighboring  province, 
establishing  therein  an  arbitrary  government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so 
as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the  same 
absolute  rule  into  these  colonies  ;4 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable  laws,  and  alter- 
ing, fundamentally,  the  forms  of  our  governments;5 

For  suspending  our  own  Legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves  invested 
with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever.8 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us  out  of  his  protection, 
and  waging  war  against  us.7 


refractory  colonists  of  New  England,  by  crippling  their  commerce  [page  231]  with  Great  Britain, 
Ireland,  and  the  West  Indies.  Fishing  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  was  also  prohibited,  and 
thus,  as  far  as  parliamentary  enactments  could  accomplish  it,  their  "trade  with  all  parts  of  the 
world"  was  cut  off. 

1  In  addition  to  the  revenue  taxes  imposed  from  time  to  time,  and  attempted  to  be  collected  by 
means  of  writs  of  assistance  [page  212],  the  Stamp  Act  [page  213]  was  passed,  and  duties  upon 
paper,  painters'  colors,  glass,  tea,  etc.,  were  levied.    This  was  the  great  bone  of  contention  between 
the  colonists  and  the  imperial  government.      It  was  contention,  on  the  one  hand,  for  the  great  po- 
litical truth,  that  taxation  and  representation  are  inseparable,  and  a  lust  for  power,  and  the  means  for 
replenishing  an  exhausted  treasury,  on  the  other.     The  climax  of  the  contention  was  the  Revolu- 
tion. 

2  This  was  especially  the  case,  when  commissioners  of  customs  were  concerned  in  the  suit. 
After  these  functionaries  were  driven  from  Boston  in  1768  [page  220],  an  act  was  passed  which 
placed  violations  of  the  revenue  laws  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  admiralty  courts,  where  the  of- 
fenders were  tried  by  a  creature  of  the  crown,  and  were  deprived   "  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by 
jury." 

3  A  law  of  1774  provided  that  any  person  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts,  who  should  be 
accused  of  riot,  resistance  of  magistrates  or  the  officers  of  customs,  murder,  "or  any  other  capital 
offense,"  might,  at  the  option  of  the  governor,  be  taken  for  trial  to  another  colony,  or  transported  to 
Great  Britain,  for  the  purpose.     The  minister  pretended  that  impartial  justice  could  not  be  admin- 
istered in  Massachusetts,  but  the  facts  of  Captain  Preston's  caso  [page  222]  refuted  his  arguments, 
in  that  direction.     The  bill  was  violently  opposed  in  Parliament,  yet  it  became  law.     It  was  de- 
creed that  Americans  might  be  "transported  beyond  the  seas,  to  bo  tried  for  pretended  offenses," 
or  real  crimes. 

4  This  charge  is  embodied  in  an  earlier  one  [page  596],  considered  in  note  2,  page  596.     The 
British  ministry  thought  it  prudent  to  take  early  steps  to  secure  a  footing  in  America,  so  near  the 
scene  of  inevitable  rebellion,  as  to  allow  them  to  breast,  successfully,  the  gathering  storm.     The 
investing  of  a  legislative  council  in  Canada,  with  all  powers  except  levying  of  taxes,  was  a  great 
stride  toward  that  absolute  military  rule  which  bore  sway  there  within  eighteen  months  afterward. 
Giving  up  their  political  rights  for  doubtful  religious  privileges,  made  them  willing  slaves,  and  Canr 
ada  remained  a  part  of  the  British  empire,  when  its  sister  colonies  rejoiced  in  freedom. 

5  This  is  a  reiteration  of  the  charge  considered  in  note  2,  page  596,  and  refers  to  the  alteration 
of  the  Massachusetts  charter,  so  as  to  make  judges  and  other  officers  independent  of  the  people,  and 
subservient  to  the  crown.     The  governor  was  empowered  to  remove  and  appoint  all  inferior  judges, 
the  attorney-general,  provosts,  marshals,  and  justices  of  the  peace,  and  to  appoint  sheriffs  inde- 
pendent of  the  council.     As  the  sheriffs  chose  jurors,  trial  by  jury  might  easily  be  made  a  mere 
mockery.     The  people  had  hitherto  been  allowed,  by  their  charter,  to  select  jurors  ;  now  the  whole 
matter,  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  creatures  of  government. 

0  This,  too,  is  another  phase  of  the  charge  just  considered.  "We  have  noticed  the  suppression 
of  the  Legislature  of  New  York  [page  218],  and,  in  several  cases,  the  governors,  after  dissolving 
colonial  Assemblies,  assumed  the  right  to  make  proclamations  stand  in  the  place  of  statute  law. 
Lord  Dunmore  assumed  this  right  in  1775.  and  so  did  Sir  James  Wright,  of  Georgia,  and  Lord  "Wil- 
liam Campbell,  of  South  Carolina.  They  were  driven  from  the  country,  in  consequence. 

7  In  his  message  to  Parliament  early  in  1775,  the  king  declared  the  colonists  to  be  in  a  state 
of  open  rebellion,  and  by  sending  armies  hither  to  make  war  upon  them,  he  really  "  abdicated  gov- 
ernment," by  thus  declaring  them  "out  of  his  protection."  He  sanctioned  the  acts  of  governors  in 
employing  the  Indians  against  his  subjects  [note  4,  page  237],  and  himself  bargained  for  the  em- 


6Q0  SUPPLEMENT. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  buried  our  towns,  and 
destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people.1 

He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mercenaries  to  com- 
plete the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny,  already  begun  with  circum- 
stances of  cruelty  and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages, 
and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation.2 

He  has  constrained  our  fellowr-citizens,  taken  captive  on  the  high  seas,  to 
bear  arms  against  their  country,  to  become  the  executioners  of  their  friends  and 
brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands.3 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrection  among  us,  and  has  endeavored  to 
bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers,  the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose 
known  rule  of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and 
conditions.4 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions  we  have  petitioned  for  redress  in  the 
most  humble  terms ;  our  repeated  petitions  have  been  answered  only  by  repeated 
injury.  A  prince  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which  may 
define  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  free  people." 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  our  attentions  to  our  British  brethren.6  We 
have  warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts  by  their  legislature  to  extend 
an  unwarrantable  jurisdiction  over  us.  Wo  have  reminded  them  of  the  circum- 
stances of  our  emigration  and  settlement  here.  "We*have  appealed  to  their 

ployment  of  German  hirelings.     And  when,  yielding  to  the  pressure  of  popular  will,  his  representa- 
tives (the  royal  governors)  fled  before  the  indignant  people,  he  certainly  "  abdicated  government." 

1  When  naval  commanders  were  clothed  with  the  powers  of  custom-house  officers   and   excise- 
men, they  seized  many  American  vessels;  and  after  the  affair  at  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill,  Brit- 
ish ships  of  war  "  plundered  our  seas"  whenever  an  American  vessel  could  be  found.     They  also 
"ravaged  our  coasts  and  burnt  our  towns."     Charlestown  [page  23G],  Falmouth  (now  Portland,  in 
Maine),  and  Norfolk  were  burnt;  and  Dunmore  and  others  [page  241]  "ravaged  our  coasts"  and 
"destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people."     And  at  the  very  time  when  this  Declaration  was  being  read 
to  the  assembled  Congress  [page  252],  the  shattered  fleet  of  Sir  Peter  Parker  was  sailing  north- 
ward [pag*e  249],  after  an  attack  upon  Charleston,  South  Carolina. 

2  This  charge  refers  to  the  infamous  employment  of  German  troops,  known  here  as  Hessians. 
See  page  246. 

3  An  act  of  Parliament,  passed  toward  the  close  of  December,  1775,  authorized  the  capture  of 
all  American  vessels,  and  also  directed  the  treatment  of  the  crews  of  armed  vessels  to  be  as 
slaves,  and  not  as  prisoners  of  war.    They  were  to  be  enrolled  for  the  "  service  of  his  majesty,"  and 
were  thus  compelled  to  fight  for  the  crown,  even  against  their  own  friends  and  countrymen.     This 
act  was  loudly  condemned  on'  the  floor  of  Parliament,  as  unworthy  of  a  Christian  people,  and  "  a 
refinement  of  cruelty  unknown  among  savage  nations," 

4  This  was  done  in  several  instances.     Dunmore  was  charged  [note  4,  page  237]  with  a  design 
to  employ  the  Indians  against  the  Virginians,  as  early  as  1774;  and  while  ravaging  the  Virginia 
coast,  in  1775  and  1776,  he  endeavored  to  excite  the  slaves  against  their  masters.     He  was  also 
concerned  with  Governor  Gage  and  others,  under  instructions  from  the  British  ministry,  in  exciting 
the  Shawnees,  and  other  savages  of  the  Ohio  country,  against  the  white  people.     Emissaries  were 
also  sent  among  the  Cherokees  and  Creeks,  for  the  same  purpose,  and  all  of  the  tribes  of  the  Six 
Nations,  except  the  Oneidas,  were  found  in  arms  with  the  British  when  war  began.    Thus  excited, 
dreadful  massacres  occurred  on  the  borders  of  the  several  colonies. 

6  For  ten  long  years  the  colonies  petitioned  for  redress  of  grievances,  "  in  the  most  humble 
terms,"  and  loyal  manner.  It  was  done  by  the  Colonial  Congress  of  1765  [page  215],  and  also  by 
the  Continental  Congresses  of  1774  [page  228]  and  1775  [page  238].  But  their  petitions  were 
almost  always  "  answered  only  by  repeated  injuries." 

6  From  the  beginning,  the  colonists  appealed,  in  the  most  affectionate  terms,  to  "their  British 
brethren."  The  first  address  put  forth  by  the  Congress  of  1774  [note  6,  page  228]  was  "To  the 
People  of  Great  Britain;  and  the  Congress  of  1775  sent  an  affectionate  appeal  to  the  people  of 
Ireland. 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE. 


601 


native  justice  and  magnanimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them  by  the  ties  of  our 
common  kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which  would  inevitably  inter- 
rupt our  connections  and  correspondence.  They,  too,  have  been  dea£  to  the 
voice  of  justice  and  of  consanguinity.  We  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in  the 


necessity  which  denounces  our  separation,  and  hold  them  as  we  hold  the  rest 
of  mankind — enemies  in  war — in  peace,  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  gen- 
eral Congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for  the 
rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  good 
people  of  these  colonies,  solemnly  publish  and  declare  that  these  united  colonies 
are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States ;  that  they  are  ab- 
solved from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political  connection 
between  them  and  the  State  of  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dis- 
solved, and  that,  as  free  and  independent  States,  they  have  full  pawer  to  levy 
war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  do  all  other 
acts  and  things  which  independent  States  may  of  right  do.  And  for  the  sup- 
port of  this  Declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred 
honor. 


602 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


SIGNERS  OF  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  members  of  the  Continental  Congress,  who  signed 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  with  the  places  and  dates  of  their  birth, 
and  the  time  of  their  respective  deaths  : 


NAMES  OF   THE    SIGNr.KS. 

COK>*    AT 

DELEGATE  FHOM       | 

DIED. 

Adams,  John 
Adams,  Samuel 
Bartlett,  Josiah 
Bra^ton   Carter     .         .         . 

Braintrec,  Mass.,  19th   Oct.,  1735 
Boston,           "        22d  Sept.,   1722 
Amesburv,     "    .        in  Nov.,  1729 
Newington,  Ya.,  10th  Sept.,  1786 

Massachusetts, 
Massachusetts, 
New  Hampshire, 
Virginia, 

4th  July,     1826 
2d  Oct.;       1803 
19th  Mav,    1795 
10th  Oct.,    1797 

Carroll,  Charles,  of  Carrollton 
Chase,  Samuel 
Clark  Abraham 

Annapolis,    Mrt.,   20th  Sept.,  1787 
Somerset  co.,  Md.,  17th  April,  1741 
Elizabethfn,  N.  J.,  15th  Feb.,  1726 

Maryland, 
Maryland,     - 
New  Jersey, 

14th  Nov.,  1S32 
19th  June,  1S11 
—  June,  1794 

Clvmer,  George     . 
El'lery,  William 

Philadelphia,  Peun.,       in        1739 
Newport,  R.  I.,        22d  Dec.,  1727 

Pennsylvania, 
R.  I.  &  Prov.  PL, 

24th  Jan.,    1813 
15th  Feb.,  1820 

Floyd,'  William 

Suffolk  co.,  N.  Y.,  17th  Dec.,     734 

New  York, 

4th  An?..    1821 

Franklin,  Benjamin 
Gerrv  Elbridge 

Boston,  Mass.,          17th  Jan.,     7<'6 
Marblehead,.Mass.,  17th  July,     744 

Pennsylvania. 
Massachusetts, 

17th  April,  1790 
23d  Nov.,    1814 

Gwinnet,  Burton  . 

England,                         in            732 

Georgia, 

27th  Mav,   1777 

Hall  Lvman 

Connecticut,                   in            731 

Georgia, 

Feb.,   1790 

Hancock,  John 

Braintree.  Mass.,            in            737 

Massachusetts, 

8th  Oct..      1793 

Harrison,  Benjamin 
Hart,  John 

Berkely,  Virginia, 
llopewell,  N.  J.,        about         715 

Virginia, 
New  Jersey. 

April,  1791 

,    1780 

Ilevward,  Thomas,  jr.  . 

St.  Luke's,  S.  C.,            in            746 

South  Carol  -'n  a, 

Mar..  1809 

Hewes  Joseph 

Kingston.  N.  J..             in            780 

Noith  CaroHna, 

Kill  Nov.,  1779 

Hooper.  William   . 

Boston,  Mass.,        17(h  June,     742 

North  Carolina, 

Oct.,    1790 

Hopkins  Stephen 

Scituate,    "             Till  March,     707 

R.  I.  &  Prov.  PL, 

19th  Julv,    1785 

Hopkinson,  Francis 

Philadelphia,  Penn.,     in            787 

New  Jersey, 

9th  Mav.      1790 

Huntingdon,  Samuel 

Windham,  Conn.,      3d  Julv,    732 

Connecticut, 

Mb  Jan.,     1796 

Jefferson,  Thomas 

Sluulwell,  Ya.,        13th  April,    743 

Virginia. 

4th  Jnlv,     1826 

'Lee,  Francis  Lightfoot  . 

Stratford,    "             14th  Oct.,     734 

Virginia, 

April.  1797 

Lee,  Richard  Henry 

Stratford,    "             2nth  Jan.,     732 

Virginia, 

19th  June,  1794 

Lewis,  Francis 

Landaff,  Wales,        in  March,  1713 

New  York. 

3"th  Dec.,  1803 

Livingston,  Philip 

Albanv,  N.  Y.,         15th  Jan.,  1716 

New  York, 

12th  June,  1778 

Lynch,  Thomas,  jr. 

St.  George's,  S.  C.,   5th  Aug.,  1749 

South  Carolina, 

lost  at  sea,  1779 

M'Keon,  Thomas 

Chester  co..  Pa.,   10th  March,  1734 

Delaware, 

24th  June,  1817 

Middlcton,  Arthur 

Middleton  Place,  S.  C.,     in      1743 

South  Carolina, 

1st  Jan.,      1787 

Morris,  Lewis 

Morrisania,  N.  Y.,             in      1726 

New  York, 

22d  Jan.,     1798 

Morris,  Robert 

Lancashire,  England,       Jan.,  1733 

Pennsylvania, 

8th  Mav,      1806 

Morton,  John 

Ridley,  Penn.,  *"             in          1724 

Pennsylvania, 

April,  1777 

Nelson,  Thomas,  jr. 

York,'  Vir<ri  nia,       2Gth  Dec.,  173S 

Virginia, 

4th  Jan.,     1789 

Paca,  William 

Wye-Hill,  Md.,         31st  Oct.,  1740 

Maryland, 

,    1799 

Paine,  Robert  Treat 

Boston,  Mass.,                in          1731 

Massachusetts, 

lllhMnv,    1814 

Perm,  John  .... 

Caroline  co.,  Ya.    17th  May,  1741 

North  Carolina, 

Sept.,  1788 

Read,  George 

Cecil  co.,  Maryland,      in          17-4 

Delaware, 

,    1798 

Rodney,  Ciesar 

Dover,  Delaware,          in          173') 

Delaware, 

,    1783 

Ross,  George 

New  Castle,  Del.,           in          178) 

Pennsylvania, 

Julv,   1779 

Rush,  Benjamin,  M.D. 

Byperrv,  Penn.,      24th  Dec.,  1745 

Pennsylvania, 

19th  April,  1813 

Rutledgc,  Edward 

Charleston.  S.  C.,        in  Nov.,  1749 

South  "Carolina, 

2"d  Jan.,     1800 

Sherman,  Roger    . 

Newton,  Mass.,      19th  April,  1721 

Connecticut. 

23d  Julv,     1793 

Smith.  James 

Ireland, 

Pennsylvania, 

1  If  h  July,    1806 

Stockton.  Richard 

Princeton,  N.  J.,         1st  Oct.,  173) 

New  Jersey, 

28th  Feb.,   1781 

Stone,  Thomas 

Charles  co.,  Md.,            in          1742  ' 

Maryland. 

5'h  Oct..      17S7 

Tavlor,  George 

Ireland,                           in          1716 

Pennsylvania. 

23d  Feb.,     1781 

Thornton.  Matthew 

Ireland,                           in          1714 

New  Hampshire, 

2-11  h  June.  1803 

Walton,  George     . 

Frederick  co.,  Ya.,        in.        1740 

Georgia, 

2d  Feb..    '  1804 

Whipple,  William 

Kitterv,  Maine,              in          173T 

New  Hampshire, 

28th  Nov.,  1785 

Williams,  William 

Lebanon,  Conn.,      8th  April,  1731 

Connecticut, 

2d  Aug.,      1811 

Wilson,  James 

Scotland,                      about      1742 

Pennsylvania. 

28th  Aug.,  1798 

Witherspoon,  John 

Yester,  Scotland,       5th  Feb.,  1722 

New  Jersey, 

15th  Nov.,  1794 

Wolcott  Oliver     . 

Windsor,  Conn.,    26th  Nov.,  1726 

Connecticut, 

1st  Dec.,      1797 

Wythe,  George     . 

Elizabeth  city,  Ya.,       in         1726 

Virginia, 

8th  June,    1806 

! 

I 

Among  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  were  men  engaged 
in  almost  every  vocation.  There  were  twenty-four  lawyers  ;  fourteen  farmers, 
or  men  devoted  chiefly  to  agriculture  ;  nine  merchants ;  four  physicians ;  one 
gospel  minister,  and  three  who  were  educated  for  that  profession,  but  chose 
other  avocations ;  and  one  manufacturer.  A  large  portion  of  them  lived  to  the 
age  of  three  score  and  ten  years.  Three  of  them  were  over  90  years  of  age 
when  they  died ;  ten  over  80 ;  eleven  over  70  j  fourteen  over  60  ;  eleven  over 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE.         (3Q3 

50  ;  and  six  over  44.  Mr.  Lynch  (lost  at  sea)  was  only  30.  The  aggregate 
vears  of  life  of  the  fifty-six  patriots,  were  3.687  years.  The  last  survivor  of 
the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was  Charles  Carroll,  of  Car- 
rollton,  who  died  on  the  14th  of  November,  1832,  when  in  the  ninety-sixth 
year  of  his  age.1 

In  allusion  to  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  their 
compeers,  the  Abbe  Roynal  wrote,  in  1781,  in  his  essay  on  The  Revolution  in 
America  :  "  With  what  grandeur,  with  what  enthusiasm,  should  I  not  speak  of 
those  generous  man  who  erected  this  grand  edifice  by  their  patience,  their  wis- 
dom, and  their  courage!  Hancock,  Franklin,  the  two  Adamses,  were  the 
greatest  actors  in  this  affecting  scene  ;  but  they  were  not  the  only  ones.  Pos- 
terity shall  know  them  all.  Their  honored  names  shall  be  transmitted  to  it  by 
a  happier  pen  than  mine.  Brass  and  marble  shall  show  them  to  remotest  ages. 
In  beholding  them,  shall  the  friend  of  freedom  feel  his  heart  palpitate  with  joy 
— feel  his  eyes  float  in  delicious  tears.  Under  the  bust  of  one  of  them  has  been 
written,  HE  WRESTED  THUNDER  FROM  HEAVEN  AND  THE  SCEPTER  FROM 
TYRANTS.2  Of  the  last  words  of  this  eulogy  shall  the  whole  of  them  partake." 

•''I  ask,"  exclaimed  Mirabeau,  on  the  tribune  of  the  National  Assembly  of 
France,  while  descanting  upon  our  Declaration — "  I  ask  if  the  powers  who  have 
formed  alliances  with  the  States  have  dared  to  read  that  manifesto,  or  to  inter- 
rogate their  consciences  after  the  perusal  ?  I  ask  whether  there  be  at  this  day 
one  government  in  Europe — the  Helvetic  and  Batavian  confederations  and  the 
British  isles  excepted — which,  judged  after  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of 
Congress,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  is  not  divested  of  its  rights."  And  Napo- 
leon afterward,  alluding  to  the  same  scene,  said,  "The  finger  of  God  was 
there!" 

1  Charles  Carroll  was  born  at  Annapolis,  in  Maryland,  on  the  20th  of  September,  1737.     He 
was  educated  in  France,  and  after  an  absence  of  twenty-two  years,  he  returned,  and  found  his 
countrymen  in  a  state  of  high  excitement  on  account  of  the  Stamp  Act.     He  espoused  the  cause 
of  the  people,  and  all  through  the  ensuing  struggles  and  the  long  war,  he  was  a  faithful  and  un- 
wavering patriot.     He  held  a  fluent  pen,  and  was  powerful  in  speech.     In  his  native  State,  and  in 
the  national  council,  he  was  always  a  leading  advocate  of  popular  rights.     He  was  elected  to  the 
Continental  Congress,  too  late  to  rote  for  independence,  but  in  time  to  affix  his  signature  to  the 
Declaration.     It  has  become  a  record  of  history,  that  Mr.  Carroll,  after  signing  his  name,  was  told 
that  the  British  Government  would  not  be  able  to  identify  him  as  the  arch-traitor,  because  there 
were  other  Charles  Carrolls  in  Maryland,  and.  that  he  affixed  "of  Carrollton"  to  his  name,  with  the 
remark,  "Now,  they  can't  make  a  mistake."   This  is  not  true,  for  it  was  his  common  way  of  signing 
his  name.     In  a  letter  before  the  writer,  sent  to  General  Schuyler  from  Canada,  by  a  committee  of 
which  Mr.  Carroll  was  one,  and  which  was  written  some  time  before  the  resolution  concerning  inde- 
pendence was  introduced  into  Congress,  his  name  has  the  suffix  "of  Carrollton."      He  retired  from 
public  life  at  the  age  of  sixty- tour  years;  and  when,  in  1826,  Adams  and  Jefferson  died,  he  alone, 
of  all  the  signers,  remained  upon  the  earth.     For  portrait  see  page 

2  This  was  written  in  Latin,  as  follows,  by  the  celebrated  Thurgot,  Controller-General  of  the 
Finances  of  France:   "Eripuit  ccelo  fulmen  sceptrumque  tyrannis."     It  was  the  exergue  of  a  medal, 
struck  in  Paris,  in  honor  of  Dr.  Franklin. 


VI. 

ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION. 

>t 

As  early  as  July,  1775,  Doctor  Franklin  submitted  to  the  consideration  of 
Congress  a  sketch  of  articles  of  confederation  between  the  colonies,1  limiting  the 
duration  of  their  vitality  to  the  time  when  reconciliation  with  Great  Britain 
should  take  place ;  or,  in  the  event  of  the  failure  of  that  desirable  result,  to  be 
perpetual.  At  that  time,  Congress  seemed  to  have  no  fixed  plans  for  the 
future — the  teeming  present,  with  all  its  vast  and  novel  concerns,  engrossed 
their  whole  attention — and  Dr.  Franklin's  plan  seems  not  to  have  been  dis- 
cussed at  all  in  the  National  Council.  But  when  a  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence was  proposed,  that  idea  alone  suggested  the  necessity  of  a  confederation  of 
the  States  to  carry  forward  the  work  to  a  successful  consummation.  Congress, 
therefore,  on  the  llth  of  June,  1776,  resolved  that  a  committee  should  be 
appointed  to  prepare,  and  properly  digest,  a  form  of  confederation  to  be  entered 
into  by  the  several  States.  The  committee  appointed  under  the  resolution 
consisted  of  one  delegate  from  each  State.3  John  Dickenson,  of  Pennsylvania, 
was  chosen  chairman,  and  through  him  the  committee  reported  a  draft  of 
articles  of  confederation  on  the  12th  of  July.  Almost  daily  debates  upon  the 
subject  ensued  until  the  20th  of  August,  when  the  report  was  laid  aside,  and 
wns  not  taken  up  again  for  consideration  until  the  8th  of  April,  1777.  In  the 
mean  while,  several  of  the  States  had  adopted  Constitutions  for  their  respective 
government,  and  Congress  was  practically  acknowledged  the  supreme  head  in 
all  i  matters  appertaining  to  the  war,  public  finances,  etc.  It  emitted  bills  of 
credit,  or  paper  money,  appointed  foreign  ministers,  and  opened  negotiations 
with  foreign  governments. 

From  the  8th  of  April  until  the  15th  of  November  following,  the  subject 
was  debated  two  or  three  times  a  week,  and  several  amendments  were  made. 
As  the  confederation  might  be  a  permanent  bond  of  union,  of  course  local  inter- 
ests were  considered  prospectively.  If  the  union  had  been  designed  to  be  tem- 
porary, to  meet  the  exigences  arising  from  the  state  of  war  in  which  the 
colonies  then  were,  local  questions  could  hardly  have  had  weight  enough  to 
have  elicited  debate ;  but  such  was  not  the  case,  and  of  course  the  sagacious 
men  who  were  then  in  Congress  looked  beyond  the  present,  and  endeavored  to 
legislate  accordingly.  From  the  7th  of  October  until  the  15th  of  Novem- 
ber, the  debates  upon  it  were  almost  daily,  and  the  conflicting  interests  of  the 
several  States  were  strongly  brought  into  view  by  the  different  speakers.  On 


267. 

2  The  committee  consisted  of  Messrs.  Bartlett,  Samuel  Adams,  Hopkins,  Sherman,  R.  R.  Liv- 
ingston, Dickenson,  M'Kean,  Stone,  Nelson,  Hewes,  Edward  Rutledge,  and  Gwinnett. 


ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION.  605 

that  day  the  following  draft,  containing  all  of  the  amendments,  was  laid  before 
Congress,  and  after  a  spirited  debate  was  adopted : 

ARTICLE  1.  The  style  of  this  confederacy  shall  be,  "  The  United  States  of 
America." 

ARTICLE  2.  Each  State  retains  its  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  independence, 
and  every  power,  jurisdiction,  and  right,  which  is  not  by  this  confederation 
expressly  delegated  to  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

ARTICLE  3.  The  said  States  hereby  severally  enter  into  a  firm  league  of 
friendship  with  each  other  for  their  common  defense,  the  security  of  their  liber- 
ties, and  their  mutual  and  general  welfare ;  binding  themselves  to  assist  each 
other  against  all  force  offered  to,  or  attacks  jnade  upon  them,  or  any  of  them, 
on  account  of  religion,  sovereignty,  trade,  or  any  other  pretense  whatever. 

ARTICLE  4.  The  better  to-  secure  and  perpetuate  mutual  friendship  and 
intercourse  among  the  people  of  the  different  States  in  this  Union,  the  free 
inhabitants  of  each  of  these  States,  paupers,  vagabonds,  and  fugitives  from 
justice  excepted,  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of  free  citi- 
zens in  the  several  States ;  and  the  people  of  each  State  shall  have  free  ingress 
and  regress  to  and  from  any  other  State,  and  shall  enjoy  therein  all  the  privi- 
leges of  trade  and  commerce,  subject  to  the  samo  duties,  impositions,  and 
restrictions,  as  the  inhabitants  thereof  respectively,  provided  that  such  restric- 
tions shall  not  extend  so  far  as  to  prevent  the  removal  of  property  imported 
into  any  State  to  any  other  State,  of  which  the  owner  is  an  inhabitant ;  pro- 
vided, also,  that  no  imposition,  duties,  or  restriction  shall  be  laid  by  any  State 
on  the  property  of  the  United  States,  or  either  of  them. 

If  any  person  guilty  of  or  charged  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  high  mis- 
demeanor, in  any  State,  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  any  of  the 
United  States,  he  shall  upon  demand  of  the  Governor  or  executive  power  of  the 
State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  and  removed  to  the  State  having 
jurisdiction  of  his  offense. 

Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  of  these  States  to  the  records, 
acts,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  the  courts  and  magistrates  of  every  other  State. 

ARTICLE  5.  For  the  more  convenient  management  of  the  general  interests 
of  the  United  States,  delegates  shall  be  annually  appointed  in  such  manner  as 
the  Legislature  of  each  State  shall  direct,  to  meet  in  Congress  on  the  first 
Monday  in  November  in  every  year,  with  a  power  reserved  to  each  State  to 
recall  its  delegates,  or  any  of  them,  at  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  send 
others  in  their  stead  for  the  remainder  of  the  year. 

No  State  shall  be  represented  in  Congress  by  less  than  two,  nor  by  more 
than  seven  members ;  and  no  persan  shall  be  capable  of  being  a  delegate  for 
more  than  three  years  in  any  term  of  six  years ;  nor  shall  any  person,  being  a 
delegate,  be  capable  of  holding  any  office  under  the  United  States,  for  which 
he,  or  another  for  his  benefit,  receives  any  salary,  fees,  or  emoluments  of  any 
kind. 

Each  State  shall  maintain  its  own  delegates  in  a  meeting  of  the  States,  and 
while  they  act  as  members  of  the  committee  of  the  States. 


606  SUPPLEMENT. 

In  determining  questions  in  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  each 
State  shall  have  one  vote. 

Freedom  of  speech  and  debate  in  Congress  shall  not  be  impeached  or  ques- 
tioned in  any  court  or  place  out  of  Congress ;  and  the  members  of  Congress 
shall  be  protected  in  their  persons  from  arrests  and  imprisonments,  during  the 
time  of  their  going  to  and  from  and  attendance  on  Congress,  except  for  treason, 
felony,  or  breach  of  the  peace. 

ARTICLE  6.  No  State,  without  the  consent  of  the  United  States,  in  Con- 
gress assembled,  shall  send  any  embassy  to,  or  receive  any  embassy  from,  or 
enter  into  any  conference,  agreement,  alliance,  or  treaty,  with  any  king,  prince, 
or  State ;  nor  shall  any  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  the 
United  States,  or  any  of  them,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title 
of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  State ;  nor  shall  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  or  any  of  them,  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

No  two  or  more  States  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  confederation,  or  alliance 
whatever  between  them,  without  the  consent  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  specifying  accurately  the  purposes  for  which  the  same  is  to  be 
entered  into  and  how  long  it  shall  continue. 

No  State  shall  lay  any  imposts  or  duties  which  may  interfere  with  any 
stipulations  in  treaties  entered  into  by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled, 
with  any  king,  prince,  or  State,  in  pursuance  of  any  treaties  already  proposed 
by  Congress  to  the  courts  of  France  and  Spain. 

No  vessel  of  war  shall  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace  by  any  State,  except 
such  number  only  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  by  the  United  States,  in  Con- 
gress assembled,  for  the.  defense  of  such  State  or  its  trade  ;  nor  shall  any  body 
of  forces  be  kept  up  by  any  State  in  time  of  peace,  except  such  number  only  as 
in  the  judgment  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  be  deemed 
requisite  to  garrison  the  forts  necessary  for  the  defense  of  such  State  ;  but  every 
State  shall  always  keep  up  a  well-regulated  and  disciplined  militia,  sufficiently 
armed  and  accoutered,  and  shall  provide  and  have  constantly  ready  for  use,  in 
public  stores,  a  due  number  of  field-pieces  and  tents,  and  a  proper  quantity  of 
arms,  ammunition,  and  camp  equipage. 

No  State  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  consent  of  the  United  States 
in  Congress  assembled,  unless  such  State  be  actually  invaded  by  enemies,  or 
shall  have  received  certain  advice  of  a  resolution  being  formed  by  some  nation 
of  Indians  to  invade  such  State,  and  the  danger  is  so  imminent  as  not  to  admit 
of  a  delay  till  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  can  be  consulted  ;  nor 
shall  any  State  grant  commissions  to  any  ships  or  vessels  of  war,  nor  letters  of 
marque  or  reprisal,  except  it  be  after  a  declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States, 
in  Congress  assembled,  and  then  only  against  the  kingdom  or  State,  and  the 
subjects  thereof,  against  which  war  has  been  so  declared,  and  under  such  regu- 
lations as  shall  be  established  by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled, 
unless  such  State  be  infested  by  pirates,  in  which  case,  vessels  of  war  may  be 
fitted  out  for  that  occasion,  and  kept  so  long  as  the  danger  shall  continue,  or 
until  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  determine  otherwise. 


ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDER ATIOIST.  607 

ARTICLE  7.  When  land  forces  are  raised  by  any  State  for  the  common 
defense,  all  officers  of  or  under  the  rank  of  Colonel  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
Legislature  of  each  State  respectively  by  whom  such  forces  shall  be  raised,  or 
in  such  manner  as  such  State  shall  direct,  and  all  vacancies  shall  be  filled  up 
by  the  State  which  first  made  the  appointment. 

ARTICLE  8.  All  charges  of  war,  and  all  other  expenses  that  shall  be  incurred 
for  the  common  defense  or  general  welfare,  and  allowed  by  the  United  States 
in  Congress  assembled,  shall  be  defrayed  out  of  a  common  treasury,  which  shall 
be  supplied  by  the  several  States  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  all  land  within 
each  State  granted  to  or  surveyed  for  any  person,  as  such  land  and  the  buildings 
and  improvements  thereon  shall  be  estimated,  according  to  such  mode  as  the 
United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  from  time  to  time  direct  and 
appoint. 

The  taxes  for  paying  that  proportion  shall  be  laid  and  levied  by  the  author- 
ity and  direction  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States,  within  the  time 
agreed  upon  by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled. 

ARTICLE  9.  The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  have  the  sole 
and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  determining  on  peace  and  war,  except  in  the 
cases  mentioned  in  the  sixth  article ;  of  sending  and  receiving  embassadors ; 
entering  into  treaties  and  alliances — provided  that  no  treaty  of  commerce  shall 
be  made  whereby  the  legislative  power  of  the  respective  States  shall  be 
restrained  from  imposing  such  imposts  and  duties  on  foreigners  as  their  own 
people  are  subjected  to,  or  from  prohibiting  exportation  or  importation  of  any 
species  of  goods  or  commodities  whatsoever ;  of  establishing  rules  for  deciding 
in  all  cases  what  captures  on  land  or  water  shall  be  legal,  and  in  what  manner 
prizes  taken  by  land  or  naval  forces  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
divided  or  appropriated ;  of  granting  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  in  times  of 
peace ;  appointing  courts  for  the  trial  of  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the 
high  seas,  and  establishing  courts  for  receiving  and  determining  finally  appeals 
in  all  cases  of  captures  ;  provided  that  no  member  of  Congress  shall  be  appointed 
a  judge  of  any  of  the  said  courts. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  also  be  the  last  resort,  on 
appeal,  in  all  disputes  and  differences  now  subsisting,  or  that  hereafter  may 
arise  between  two  or  more  States  concerning  boundary,  jurisdiction,  or  any 
other  cause  whatever  ;  which  authority  shall  always  be  exercised  in  the  manner 
following  :  whenever  the  legislative  or  executive  authority  or  lawful  agent  of 
any  State  in  controversy  with  another  shall  present  a  petition  to  Congress, 
stating  the  matter  in  question,  and  praying  for  a  hearing,  notice  thereof  shall 
be  given  by  order  of  Congress  to  the  legislative  or  executive  authority  of  the 
other  State  in  controversy,  and  a  day  assigned  for  the  appearance  of  the  parties, 
by  their  lawful  agents,  who  shall  then  be  directed  to  appoint,  }y  joint  consent, 
commissioners  or  judges  to  constitute  a  court  for  hearing  and  determining  the 
matter  in  question ;  but  if  they  can  not  agree,  Congress  shall  name  three  per- 
sons out  of  each  of  the  United  States,  and  from  the  list  of  such  persons  each 
party  shall  alternately  strike  out  one,  the  petitioners  beginning,  until  the  num- 


608  SUPPLEMENT. 

ber  shall  be  reduced  to  thirteen ;  and  from  that  number  not  less  than  seven, 
nor  more  than  nine  names,  as  Congress  shall  direct,  shall,  in  the  presence  of 
Congress,  be  drawn  out  by  lot ;  and  the  persons  whose  names  shall  be  so  drawn, 
or  any  five  of  them,  shall  be  commissioners  or  judges,  to  hear  and  finally  deter- 
mine the  controversy,  so  always  as  a  major  part  of  the  judges,  who  shall  hear 
the  cause,  shall  agree  in  the  determination ;  and  if  either  party  shall  neglect  to 
attend  at  the  day  appointed,,  without  showing  reasons  which  Congress  shall 
judge  sufficient,  or,  being  present,  shall  refuse  to  strike,  the  Congress  shall 
proceed  to  nominate  three  persons  out  of  each  State,  and  the  Secretary  of  Con- 
gress shall  strike  in  behalf  of  such  person  absent  or  refusing  ;  and  the  judgment 
and  sentence  of  the  court,  to  be  appointed  in  the  manner  before  prescribed,  shall 
be  final  and  conclusive ;  and  if  any  of  the  parties  shall  refuse  to  submit  to  the 
authority  of  such  court,  or  to  appear,  or  defend  their  claim  or  cause,  the  court 
shall  nevertheless  proceed  to  pronounce  sentence  or  judgment,  which  shall  in 
like  manner  be  final  and  decisive — the  judgment  or  sentence  and  other  proceed- 
ings being  in  either  case  transmitted  to  Congress,  and  lodged  among  the  acts 
of  Congress  for  the  security  of  the  parties  concerned ;  provided  that  every 
commissioner,  before  he  sits  in  judgment,  shall  take  an  oath,  to  be  administered 
by  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  or  Superior  Court  of  the  State,  where  the 
cause  shall  be  tried,  '  •  well  and  truly  to  hear  and  determine  the  matter  in  ques- 
tion, according  to  the  best  of  his  judgment,  without  favor,  affection,  or  hope  of 
reward;"  provided,  also,  that  no  State  shall  be  deprived  of  territory  for  the 
benefit  of  the  United  States. 

All  controversies  concerning  the  private  right  of  soil,  claimed  under  different 
grants  of  two  or  more  States,  whose  jurisdiction  as  they  may  respect  such  lands, 
and  the  States  which  passed  such  grants  are  adjusted,  the  said  grants  or  either 
of  them  being  at  the  same  time  claimed  to  have  originated  antecedent  to  such 
settlement  of  jurisdiction,  shall,  on  the  petition  of  either  party  to  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  be  finally  determined,  as  near  as  may  be,  in  the  same 
manner  as  is  before  prescribed  for  deciding  disputes  respecting  territorial  juris- 
diction between  different  States. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  also  have  the  sole  and 
exclusive  right  and  power  of  regulating  the  alloy  and  value  of  coin  struck  by 
their  own  authority  or  by  that  of  the  respective  States ;  fixing  the  standard  of 
weights  and  measures  throughout  the  United  States  ;  regulating  the  trade  and 
managing  all  affairs  with  the  Indians  not  members  of  any  of  the  States — pro- 
vided that  the  legislative  right  of  any  State  within  its  own  limits  be  not 
infringed  or  violated  ;  establishing  and  regulating  post-offices  from  one  State  to 
another  throughout  all  the  United  States,  and  exacting  such  postage  on  the 
papers  passing  through  the  same  as  may  be  requisite  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
the  said  office ;  appointing  all  officers  of  the  land  forces  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  excepting  regimental  officers ;  appointing  all  the  officers  of  the 
naval  forces,  and  commissioning  all  officers  whatever  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States ;  making  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  said 
land  and  naval  forces,  and  directing  their  operations. 


ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION.  609 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  have  authority  to  appoint 
a  committee  to  sit  in  the  recess  of  Congress,  to  be  denominated  "a  Committee 
of  the  States,"  and  to  consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  State;  and  to  appoint 
such  other  committees  and  civil  officers  as  may  be  necessary  for  managing  the 
general  affairs  of  the  United  States  under  their  direction ;  to  appoint  one  of 
their  number  to  preside,  provided  that  no  person  be  allowed  to  serve  in  the 
office  of  president  more  than  one  year  in  any  term  of  three  years ;  to  ascertain 
the  necessary  sums  of  money  to  be  raised  for  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  appropriate  and  apply  the  same  for  defraying  the  public  expenses ;  to 
borrow  money  or  emit  bills  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States — transmitting 
every  half  year  to  the  respective  States  an  account  of  the  sums  of  money  so 
borrowed  or  emitted ;  to  build  and  equip  a  navy  ;  to  agree  upon  the  number  of 
land  forces,  and  to  make  requisitions  from  each  State  for  its  quota,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  number  of  white  inhabitants  in  such  State,  which  requisition  shall 
be  binding,  and  thereupon  the  Legislature  of  each  State  shall  appoint  the  regi- 
mental officers,  raise  the  men,  and  clothe,  arm,  and  equip  them,  in  a  soldier- 
like manner,  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States  ;  and  the  officers  and  men  so 
clothed,  armed,  and  equipped,  shall  march  to  the  place  appointed,  and  within 
the  time  agreed  on  by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled ;  but  if  the 
United  ^tates,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall,  on  consideration  of  circumstances, 
judge  proper  that  any  State  should  not  raise  men,  or  should  raise  a  smaller 
number  than  its  quota,  or  that  any  other  State  should  raise  a  greater  number 
of  men  than  the  quota  thereof,  such  extra  number  shall  be  raised,  officered, 
clothed,  armed,  and  equipped,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  quota  of  such  State, 
unless  the  Legislature  of  such  State  shall  judge  that  such  extra  number  can  not 
be  safely  spared  out  of  the  same  ;  in  which  case  they  shall  raise,  officer,  clothe, 
arm,  and  equip,  as  many  of  such  extra  number  as  they  judge  can  be  safely 
spared.  And  the  officers  and  men  so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped,  shall  march 
to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed  on  by  the  United  States,  in 
Congress  assembled. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  never  engage  in  a  war,  nor 
grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  in  time  of  peace,  nor  enter  into  any  treaties 
or  alliances,  nor  coin  money,  nor  regulate  the  value  thereof,  nor  ascertain  the 
sums  and  expenses  necessary  for  the  defense  and  welfare  of  the  United  States, 
or  any  of  them,  nor  emit  bills,  nor  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United 
States,  nor  appropriate  money,  nor  agree  upon  the  number  of  vessels  of  war  to 
be  built  or  purchased,  or  the  number  of  land  or  sea  forces  to  be  raised,  nor 
appoint  a  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  or  navy,  unless  nine  States  assent  to 
the  same  ;  nor  shall  a  question  on  any  other  point,  except  for  adjourning  from 
day  to  day,  be  determined  unless  by  the  votes  of  a  majority  of  the  United  States, 
in  Congress  assembled. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  shall  have  power  to  adjourn  to  any  time 
within  the  year,  and  to  any  place  within  the  United  States,  so  that  no  period 
of  adjournment  be  for  a  longer  duration  than  the  space  of  six  months ;  and 
shall  publish  the  journal  of  their  proceedings  monthly,  except  such  parts 

39 


610  SUPPLEMENT. 

thereof  relating  to  treaties,  alliances,  or  military  operations,  as  in  their  judg- 
ment require  secresy ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  delegates  of  each  State  on 
any  question,  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  when  it  is  desired  by  any  delegate ; 
and  the  delegates  of  a  State  or  any  of  them,  at  his  or  their  request,  shall  be 
furnished  with  a  transcript  of  the  said  journal,  except  such  parts  as  are  above 
excepted,  to  lay  before  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States. 

ARTICLE  10.  The  committee  of  the  States,  or  any  nine  of  them,  shall  be 
authorized  to  execute,  in  the  recess  of  Congress,  such  of  the  powers  of  Congress 
as  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  by  the  consent  of  nine  States, 
shall  from  time  to  time  think  expedient  to  vest  them  with ;  provided  that  no 
power  be  delegated  to  the  said  committee,  for  the  exercise  of  which,  by  the 
articles  of  confederation,  the  voice  of  nine  States,  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  assembled,  is  requisite. 

ARTICLE  11.  Canada,  acceding  to  this  confederation,  and  joining  in  the 
measures  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  admitted  into,  and  entitled  to,  all  the 
advantages  of  this  union ;  but  no  other  colony  shall  be  admitted  into  the  same, 
unless  such  admission  be  agreed  to  by  nine  States. 

ARTICLE  12.  All  bills  of  credit  emitted,  moneys  borrowed,  and  debts  con- 
tracted, by  or  under  the  authority  of  Congress,  before  the  assembling  of  the 
United  States,  in  pursuance  of  the  present  confederation,  shall  be  deemed  and 
considered  as  a  charge  against  the  United  States,  for  payment  and  satisfaction 
whereof  the  said  United  States  and  the  public  faith  are  hereby  solemnly  pledged. 

ARTICLE  13.  Every  State  shall  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  United  States, 
in  Congress  assembled,  on  all  questions  which,  by  this  confederation,  are  sub- 
mitted to  them.  And  the  articles  of  this  confederation  shall  be  inviolably 
observed  by  every  State,  and  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual ;  nor  shall  any 
alteration  at  any  time  hereafter  be  made  in  any  of  them,  unless  such  alteration 
be  agreed  to  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  be  afterward  confirmed  by 
the  Legislature  of  every  State. 

Congress  directed  these  Articles  to  be  submitted  to  the  Legislatures  of  the 
several  States,  and,  if  approved  of  by  them,  they  were  advised  to  authorize 
their  delegates  to  ratify  the  same  in  Congress,  by  affixing  their  names  thereto. 

Notwithstanding  there  was  a  general  feeling  that  something  must  be  speedily 
done,  the  State  Legislatures  were  slow  to  adopt  the  articles.  In  the  first  place, 
they  did  not  seem  to  accord  with  the  prevailing  sentiments  of  the  people,  as  set 
forth  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ;  and  in  many  things  that  Declaration 
and  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  manifestly  at  variance.  The  former 
was  based  upon  declared  right  ;  the  foundation  of  the  latter  was  asserted  power. 
The  former  was  based  upon  a  superintending  Providence,  and  the  inalienable 
rights  of  man  ;  the  latter  resting  upon  the  ' '  sovereignty  of  declared  power ;  one 
ascending  from  the  foundation  of  human  government,  to  the  laws  of  nature  and 
of  nature's  God,  written  upon  the  heart  of  man;  the  other  resting  upon  the 
basis  of  human  institutions,  and  prescriptive  law,  and  colonial  charters." 
Again,  the  system  of  representation  proposed  was  highly  objectionable,  because 
1  John  Quincy  Adams's  Jubilee  Discourse,  1839. 


ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION. 

each  State  was  entitled  to  the  same  voice  in  Congress,  whatever  might  be  the 
difference  in  population.  But  the  most  objectionable  feature  of  all  was,  that 
the  limits  of  the  several  States,  and  also  in  whom  was  vested  the  control  or 
possession  of  the  crown-lands,  was  not  only  unadjusted,  but  wholly  unnoticed. 
These  and  other  defects  caused  most  of  the  States  to  hesitate,  at  first,  to  adopt 
the  Articles,  and  several  of  them  for  a  long  time  utterly  refused  to  accept  them. 

On  the  22d  of  June,  1778,  Congress  proceeded  to  consider  the  objections 
of  the  States  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  on  the  27th  of  the  same 
month,  a  form  of  ratification  was  adopted  and  ordered  to  be  engrossed  upon 
parchment,  with  a  view  that  the  same  should  be  signed  by  such  delegates  as 
.were  instructed  so  to  do  by  their  respective  Legislatures. 

On  the  9th  of  July,  the  delegates  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island.  Connecticut,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  South 
Carolina  signed  the  Articles.  The  delegates  from  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and 
Maryland  were  not  yet  empowered  to  ratify  and  sign.  Georgia  and  North 
Carolina  were  not  represented,  and  the  ratification  of  New  York  was  con- 
ditioned that  all  the  other  States  should  ratify.  The  delegates  from  North 
Carolina  signed  the  articles  on  the  21st  of  July;  those  of  Georgia  on  the  24th 
of  the  same  month  ;  those  of  New  Jersey,  on  the  26th  of  November ;  and  those 
of  Delaware,  on  the  22d  of  February  and  fifth  of  May,  1779.  Maryland  still 
firmly  refused  to  ratify,  until  the  question  of  the  conflicting  claims  of  the  Union 
and  of  the  separate  States  to  the  crown-lands  should  be  fully  adjusted.  This 
point  was  finally  settled  by  cessions  of  claiming  States  to  the  United  States,  of 
all  unsettled  and  unappropriated  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  Union. 
This  cession  of  the  crown-lands  to  the  Union  originated  the  Territorial  System, 
and  the  erection  of  the  North-western  Territory  into  a  distinct  government, 
similar  to  the  existing  States,  having  a  local  Legislature  of  its  own.  The  insu- 
perable objection  of  Maryland  having  been  removed  by  the  settlement  of  this 
question,  her  delegates  signed  the  Articles  of  Confederation  on  the  1st  day  of 
March,  1781,  four  years  and  four  months  after  they  were  adopted  by  Congress.1 
By  this  act  of  Maryland,  they  became  the  organic  law  of  the  Union,  and  on  the 
2d  of  March  Congress  assembled  under  the  new  powers. 

1  The  following  are  the  names  of  the  delegates  from  the  several  States  appended  to  the  Articles 
of  Confederation : 

New  Hampshire,  Josiah  Bartlctt,  John  Wentworth,  Jr. 

Massachusetts  Bay,  John  Hancock,  Samuel  Adams,  Elbridge  Gerry,  Francis  Dana,  James  Lovell, 
Samuel  Holten. 

Rhode  Island,  William  Ellery,  Henry  Marchant,  John  Collins. 

Connecticut,  Roger  Sherman,  Samuel  Huntingdon,  Oliver  Wolcott,  Titus  Hosmer,  Andrew  Adams. 

New  York,  James  Duane,  Francis  Lewis,  William  Duer,  Gouverneur  Morris. 

New  Jersey,  John  "Witherspoon,  Nathaniel  Scudder. 

Pennsylvania,  Robert  Morris,  Daniel  Roberdeau,  Jonathan  Bayard  Smith,  "William  Clingan. 
Joseph  Reed. 

Ddaware,  Thomas  M'Kean,  John  Dickenson,  Nicholas  Van  Dyke. 

Maryland,  John  Hanson,  Daniel  Carroll. 

Virginia,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  John  Banister,  Thomas  Adams,  John  Harvie,  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee. 

North  Carolina,  John  Penn,  Cornelius  Harnett,  John  Williams. 

South  Carolina,  Henry  Laurens,  William  Henry  Drayton,  Jonathan  Matthews,  Richard  Hutson, 
Thomas  Heyward,  Jr. 

Georgia,  John  Walton,  Edward  Telfair,  Edward  Langworthy. 


VII. 

CONSTITUTION  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES.1 


Objects. 


WE  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more 
perfect  Union,  establish  Justice,  insure  domestic  Tranquil- 
ity,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  general 
Welfare,  and  secure  the  Blessings  of  Liberty  to  ourselves 
and  our  Posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution 
for  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE    I. 

SECTION  1.  All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be 
vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist 
of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 


1  In  1853,  the  writer  made  a  very  careful  copy  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  from  the 
original  in  the  State  Department  at  "Washington  city,  together  with  the  autographs  of  the  members 
of  the  Convention  who  signed  it.  In  orthography,  capital  letters,  and  punctuation,  the  copy  here 


Legislative  Powers. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


613 


SECTION  2.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  com-  House 
posed  of  Members  chosen  every  second  Year  by  the  People 
of  the  several  States,  and  the  Electors  in  each  State  shall  have 
the  Qualifications  requisite  for  Electors  of  the  most  numerous 
Branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

No  Person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have  Qualifications  of  Eer>- 
attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-five  Years,  and  been  seven  Years 
a  Citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected, 
be  an  Inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives   and  direct    Taxes  shall   be   apportioned  Apportionmen 

i  T     n  •  -i         •      t     t     i       •  i  •  '  resentatives. 

among  the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this 
Union,  according  to  their  respective  Numbers,1  which  shall  be 
determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  Number  of  free  Persons, 
including  those  bound  to  Service  for  a  Term  of  Years,  and  ex- 
cluding Indians  not  taxed,  three  fifths  of  all  other  Persons.2 
The  actual  Enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  Years 
after  the  first  Meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
and  within  every  subsequent  Term  of  ten  Years,  in  such  Man- 
ner as  they  shall  by  Law  direct.  The  Number  of  Represent- 
atives shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  Thousand ;°  but 
each  State  shall  have  at  Least  one  Representative ;  and  until 
such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire 
shall  be  entitled  to  choose  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode 
Island  and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New 
York  six,  New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware 
one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten,  North  Carolina  five.  South 
Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 


given  may  be  relied  upon  as  correct,  it  having  been  subsequently  carefully  compared  with  a  copy 
published  by  Mr.  Hickey,  in  his  useful  little  volume,  entitled  TJie  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  etc.,  and  attested,  on  the  20th  of  July,  1846,  by  Nicholas  P.  Trist,  chief  clerk  of  the 
State  Department.  Most  of  the  notes  are  from  the  National  Calendar,  a  work  published  in  1828, 
by  Peter  Force,  of  Washington  city,  and  carefully  prepared  by  him.  The  most  prominent  Amer- 
ican writers  upon  constitutional  law,  are  the  late  Justice  Story  and  Chancellor  Kent.  Joseph  Story 
was  born  at  Marblehead,  Massachusetts,  in  September,  1779,  and  was  educated  at  Harvard  Uni- 
versity. He  studied  law ;  and  soon,  on  entering  upon  his  practice,  took  a  prominent  position.  He 
was  a  member  of  his  State  Legislature,  and  of  the  Federal  Congress,  and  was  chiefly  instrumental 
in  effecting  the  repeal  of  the  Embargo  Act  [page  403].  He  was  only  thirty -two  years  of  age  when 
President  Madison  made  him  an  associate  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  From  that 
time  he  discareled  politics.  In  commercial  and  constitutional  law  he  was  peerless.  His  Comment- 
aries on  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  published  in  three  volumes,  in  1833,  will  ever  be  a 
standard  work.  Judge  Story  died  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in  September,  1845,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-six  years.  His  own  words,  applied  to  another,  may  be  appropriately  said  of  him :  "  Whatever 
subject  he  touched  was  touched  with  a  master's  hand  and  spirit.  He  employed  his  eloquence  to 
adorn  his  learning,  and  his  learning  to  give  solid  weight  to  his  eloquence.  He  was  always  instruct- 
ive and  interesting,  and  rarely  without  producing  an  instantaneous  conviction.  A  lofty  ambition 
of  excellence,  that  stirring  spirit  which  breathes  the  breath  of  Heaven,  and  pants  for  immortality, 
sustained  his  genius  in  its  perilous  course." 

1  The  constitutional  provision,  that  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States, 
according  to  their  respective  numbers,  to  be  ascertained  by  a  census,  was  not  intended  to  restrict 
the  power  of  imposing  direct  taxes  to  States  only. — Loughborough  vs.  Blake,  5  Wheaton,  319. 

2  Slaves.     Every  five  slaves  are  accounted  three  persons,  in  making  the  apportionment. 

3  See  laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  124;  iii.,  261;  iv.,  332.     Acts  of  17th  Congress.  1st 
session,  chap.  x. ;  and  of  the  22d  and  27th  Congress. 


614 


SUPPLEMENT. 


Vacancies  how  filled. 


Speaker,  how  ap- 
pointed. 


Number  of  Senators 
from  each  State. 


Classification  of  Sen- 
ators. 


Qualification  of  Sen- 
ators. 


Presiding  officer  of  the 
Senate. 


Senate    a    court    for 
trial  of  impeachments. 


Judgment  in  case  of 
conviction. 


When  vacancies  happen  in  the  Representation  from  any 
State,  the  Executive  Authority  thereof  shall  issue  Writs  of 
Election  to  fill  such  Vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker 
and  other  Officers  ;  and  shall  have  the  sole  Power  of  Impeach- 
ment. 

SECTION  3.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  com- 
posed of  two  Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  Legisla- 
ture thereof,  for  six  Years ;  and  each  Senator  shall  have  one 
Vote.1 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  Consequence 
of  the  first  Election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may 
be  into  three  Classes.  The  Seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first 
Class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  Expiration  of  the  second  Year, 
of  the  second  Class  at  the  Expiration  of  the  fourth  Year,  and 
of  the  third  Class  at  the  Expiration  of  the  sixth  Year,  so  that 
one  third  may  be  chosen  every  second  year :  and  if  Vacancies 
happen  by  Resignation,  or  otherwise,  during  the  Recess  of  the 
Legislature  of  any  State,  the  Executive  thereof  may  make 
temporary  Appointments  until  the  next  Meeting  of  the  Legis- 
lature, which  shall  then  fill  such  Vacancies. 

No  Person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained 
to  the  age  of  thirty  Years,  and  been  nine  Years  a  Citizen  of 
the  LTnited  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an 
Inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  Vote,  unless  they  be 
equally  divided. 

The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  Officers,  and  also  a 
President  pro  tempore,  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President, 
or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  Office  of  President  of  the  United 
States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  full  power  to  try  all  impeachments  : 
When  sitting  for  that  Purpose,  they  shall  be  on  Oath,  or 
Affirmation.  When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is 
tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside :  and  no  Person  shall  be 
convicted  without  the  Concurrence  of  two  thirds  of  the  Mem- 
bers present. 

Judgment  in  Cases  of  Impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  Office,  and  Disqualification  to  hold  and 
enjoy  any  Office  of  Honor,  Trust,  or  Profit  under  the  United 
States :  but  the  party  convicted  shall  nevertheless  be  liable 
and  subject  to  Indictment,  Trial,  Judgment,  and  Punishment, 
according  to  Law. 


1  See  art.  v.,  clause  1. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  615 

SECTION  4.  The  Times,   Places,  and  Manner  of  holding     Elections  of  senators 
Elections  for  Senators  and  Representatives,  shall  be  prescribed 
in  each  State  by  the  Legislature  thereof;  but  the  Congress 
may  at  any  time  by  Law  make  or  alter  such  Regulations,  ex- 
cept as  to  the  places  of  chusing  Senators. 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  Year,   Meeting  of  Congress. 
and  such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December, 
unless  they  shall  by  Law  appoint  a  different  day. 

SECTION  5.  Each  House  shall  be  the  Judge  of  the  Elec-  Organization  of  con- 
tions,  Returns,  and  Qualifications  of  its  own  Members,  and  a 
Majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  Quorum  to  do  Business ; 
but  a  smaller  Number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may 
be  authorized  to  compel  the  Attendance  of  absent  Members, 
in  such  Manner,  and  under  such  Penalties  as  each  House  may 
provide. 

Each  House  may  determine  the  Rules  of  its  Proceedings, 1   iiuit-s  of  proceeding. 
punish  its  Members  for  disorderly  Behaviour,  and,  with  the 
Concurrence  of  two  thirds,  expel  a  Member. 

Each  House  shall  keep  a  Journal  of  its  Proceedings,  and  journal  of  Congress. 
from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  Parts  as 
may  in  their  Judgment  require  Secresy ;  and  the  Yeas  and 
Nays  of  the  Members  of  either  House  on  any  question  shall, 
at  the  Desire  of  one  fifth  of  those  Present,  be  entered  on  the 
Journal. 

Neither  House,  during  the  Session  of  Congress,  shall,  with-  Adjournment  of  con  - 
out  the  Consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three 
days,  nor  to  any  other   Place  than  that  in  which  the  two 
Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

SECTION  6.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive      compensation    and 
a  Compensation  for  their  Services,  to  be  ascertained  by  Law,    privllei 
and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.     They 
shall  in  all  Cases,  except  Treason,  Felony,  and  Breach  of  the 
Peace,  be  privileged  from  Arrest  during  their  Attendance  at 


1  To  an  action  of  trespass  against  the  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States,  for  assault  and  battery  and  false  imprisonment,  it  is  a  legal  justification  and  bar  to 
plead  that  a  Congress  was  held  and  sitting  during  the  period  of  the  trespasses  complained,  and  that 
the  House  of  Representatives  had  resolved  that  the  plaintiff  had  been  guilty  of  a  breach  of  the  priv- 
ileges of  the  House,  and  of  a  high  contempt  of  the  dignity  and  authority  of  the  same ;  and  had  or- 
dered that  the  Speaker  should  issue  his  warrant  to  the  sergeant-at-arms,  commanding  him  to  take 
the  plaintiff  into  custody  wherever  to  be  found,  and  to  have  him  before  the  said  House  to  answer 
to  the  said  charge ;  and  that  the  Speaker  did  accordingly  issue  such  a  warrant,  reciting  the  said 
resolution  and  order,  and  commanding  the  sergeant-at-arms  to  take  the  plaintiff  into  custody,  etc., 
and  deliver  the  said  warrant  to  the  defendant:  by  virtue  of  which  warrant  the  defendant  arrested 
the  plaintiff,  and  conveyed  him  to  the  bar  of  the  House,  where  he  was  heard  in  his  defense  touch- 
ing the  matter  of  said  charge,  and  the  examination  being  adjourned  from  day  to  day,  and  the  House 
having  ordered  the  plaintiff  to  be  detained  in  custody,  he  was  accordingly  detained  by  the  defend- 
ant until  he  was  finally  adjudged  to  be  guilty  and  convicted  of  the  charge  aforesaid,  and  ordered  to 
be  forthwith  brought  to  the  bar  and  reprimanded  by  the  Speaker,, and  then  discharged  from  cus- 
tody, and  after  being  thus  reprimanded,  was  actually  discharged  from  the  arrest  and  custody  afore- 
said.— Anderson  vs.  Dunn,  6  Wheaton,  204. 


616  SUPPLEMENT. 

the  Session  of  their  respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and 
returning  from  the  same  ;  and  for  any  Speech  or  Debate  in 
either  House,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  Place. 

Plurality  of  offices  pro-  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  Time  for 
which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  Office  under 
the  Authority  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been 
created,  or  the  Emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been  increased 
during  such  time;  and  no  Person  holding  any  office  under 
the  United  States,  shall  be  a  Member  of  either  House  during 
his  Continuance  in  office. 

Bins,  how  originated.  SECTION  7.  All  Bills  for  raising  Revenue  shall  originate 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose 
or  concur  with  Amendments  as  on  other  Bills. 

HOW  bills  become  laws.  Every  Bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  house  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  become  a  Law,  be 
presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  :  if  he  approve 
he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  Objec- 
tions, to  that  House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who 
shall  entar  the  Objections  at  large  on  their  Journal,  and  pro- 
ceed to  reconsider  it.  If,  after  such  Reconsideration,  two 
thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to  pass  the  Bill,  it  shall  be 
sent,  together  with  the  Objections,  to  the  other  House,  by 
which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by 
two  thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a  Law.  But  in 
all  such  Cases  the  Votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by 
Yeas  and  Nays,  and  the  Names  of  the  Persons  voting  for  and 
against  the  Bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  Journal  of  each  House 
respectively.  If  any  Bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  Pres- 
ident within  ten  Days  (Sunday  excepted)  after  it  shall  have 
been  presented  to  him,  'the  Same  shall  be  a  Law,  in  like  Man- 
ner as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  Ad- 
journment prevent  its  Return,  in  which  Case  it  shall  not  be 
a  Law. 
Approval  and  veto  Every  Order,  Resolution,  or  Vote  to  which  the  Concur- 

powers  of  President.  « 

rence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  ne- 
cessary (except  on  a  question  of  adjournment),  shall  be  pre- 
sented to  the  President  of  the  United  States ;  and  before  the 
Same  shall  take  Effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or  being 
disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two  thirds  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the  Rules 
and  Limitations  prescribed  in  the  Case  of  a  Bill. 
Powers  vested  in  Con-  SECTION  8.  The  Congress  shall  have  Power 

To  lay  and  collect  Taxes,1  Duties,  Imposts,  and  Excises; 


1  The  power  of  Congress  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  &c.,  extends  to  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  to  the  Territories  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  to  the  States. — Lougliborough  vs.  Blake,  5 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  617 

to  pay  the  Debts  and  provide  for  the  common  Defense  and  Powers  vested  in  con- 
general  Welfare  of  the  United  States  ;  but  all  Duties,  Imposts, 
and  Excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States ; 

To  borrow  Money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States  ; 

To  regulate  Commerce  with  foreign  Nations,  and  among 
the  several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ; 

To  establish  an  uniform  Rule  of  Naturalization,2  and  uni- 
form Laws  oh  the  subject  of  Bankruptcies3  throughout  the 
United  States ; 

To  coin  Money,  regulate  the  Value  thereof,  and  of  foreign 
Coin,  and  fix  the  Standard  of  Weights  and  Measures ; 

To  provide  for  the  Punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  Secu- 
rities and  current  Coin  of  the  United  States ; 

To  establish  Post  Offices  and  Post  Roads ; 

To  promote  the  progress  of  Science  and  useful  Arts,  by 
securing  for  limited  Times  to  Authors  and  Inventors  the  exclu- 
sive Right  to  their  respective  Writings  and  Discoveries  ;4 

To  constitute  Tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court ; 

To  define  and  punish  Piracies  and  Felonies  committed  on 
the  high  Seas,  and  Offenses  against  the  Law  of  Nations  ;5 

To  declare  War,  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal, 
and  make  Rules  concerning  Captures  on  Land  and  Water  ; 

To  raise  and  support  Armies;  but  no  Appropriation  of 
Money  to  that  Use  shall  be  for  a  longer  Term  than  two 
Years : 

To  provide  and  maintain  a  Navy ; 

To  make  Rules  for  the  Government  and  Regulation  of  the 
Land  and  Naval  Forces ; 


Wheaton,  318.     But  Congress  are  not  bound  to  extend  a  direct  tax  to  the  District  and  Territories 
— Id.,  318. 

2  Under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  power  of  naturalization  is  exclusively  in 
Congress. —  Chivac  vs.  Chivac,  2  Wheaton,  259. 

See  Laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  30;  ii.,  261;  iii.,  71;  iii.,  288;  iii.,  400;  iv.,  564-  vi.. 
32. 

3  Since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  a  State  has  authority  to  pass  a 
bankrupt  law,  provided  such  law  does  not  impair  the  obligation  of  contracts  within  the  meaning  of 
the  Constitution  (art.  i.,  sect.  10),  and  provided  there  be  no  act  of  Congress  in  force  to  establish  a 
uniform  system  of  bankruptcy  conflicting  with  such  law. — Sturgess  vs.  Crouminshield,  4  Wheaton, 
122,  192. 

See  Laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  368,  sect.  2  ;  iii.,  66 ;  iii.,  158. 

4  The  first  copyright  law  was  enacted  in  1790,  on  the  petition  of  Dr.  David  Ramsay,  the  histo- 
rian, and  others.     See  note  1,  page  312. 

6  The  act  of  the  3d  March,  1819,  chap.  76,  sect.  5,  referring  to  the  law  of  nations  for  a  definition 
of  the  crime  of  piracy,  is  a  constitutional  exercise  of  the  power  of  Congress  to  define  and  punish 
that  crime. —  United' States  vs.  Smith,  5  Wheaton,  153,  157. 

Congress  have  power  to  provide  for  the  punishment  of  offenses  committed  by  persons  on  board 
a  ship-of-war  of  the  United  States,  wherever  that  ship  may  lie.  But  Congress  have  not  exercised 
that  power  in  the  case  of  a  ship  lying  in  the  waters  of  the  United  States — the  words,  within  fort, 
arsenal,  dockyard,  magazine,  or  in  any  other  place  or  district  of  country  under  the  sole  and  exclusive 
jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  in  the  third  section  of  the  act  of  1790,  chap.  9,  not  extending  to  a 
ship-of-war,  but  only  to  objects  in  their  nature,  fixed  and  territorial. —  United  States  vs.  Bevans,  3 
Wheaton,  890. 


(318  SUPPLEMENT. 

Powers  vested  in  Con-  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  Militia  to  execute  the 
Laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  Insurrections,  and  repel  Inva- 
sions ; 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the 
Militia,  and  for  governing  such  Part  of  them  as  may  be  em- 
ployed in  the  Service  of  the  United  States — reserving  to  the 
States  respectively,  the  Appointment  of  the  Officers,  and  the 
Authority  of  training  the  Militia  according  to  the  Discipline 
prescribed  by  Congress;1 

To  exercise  exclusive  Legislation  in  all  Cases  whatsoever, 
over  such  District  (not  exceeding  ten  Miles  square)  as  may, 
by  Cession  of  particular  States,  and  the  Acceptance  of  Con- 
gress, become  the  Seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,2  and  to  exercise  like  Authority  over  all  Places  pur- 
chased by  the  Consent  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  in  which 
the  Same  shall  be,  for  the  Erection  of  Forts,  Magazines, 
Arsenals,  Dockyards,  and  other  needful  Buildings ; — And 

To  make  all  Laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  Execution  the  foregoing  Powers,  and  all  other 
Powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  or  in  any  Department  or  Officer  thereof.3 


1  Vide  amendments,  art.  ii. 

2  Congress  has  authority  to  impose  a  direct  tax  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  in  proportion  to 
the  census  directed  to  be  taken  by  the  Constitution. — Loughborough  vs.  Blake,  5  Wheaton,  317. 

But  Congress  are  not  bound  to  extend  a  direct  tax  to  the  District  and  Territories. — Id.,  322. 
The  power  of  Congress  to  exercise  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  within  the 
District  of  Columbia,  includes  the  power  of  taxing  it. — Id.,  324. 

3  Whenever  the  terms  in  which  a  power  is  granted  by  the  Constitution  to  Congress,  or  when- 
ever the  nature  of  the  power  itself  requires  that  it  should  be  exercised  exclusively  by  Congress,  the 
subject  is  as  completely  taken  away  from  the  State  Legislatures  as  if  they  had  been  expressly  for- 
bidden to  act  on  it. — Sturgess  vs.  Crownimhield,  4  Wheaton,  193. 

Congress  has  power  to  incorporate  a  bank. — M'Culloch  vs.  State  of  Maryland,  4  Wheaton,  316. 

The  power  of  establishing  a  corporation  is  not  a  distinct  sovereign  power  or  end  of  government, 
but  only  the  means  of  carrying  into  effect  other  powers  which  are  sovereign.  Whenever  it  becomes 
an  appropriate  means  of  exercising  any  of  the  powers  expressly  given  by  the  Constitution  to  the 
government  of  the  Union,  it  may  be  exercised  by  that  government. — Id.,  411,  421. 

If  a  certain  means  to  carry  into  effect  any  of  the  powers  expressly  given  by  the  Constitution  to 
the  government  of  the  Union,  be  an  appropriate  measure,  not  prohibited  by  the  Constitution,  the 
degree  of  its  necessity  is  a  question  of  legislative  discretion,  not  of  judicial  cognizance. — Id.,  421. 

The  act  of  the  19th  April,  1816,  chap.  44,  to  incorporate  the  subscribers  to  the  bank  of  the 
United  States,  is  a  law  made  in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution. — Id.,  424. 

The  bank  of  the  United  States  has  constitutionally  a  right  to  establish  its  branches  or  offices  of 
discount  and  deposit  within  any  State. — Id..  424. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  similar  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
which  excludes  incidental  or  implied  powers. — Id.,  403. 

If  the  end  be  legitimate,  and  within  the  scope  of  the  Constitution,  all  the  means  which  are  appro- 
priate, which  are  plainly  adapted  to  that  end,  and  which  are  not  prohibited,  may  constitutionally  be 
employed  to  carry  it  into  effect. — Id.,  421. 

The  powers  granted  to  Congress  are  not  exclusive  of  similar  powers  existing  in  the  States, 
unless  where  the  Constitution  has  expressly,  in  terms,  given  an  exclusive  power  to  Congress,  or 
the  exercise  of  a  like  power  is  prohibited  to  the  States,  or  there  is  a  direct  repugnancy  or  incom- 
patibility in  the  exercise  of  it  by  the  States.  —Houston  vs.  Moore,  5  Wheaton,  49. 

The  example  of  the  first  class  is  to  be  found  in  the  exclusive  legislation  delegated  to  Congress 
over  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be, 
tor  forts,  arsenals,  dockyards,  &c.  Of  the  second  class,  the  prohibition  of  a  State  to  coin  money  or 


CONSTITUTION"    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


619 


SECTION  9.  The  Migration  or  Importation  of  such  Per-   immigrants,  how  ad- 

1  <  mitted. 

sons  as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to 
admit;  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to  the 
Year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  Tax  or  Duty 
may  be  imposed  on  such  Importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dol- 
lars for  each  Person.1 

The  Privilege  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus2  shall  not  be  Habeas  Corpus, 
suspended,  unless  when  in  Cases  of  Rebellion  or  Invasion  the 
public  Safety  may  require  it. 

No  Bill  of  Attainder  or  ex  post  Facto  law  shall  be  passed.3   Attainder. 

No  Capitation,  or  other  direct,  Tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  Taxes. 
Proportion    to    the    Census    or    Enumeration    herein    before 
directed  to  be  taken. 

No  Tax  or  Duty  shall  be  laid  on  Articles  exported  from 
any  State. 

No  Preference  shall  be  given  by  any  Regulation  of  Com-   Regulations  regarding 
merce  or  Revenue  to  the  Ports  of  one  State   over  those  of 
another ;  nor  shall  Vessels  bound  to,  or  from,  one  State,  be 
obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  Duties  in  another. 

No  Money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury,  but  in  Con-  Money,  how  drawn. 
sequence  of  Appropriations    made   by  law;    and    a    regular 
Statement  and  Account  of  the  Receipts  and  Expenditures  of 
all  public  Money  shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

No  Title  of  Nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United 
States :  And  no  Person  holding  any  Office  of  Profit  or  Trust 
under  them,  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Congress, 
accept  of  any  Present,  Emolument,  Office,  or  Title,  of  any 
kind  whatever,  from  any  King,  Prince,  or  Foreign  State.4 

emit  bills  of  credit.  Of  the  third  class,  the  power  to  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and 
the  delegation  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction. — Id.,  49. 

In  all  other  classes  of  cases,  the  States  retain  concurrent  authority  with  Congress. — Id.,  48. 

But  in  cases  of  concurrent  authority,  where  the  laws  of  the  States  and  of  the  Union  are  in 
direct  and  manifest  collision  on  the  same  subject,  those  of  the  Union  being  the  supreme  law  of  the 
land,  are  of  paramount  authority,  and  the  State  so  far,  and  so  far  only  as  such  incompatibility  exists, 
must  necessarily  yield. — Id.,  49. 

The  State  within  which  a  branch  of  the  United  States  bank  may  be  established,  can  not,  with- 
out violating  the  Constitution,  tax  that  branch. — M'Cuttoch  vs.  State  of  Maryland,  4  Wheaton,  425. 

The  State  governments  have  no  right  to  tax  any  constitutional  means  employed  by  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Union  to  execute  its  constitutional  powers. — Id.,  427. 

The  States  have  no  power  by  taxation,  or  otherwise,  to  retard,  impede,  burden,  or  in  any  man- 
ner control,  the  'operation  of  the  constitutional  laws  enacted  by  Congress,  to  carry  into  effect  the 
powers  vested  in  the  national  government. — Id.,  436. 

This  principle  does  not  extend  to  a  tax  paid  by  the  real  property  of  the  bank  of  the  United 
States,  in  common  with  the  other  real  property  in  a  particular  State,  nor  to  a  tax  imposed  on  the 
proprietary  which  the  citizens  of  that  State  may  hold  in  common  with  the  other  property  of  the 
same  description  throughout  the  State. — Id.,  436. 

1  This  was  a  provision  for  the  gradual  extinction  of  the  slave-trade,  carried  on  between  Africa 
and  the  United  States. 

2  A  writ  for  delivering  a  person  from  false  imprisonment,  or  for  removing  a  person  from  one 
court  to  another. 

3  Declaring  an  act  penal  or  criminal  which  was  innocent  when  committed.     Attainder  is  a 
deprivation  of  power  to  inherit  or  transmit  property,  a  loss  of  civil  rights,  &c. 

4  Note  1,  page  267. 


Titles  of  nobility  pro 
hibited. 


620  SUPPLEMENT. 

Powers  of  stato  do-  SECTION  10.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  Treaty,  Alli- 
ance, or  Confederation  ;  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal ; 
coin  Money ;  emit  Bills  of  Credit ;  make  any  Thing  but  gold 
and  silver  Coin  a  Tender  in  Payment  of  Debts ;  pass  any  Bill 
of  Attainder,  ex  post  facto  Law,  or  Law  impairing  the  Obli- 
gation of  Contracts/  or  grant  any  Title  of  Nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Congress,  lay 
any  Imposts  or  Duties  on  Imports  or  Exports,  except  what 
may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  Laws  : 
and  the  net  Produce  of  all  Duties  and  Imposts,  laid  by  any 
State  on  Imports  or  Exports,  shall  be  for  the  Use  of  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States ;  and  all  such  Laws  shall  be 
subject  to  the  Revision  and  Controul  of  the  Congress. 


1  Where  a  law  is  in  its  nature  a  contract,  where  absolute  rights  have  vested  under  that  contract, 
a  repeal  of  the  law  can  not  divest  those  rights. — Fletcher  vs.  Peck,  6  Cranch,  88. 

A  party  to  a  contract  can  not  pronounce  its  own  deed  invalid,  although  that  party  be  a  sover- 
eign State.— Id.,  88. 

A  grant  is  a  contract  executed. — Id.,  89. 

A  law  annulling  conveyance  is  unconstitutional,  because  it  is  a  law  impairing  the  obligation  of 
contracts  within  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. — Id. 

The  court  will  not  declare  a  law  to  be  unconstitutional,  unless  the  opposition  between  the 
Constitution  and  the  law  be  clear  and  plain. — Id.,  87. 

An  act  of  the  Legislature  of  a  State,  declaring  that  certain  lands  which  should  be  purchased  for 
the  Indians  should  not  thereafter  be  subject  to  any  tax,  constituted  a  contract  which  could  not, 
after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  be  rescinded  by  a  subsequent  legislative 
act — such  rescinding  act  being  void  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. — State  of  New 
Jersey  vs.  Wdson,  7  Cranch,  164. 

The  present  Constitution,  of  the  United  States  did  not  commence  its  operation  until  the  first 
"Wednesday  in  March,  1789,  and  the  provision  in  the  Constitution,  that  ''no  State  shall  make 
any  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,"  does  not  extend  to  a  State  law  enacted  before  that 
day,  and  operating  upon  rights  of  property  vesting  before  that  time. —  Owings  vs.  Speed,  5  Wheaton, 
420,  421. 

An  act  of  a  State  Legislature,  which  discharges  a  debtor  from  all  liability  for  debts  contracted 
previous  to  his  discharge,  on  his  surrendering  his  property  for  the  benefit  of  his  creditors,  is  a  law 
impairing  "the  obligation  of  contracts,"  within  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  so  far  as  it  attempts  to  discharge  the  contract ;  and  it  makes  no  difference  in.  such  a  case, 
that  the  suit  was  brought  in  a  State  court  of  the  State  of  which. both  the  parties  were  citizens 
where  the  contract  was  made,  and  the  discharge  obtained,  and  where  they  continued  to  reside  until 
the  suit  was  brought. — Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank  vs.  Smith,  6  Wheaton,  131. 

The  act  of  New  York,  passed  on  the  3d  of  April,  1811  (which  not  only  liberates  the  person  of 
the  debtor,  but  discharges  him  from  all  liability  for  any  debt  contracted  previous  to  his  discharge, 
on  his  surrendering  his  property  in  the  manner  it  prescribes),  so  far  "as  it  attempts  to  discharge  the 
contract,  is  a  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,  within  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  and  is  not  a  good  plea  in  bar  of  an  action  brought  upon  such  contract. — Sturgess 
vs.  Crowninshield,  4  Wheaton,  122,  197. 

Statutes  of  limitation  and  usury  laws,  unless  retro-active  in  their  effect,  do  not  impair  the  obliga- 
tion of  contracts,  and  are  constitutional. — Id.,  206. 

A  State  bankrupt  or  insolvent  law  (which  not  only  liberates  the  person  of  the  debtor,  but  dis- 
charges him  from  all  liability  for  the  debt),  so  far  as  it  attempts  to  discharge  the  contract,  is  repug- 
nant to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  it  makes  no  difference  in  the  application  of  this 
principle,  whether  the  law  was  passed  before  or  after  the  debt  was  contracted. — ^fMillan  vs. 
M'Neill,  4  Wheaton,  209. 

The  charter  granted  by  the  British  crown  to  the  trustees  of  Dartmouth  College,  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  the  year  1769,  is  a  contract  within  the  meaning  of  that  clause  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  (art.  i.,  sect.  10)  which  declares,  that  no  State  shall  make  any  law  impairing  the 
obligation  of  contracts.  The  charter  was  not  dissolved  by  the  Revolution. —  College  vs.  Woodard, 
4  Wheaton,  518. 

An  act  of  the  State  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire,  altering  the  charter  of  Dartmouth  College  in 
a  material  respect,  without  the  consent  of  the  corporation,  is  an  act  impairing  the  obligation  of  the 
charter,  and  is  unconstitutional  and  void. — Id.,  518. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  621 

No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
Duty  of  Tonnage,  keep  Troops,  or  Ships-of-War  in  time  of 
Peace,  enter  into  any  Agreement  or  Compact  with  another 
State,  or  with  a  foreign  Power,  or  engage  in  War,  unless 
actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  Danger  as  will  not 
admit  of  Delay. 

ARTICLE     II. 

SECTION  1.    The  executive  Power  shall  be  vested  in  a  Executive  power,  m 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America.      He  shall  hold        whom  vested/ 
his  Office  during  the  Term  of  four  Years,1  and,  together  with 
the  Yice  President,  chosen  for  the  same  Term,  be  elected,  as 
follows : 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  Manner  as  the  Legisla-  Presidential  electors. 
ture  thereof  may  direct,2  a  Number  of  Electors,  equal  to  the 
whole  Number  of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  which  the 
State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress :  but  no  Senator  or 
Representative,  or  Person  holding  an  Office  of  Trust  or  Profit 
under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed  an  Elector. 

[3  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  president  and  vice- 
vote  by  ballot  for  two  persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  ^esident'ho 
be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves.  And 
they  shall  make  a  list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and  of  the 
number  of  votes  for  each ;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  cer- 
tify, and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The 
President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the 
votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a 
majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if 
there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  majority,  and  have  an 
equal  number  of  votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives 
shall  immediately  choose  by  ballot  one  of  them  for  President ; 
and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  five  highest 
on  the  list  the  said  House  shall  in  like  manner  choose  the 
President.  But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be 
taken  by  States — the  representation  from  each  State  having 
one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member 
or  members  from  two  thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of 
all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  In  every  case, 
after  the  choice  of  the  President,  the  person  having  the  great- 
est number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  be  the  Vice-President. 


1  See  Laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  109,  sect.  12. 

2  See  Laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  109.  3  Vide  Amendments,  art.  xii. 


622 


SUPPLEMENT. 


Time  of  choosing 
electors. 


Qualifications  of  the 
President. 


Kesort  in  case  of  his 
disability. 


Salary  of  the  President. 


Oath  of  Office. 


Duties  of  the  President. 


But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes, 
the  Senate  shall  choose  from  them  by  ballot  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent.1] 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  Time  of  chusing  the 
Electors,2  and  the  Day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  Votes ; 
which  Day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States.3 

No  Person  except  a  natural  born  Citizen,  or  a  Citizen  of 
the  United  States  at  the  time  of  the  Adoption  of  this  Consti- 
tution, shall  be  eligible  to  the  Office  of  President ;  neither 
shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  Office  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  Age  of  thirty-five  Years,  and  been  fourteen 
Years  a  Resident  within  the  United  States. 

In  Case  of  the  Removal  of  the  President  from  Office,  or 
of  his  Death,  Resignation/1  or  Inability  to  discharge  the  Pow- 
ers and  Duties  of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the 
Vice  President,  and  the  Congress  may  by  Law  provide  for  the 
Case  of  Removal,  Death,  Resignation  or  Inability,  both  of  the 
President  and  Vice  President,  declaring  what  Officer  shall 
then  act  as  President,  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly, 
until  the  Disability  be  removed,  or  a  President  shall  be 
elected.5 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  Times,  receive  for  his  Serv- 
ices, a  Compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor 
diminished  during  the  Period  for  which  he  shall  have  been 
elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  Period  any  other 
Emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them.0 

Before  he  enter  on  the  Execution  of  his  Office,  he  shall 
take  the  following  Oath  or  Affirmation  : 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully 
execute  the  Office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will 
to  the  best  of  my  Ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

SECTION  2.  The  President  shall  be  Commander  in  chief 
of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Mil- 
itia of  the  several  States,  when  called  into  the  actual  Service 
of  the  United  States  ;7  he  may  require  the  Opinion,  in  writing, 


1  This  clause  is  annulled.     See  Amendments,  art.  xii. 

2  See  Laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  104,  sec.  1. 

3  See  Laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  109,  sec.  2.     Now  the  first  Tuesday  in  November. 

4  See  Laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  104,  sec.  11. 

6  See  Laws  United  States,  vol  ii.,  chap.  109,  sec.  9 ;  and  vol.  iii.,  chap.  403. 

6  The  salary  of  the  President  is  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

7  The  act  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  of  the  28th  March,  1814  (providing,  sec.  21.  that  the 
officers  and  privates  of  the  militia  of  that  State  neglecting  or  refusing  to  serve  when  called  into  ac- 
tual service,  in  pursuance  of  any  order  or  requisition  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
liable  to  the  penalties  defined  in  the  act  of  Congress  of  28th  February..  17 95,  chap.  277,  or  to  any 
penalty  which  may  have  been  prescribed  since  the  date  of  that  act,  or  which  may  hereafter  be  pre- 
scribed by  any  law  of  the  United  States,  and  also  providing  for  the  trial  of  such  delinquents  by  a 


CONSTITUTION"    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


623 


of  the  principal  Officer  in  each  of  the  executive  Departments, 
upon  any  Subject  relating  to  the  Duties  of  their  respective 
Offices,  and  he  shall  have  Power  to  grant  Reprieves  and  Par- 
dons for  Offences  against  the  United  States,  except  in  Cases  of 
Impeachment. 

He  shall  have  Power,  by  and  with  the  Advice  and  Consent  His  power  to  make 
of  the  Senate,  to  make  Treaties,  provided  two  thirds  of  the  bassadors,  judges,  eet" 
Senators  present  concur ;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and 
with  the  Advice  and  Consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  Am- 
bassadors, other  public  Ministers  and  Consuls,  Judges  of  the 
supreme  Court,  and  all  other  Officers  of  the  United  States, 
whose  appointments  are  not  herein  hitherto  provided  for,  and 
which  shall  be  established  by  Law :  but  the  Congress  may  by 
Law  vest  the  Appointment  of  such  inferior  Officers,  as  they 
think  proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  Courts  of  Law,  or 
in  the  Heads  of  Departments. 

The  President  shall  have  Power  to  fill  up  all  Vacancies 
that  may  happen  during  the  Recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting 
Commissions  which  shall  expire  at  the  End  of  their  next  Ses- 
sion. 

SECTION  3.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Con- 
gress Information  of  the  State  of  the  Union,  and  recommend 
to  their  Consideration  such  Measures  as  he  shall  judge  neces- 
sary and  expedient ;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  Occasions,  con- 
vene both  Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and  in  Case  of  Disagree- 
ment between  them,  with  Respect  to  the  Time  of  Adjournment, 
he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  Time  as  he  shall  think  proper ; 
he  shall  receive  Ambassadors  and  other  public  Ministers  :  he 
shall  take  Care  that  the  Laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall 
Commission  all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

SECTION  4.  The  President,  Vice  President,  and  all  civil 
Officers  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  Office  on 
Impeachment  for,  and  Conviction  of,  Treason,  Bribery,  or 
other  high  Crimes  or  Misdemeanors. 


Mav  fill  vacanc1'  •"$. 


Power  to  convene 
Conirress. 


How  officers  may  be 
removed. 


ARTICLE     III 


SECTION  1.  The  judicial  Power  of  the  United  States,  shall  Judicial  power,  how 
be  vested  in  one  supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  Courts 
as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.1 

State  court-martial,  and  that  a  list  of  the  delinquents  fined  by  such  court  should  be  furnished  to  the 
marshal  of  the  United  States,  etc. ;  and  also  to  the  comptroller  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States, 
in  order  that  the  further  proceedings  directed  to  be  had  thereon  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
might  be  completed),  is  not  repugnant  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States. — Houston 
vs.  Moore,  5  W/ieaton,  1,  12. 

1  Congress  may  constitutionally  impose  upon  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  the  burden  of  holding  circuit  courts. — Stuart  vs.  Laird,  I  Cranch,  289. 


624 


SUPPLEMENT. 


To  what  cases  it  ex- 
tends. 


Jurisdiction  of  the  Su- 
preme Court. 


The  Judgies,  both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior  Courts,  shall 
hold  their  Offices  during  good  Behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated 
Times,  receive  for  their  Services,  a  Compensation,  which  shall 
not  be  diminished  during  their  Continuance  in  Office.1 

SECTION  2.  The  judicial  Power  shall  extend  to  all  Cases, 
in  Law  and  Equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  Laws 
of  the  United  States,  and  Treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be 
made,  under  their  Authority : — to  all  cases  affecting  Ambas- 
sadors, other  public  Ministers  and  Consuls ; — to  all  Cases  of 
admiralty  and  maritime  Jurisdiction ; — to  Controversies  to 
which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  Party  ; — to  Controversies 
between  two  or  more  States ; — between  a  State  and  Citizens 
of  another  State  ; — between  Citizens  of  different  States  ;2 — be- 
tween Citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming  Lands  under  Grants 
of  different  States,  and  between  a  State,  or  the  Citizens 
thereof,  and  foreign  States,  Citizens  or  Subjects.3 

In  all  Cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers 
and  Consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  a  Party,  the 
supreme  Court  shall  have  original  Jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other 
Cases  before  mentioned,  the  supreme  Court  shall  have  appel- 
late Jurisdiction,  both  as  to  Law  and  Fact,  with  such  Excep- 
tions, and  under  such  Regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 


1  See  laws  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  20. 

3  A  citizen  of  the  District  of  Columbia  is  not  a  citizen  of  a  State  within  the  meaning  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States. — Hepburn,  et  al.  vs.  EUzey,  2  Cranch,  445. 

3  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  not  power  to  issue  a  mandamus  to  a  Secretary 
of  State  of  the  United  States,  it  being  an  exercise  of  original  jurisdiction  not  warranted  by  the  Con- 
stitution, notwithstanding  the  act  of  Congress. — Marbury  vs.  Madison,  1  Cranch,  137. 

See  a  restriction  of  this  provision. — Amendments,  art.  xi. 

4  The  appellate  jurisdiction  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  extends  to  a  final  judg- 
ment or  decree  in  any  suit  in  the  highest  court  of  law,  or  equity  of  a  State,  where  is  drawn  in  ques- 
tion the  validity  of  a  treaty,  etc. — Martin  vs.  Hunter's  lessee,  I  Wfieaton,  304. 

Such  judgment,  etc.,  may  be  re-exaruiried  by  writ  of  error,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  rendered  in 
a  circuit  court. — Id. 

If  the  cause  has  been  once  remanded  before,  and  the  State  court  decline  or  refuse  to  carry  into 
effect  the  mandate  of  the  Supreme  Court  thereon,  this  court  will  proceed  to  a  final  decision  of  the 
same,  and  award  execution  thereon. 

Quere. — Whether  this  court  has  authority  to  issue  a  mandamus  to  the  State  court  to  enforce  a 
former  judgment  ?— Id.,  362. 

If  the  validity  or  construction  of  a  treaty  of  the  United  States  is  drawn  in  question,  and  the 
-decision  is  against  its  validity,  or  the  title  specialty  set  up  by  either  party  under  the  treaty,  this 
court  has  jurisdiction  to  ascertain  that  title,  and  determine  its  legal  validity,  and  is  not  confined  to 
the  abstract  construction  of  the  treaty  itself. — Id.,  362. 

Quere. — Whether  the  courts  of  the  United  States  have  jurisdiction  of  offenses  at  common  law 
against  the  United  States? — United  States  vs.  Coolidge,  1  Wheaton,  415. 

The  courts  of  the  United  States  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  all  seizures  made  on  land  or  water 
for  a  breach  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States ;  and  any  intervention  of  a  State  authority,  which  by 
taking  the  thing  seized  out  of  the  hands  of  the  United  States'  officer,  might  obstruct  the  exercise  of 
this  jurisdiction,  is  illegal. — Slocum  vs.  Mayberry  et  al,  2  Wheaton,  1,  9. 

In  such  a  case  the  court  of  the  United  States  have  cognizance  of  the  seizure,  may  enforce  a  re- 
delivery  of  the  thing  by  attachment  or  other  summary  process. — Id.,  9. 

The  question  under  such  a  seizure,  whether  a  forfeiture  has  been  actually  incurred,  belongs 
exclusively  to  the  courts  of  the  United  States,  and  it  depends  upon  the  final  decree  of  such  courts, 
whether  the  seizure  is  to  be  deemed  rightful  or  tortuous. — Id.,  9,  10. 

If  the  seizing  officer  refuse  to  institute  proceedings  to  ascertain  the  forfeiture,  the  district  court 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  625 

The  Trial  of  all  Crimes,  except  in  Cases  of  Impeachment,    Rules  respecting  trials. 
shall  be  by  Jury ;  and  such  Trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State 
where  the  said  Crimes  shall  have  been  committed  ;  but  when 

may,  on  application  of  the  aggrieved  party,  compel  the  officer  to  proceed  to  adjudication,  or  to  aban- 
don the  seizure. — Id.,  10. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  extends  to  a  case  between  citizens  of 
Kentucky,  claiming  lands  exceeding  the  value  of  five  hundred  dollars,  under  different  grants — the 
one  issued  by  the  State  of  Kentucky,  and  the  other  by  the  State  of  Virginia,  upon  warrants 
issued  by  Virginia,  and  locations  founded  thereon,  prior  to  the  separation  of  Kentucky  from  Vir- 
ginia. It  is  the  grant  which  passes  the  legal  title  to  the  land,  and  if  the  controversy  is  founded 
upon  the  conflicting  grants  of  different  States,  the  judicial  power  of  the  courts  of  the  United  States 
extends  to  the  case,  whatever  may  have  been  the  equitable  title  of  the  parties  prior  to  the  grant. — 
Colson  et  al  vs.  Lewis,  2  Wheaton,  377. 

Under  the  judiciary  of  1789,  chap.  20,  sect.  25,  giving  appellate  jurisdiction  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  from  the  final  judgment  or  decree  of  the  highest  court  of  law  or  equity  of  a 
State,  in  certain  cases  the  writ  of  error  may  be  directed  to  any  court  in  which  the  record  and 
judgment  on  which  it  is  to  act  may  be  found ;  and  if  the  record  has  been  remitted  by  the  highest 
court,  &c.,  to  another  court  of  the  State,  it  may  be  brought  by  the  writ  of  error  from  that  court. — 
Gelston  vs.  Hoyt,  3  Wheaton,  246,  303. 

The  remedies  in  the  courts  of  the  United  States  at  common  law  and  in  equity  are  to  be,  not 
according  to  the  practice  of  State  courts,  but  according  to  the  principles  of  common  law  and  equity 
as  defined  in  England.  This  doctrine  reconciled  writh  the  decisions  of  the  courts  of  Tennessee,  per- 
mitting an  equitable  title  to  be  asserted  in  an  action  at  law. — Robinson  vs.  Campbell,  3  Wheaton. 
221. 

Remedies  in  respect  to  real  property  are  to  be  pursued  according  to  the  lex  loci  rei  sites. — Id.. 
219. 

The  courts  of  the  United  States  have  exclusive  cognizance  of  questions  of  forfeiture  upon  all 
seizures  made  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  it  is  not  competent  for  a  State  court 
to  entertain  or  decide  such  question  of  forfeiture.  If  a  sentence  of  condemnation  be  definitively 
pronounced  by  the  proper  court  of  the  United  States,  it  is  conclusive  that  a  forfeiture  is  incurred"; 
if  a  sentence  of  acquittal,  it  is  equally  conclusive  against  the  forfeiture,  and  in  either  case  the 
question  can  not  be  again  litigated  in  any  common  law  for  ever. —  Gelston  vs.  Hoyt,  3  Wheaton,  246, 
311. 

Where  a  seizure  is  made  for  a  supposed  forfeiture  under  a  law  of  the  United  States,  no  action 
of  trespass  lies  in  any  common-law  tribunal,  until  a  final  decree  is  pronounced  upon  the  proceeding 
in  rem  to  enforce  such  forfeiture ;  for  it  depends  upon  the  final  decree  of  the  court  proceeding  in 
rem,  whether  such  seizure  is  to  be  deemed  rightful  or  tortuous,  and  the  action,  if  brought  before 
such  decree  is  made,  is  brought  too  soon. — Id.,  313. 

If  a  suit  be  brought  against  the  seizing  officer  for  the  supposed  trespass  while  the  suit  for  the 
forfeiture  is  depending,  the  fact  of  such  pending  may  be  pleaded  in  abatement,  or  as  a  temporary 
bar  of  the  action.  If  after  a  decree  of  condemnation,  then  that  fact  may  be  pleaded  as  a  bar ;  if 
after  an  acquittal  with  a  certificate  of  reasonable  cause  of  seizure,  then  that  may  be  pleaded  as 
a  bar.  If  after  an  acquittal  without  such  certificate,  then  the  officer  is  without  any  justification  for 
the  seizure,  and  it  is  definitively  settled  to  be  a  tortuous  act.  If  to  an  action  of  trespass  in  a  State 
court  for  a  seizure,  the  seizing  officer  plead  the  fact  of  forfeiture  in  his  defense,  without  averring  a 
Us  pendens,  or  a  condemnation  or  an  acquittal,  with  a  certificate  of  reasonable  cause  of  seizure, 
the  plea  is  bad:  for  it  attempts  to  put  in  issue  the  question  of  a  forfeiture  in  a  State  court. — Id.. 
314. 

Supposing  that  the  third  article  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  which  declares,  that 
"the  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction,"  vested  in  the 
United  States  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  all  such  cases,  and  that  a  murder  committed  in  the  waters 
of  a  State  where  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows,  is  a  case  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction ;  yet  Con- 
gress have  not,  in  the  8th  section  of  the  act  of  1790,  chap.  9,  "for  the  punishment  of  certain  crimes 
against  the  United  States,"  so  exercised  this  power  as  to  confer  on  the  courts  of  the  United  States 
jurisdiction  over  such  murder. —  United  States  vs.  Bevans,  3  Wheaton,  336,  387. 

Quere. — Whether  courts  of  common  law  have  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  the  admiralty  over 
murder  committed  in  bays,  &c.,  which  are'enclosed  parts  of  the  sea? — Id.,  387. 

The  grant  to  the  United  States,  in  the  Constitution,  of  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  juris- 
diction, does  not  extend  to  a  cession  of  the  waters  in  which  those  cases  may  arise,  or  of  general 
jurisdiction  over  the  same.  Congress  may  pass  all  laws  which  are  necessary  for  giving  the  most 
complete  effect  to  the  exercise  of  the  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction  granted  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Union ;  but  the  general  jurisdiction  over  the  place  subject  to  this  grant,  adheres  to  the 
territory  as  a  portion  of  territory  not  yet  given  away,  and  the  residuary  powers  of  legislation  still 
remain 'in  the  State. — Id.,  389. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  constitutionally  appellate  jurisdiction  under  the 

40 


626  SUPPLEMENT. 

not  committed  within  any  State,  the  Trial  shall  be  at  such 
Place  or  Places  as  the  Congress  may  by  Law  have  directed.1 
Treason  defined.  SECTION  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States,  shall  con- 

sist only  in  levying  War  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their 
Enemies,  giving  them  Aid  and  Comfort. 

No  Person  shall  be  convicted  of  Treason',  unless  on  the 
Testimony  of  two  Witnesses  to  the  same  overt  Act.  or  on 
Confession  in  open  Court. 

now  punished.  The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  declare  the  Punish- 

ment of  Treason,  but  no  Attainder  of  Treason  shall  work 
Corruption  of  Blood,  or  Forfeiture  except  during  the  Life  of 
the  Person  attainted.2 


judiciary  act  of  1789,  chap.  20,  sect.  25,  from  the  final  judgment  or  decree  of  the  highest  court  of 
law  or  equity  of  a  State  having  jurisdiction  of  the  subject-matter  of  the  suit,  where  is  drawn  in 
question  the  validity  of  a  treaty  or  statute  of,  or  an  authority  exercised  under,  the  United  States, 
and  the  decision  is  against  their  validity ;  or  where  is  drawn  in  question  the  validity  of  a  statute 
of,  or  an  authority  exercised  under,  any  State,  on  the  ground  of  their  being  repugnant  to  the  Con- 
stitution, treaties,  or  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  the  decision  is  in  favor  of  such  their  validity ; 
or  of  the  Constitution,  or  of  a  treaty,  or  statute  of,  or  commission  held  under,  the  United  States,  and 
the  decision  is  against  the  title,  right,  privilege,  or  exemption,  specially  set  up  or  claimed  by  either 
party  under  such  clause  of  the  Constitution,  treaty,  statute,  or  commission. —  Cohens  vs.  Virginia,  0 
Wheaton.  264,  375. 

It  is  no  objection  to  the  exercise  of  this  appellate  jurisdiction,  that  one  of  the  parties  is  a  State, 
and  the  other  a  citizen  of  that  State. — Id. 

The  Circuit  Courts  of  the  Union  have  chancery  jurisdiction  in  every  State  ;  they  have  the  same 
chancery  powers,  and  the  same  rules  of  decision  in  equity  cases,  in  all  the  States. —  United  States 
vs.  Rowland,  4  Wheaton,  108,  115. 

Resolution  of  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  of  1810,  upon  the  proposition  from  Pennsylvania  to 
amend  the  Constitution,  so  as  to  provide  an  impartial  tribunal  to  decide  disputes  between  the  State 
and  Federal  judiciaries. — Note  to  Cohens  vs.  Virginia.  Notes  6  Wheaton,  358. 

Where  a  cause  is  brought  to  this  court  by  writ  of  error,  or  appeal  from  the  highest  court  of  law 
or  equity  of  a  State,  under  the  25th  section  of  the  judiciary  act  of  1789,  chap.  20,  upon  the  ground 
that  the  validity  of  a  statute  of  the  United  States  was  drawn  in  question,  and  that  the  decision  of 
the  State  court  was  against  its  validity,  &c.,  or  that  the  validity  of  the  statute  of  a  State  was  drawn 
in  question  as  repugnant  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the  decision  was  in  favor  of 
its  validity,  it  must  appear  from  the  record,  that  the  act  of  Congress,  or  the' constitutionality  of  the 
State  law  was  drawn  in  question. — Miller  vs.  Nicholls,  4  Wheaton.  311,  315. 

But  it  is  not  required  that  the  record  should  in  terms  state  a  misconstruction  of  the  act  of 
Congress,  or  that  it  was  drawn  into  question.  It  is  sufficient  to  give  this  court  jurisdiction  of 
the  cause,  that  the  record  should  show  that  an  act  of  Congress  was  applicable  to  the  case. — Id., 
315. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  no  jurisdiction  under  the  25th  section  of  the  ju- 
diciary act  of  1789,  chap.  20,  unless  the  judgment  or  decree  of  the  State  court  bo  a  final  judgment  or 
decree.  A  judgment  reversing  that  of  an  inferior  court,  and  awarding  a  venire  facias  de  novo,  is  not 
a  final  judgment. — Houston  vs.  Moore,  3  Wheaton,  433. 

By  the  compact  of  1802,  settling  the  boundary  line  between  Virginia  and  Tennessee,  and  the 
laws  made  in  pursuance  thereof^  it  is  declared  that  all  claims  and  titles  to  land  derived  from 
Virginia,  or  North  Carolina,  or  Tennessee,  which  have  fallen  into  the  respective  States,  shall 
remain  as  secure  to  the  owners  thereof,  as  if  derived  from  the  government  within  whose  boundary 
they  have  fallen,  and  shall  not  be  prejudiced  or  affected  by  the  establishment  of  the  line.  Where 
the  titles  of  both  the  plaintiff  and  defendant  in  ejectment  were  derived  under  grant  from  Virginia 
to  lands  which  fell  within  the  limits  of  Tennessee,  it  was  held  that  a  prior  settlement  right  thereto, 
which  would  in  equity  give  the  party  a  title,  could  not  be  asserted  as  a  sufficient  title  in  an  action 
of  ejectment  brought  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  Tennessee. — Robinson  vs.  Campbell,  3  Wheaton,  212. 

Although  the  State  courts  of  Tennessee  have  decided  that,  under  their  statutes  (declaring  an 
elder  grant  founded  on  a  junior  entry  to  bo  void),  a  junior  patent,  founded  on  a  prior  entry,  shall 
prevail  at  law  against  a  senior  patent  founded  on  a  junior  entry,  this  doctrine  has  never  been 
extended  beyond  cases  within  the  express  provision  of  the  statute  of  Tennessee,  and  could  not 
apply  to  titles  deriving  all  their  validity  from  the  laws  of  Virginia,  and  confirmed  by  the  compact 
between  the  two  States. — Id.,  212.  l  Vide  Amendments,  art.  vi. 

3  Se3  Laws  of  the  United  States,  vol  ii,  chap.  36. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  627 


ARTICLE     IT. 

SECTION  1.  Full  Faith  and  Credit  shall  be  given  in  each  Eights  of  states  de- 
State  to  the  public  Acts,  Records,  and  judicial  Proceedings 
of  every  other  State.1     And  the  Congress  may  by  general 
Laws  prescribe  the  Manner  in  which  such  Acts,  Records  and 
Proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  Effect  thereof.2 

SECTION  2.  The  Citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  Privileges  of  citizens. 
all  Privileges  and  Immunities  of  Citizens  in  the  several  States. 

A  Person  charged  in  any  State  with  Treason,  Felony,  or  Executive  requisition. 
other  Crime,  who  shall  flee  from  Justice,  and  be  found  in 
another  State,  shall  on  Demand  of  the  executive  Authority 
of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  remov- 
ed to  the  State  having  Jurisdiction  of  the  Crime. 

No  Person  held  to  Service  or  Labor  in  one  State,  under  Law  regulating  service 
the  Laws  thereof  escaping  to  another,  shall,  in  Consequence 
of  any  Law  or  Regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such 
Service  or  Labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  Claim  of  the 
Party  to  whom  such  Service  or  Labor  may  be  due.3 

SECTION  3.  New  States  maybe  admitted  by  the  Congress  New  states,  how  form- 
into  this  Union  ;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected 
within  the  Jurisdiction  of  any  other  State  ;  nor  any  State  be 
formed  by  the  Junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or  Parts  of 
States,  without  the  consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States 
concerned  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  power  of  congress  over 
needful  Rules  and  Regulations  respecting  the  Territory  or 
other  Property  belonging  to  the  United  States  ;  and  nothing 
in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  Prejudice  any 
Claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 

SECTION  4.    The   Constitution  shall   guaranty  to  every  Republican  g0vem- 
State  in  this  Union  a  Republican  Form  of  Government,  and     ment  suarantied- 
shall  protect  each  of  them  against  Invasion  ;  and  on  Applica- 
tion of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when  the  Legis- 
lature can  not  be  convened)  against  domestic  violence. 


1  A  judgment  of  a  State  court  has  the  same  credit,  validity,  and  effect,  in  every  other  court 
within  the  United  States,  which  it  had  in  the  court  where  it  was  rendered ;  and  whatever  pleas 
would  be  good  to  a  suit  thereon  in  such  State,  and  none  others,  can  be  pleaded  in  any  other  court 
within  the  United  States. — Hampton  vs.  McConnell,  3  Wlieaton,  234. 

The  record  of  a  judgment  in  one  State  is  conclusive  evidence  in  another,  although  it  appears 
that  the  suit  in  which  it  was  rendered  was  commenced  by  an  attachment  of  property,  the  defendant 
having  afterward  appeared  and  taken  defense. — Mayliew  vs.  T/iacher,  6  Wheaton,  129. 

2  See  Laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  38 ;  and  vol.  iii.,  chap.  409. 

3  This  is  the  clause  of  the  Constitution  on  which  is  based  the  provisions  of  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  of  1850.    See  page  501. 


628 


SUPPLEMENT. 


Constitution,    how 
be  amended. 


ARTICLE    V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  Houses  shall 
deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  Amendments  to  this  Consti- 
tution, or,  on  the  Application  of  the  Legislatures  of  two  thirds 
of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a  Convention  for  proposing 
Amendments,  which,  in  either  Case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  In- 
tents and  Purposes,  as  part  of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified 
by  the  Legislatures  of  three  fourths  of  the  several  States,  or 
by  Conventions  in  three  fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the 
other  Mode  of  Ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the  Congress ; 
Provided  that  no  Amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the 
Year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  Man- 
ner affect  the  first  and  fourth  Clauses  in  the  Ninth  Section  of 
the  first  Article ;  and  that  no  State,  without  its  Consent,  shall 
be  deprived  of  its  equal  Suffrage  in  the  Senate.1 


Validity  of  debts  rec- 
ognized. 


Supreme   law    of   the 
land  defined. 


Oath,  of  whom  requir- 
ed, and  what  for. 


ARTICLE     YI. 

All  Debts  contracted  and  Engagements  entered  into,  before 
the  Adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the 
United  States  under  this  Constitution,  as  under  the  Confeder- 
ation. 

This  Constitution,  and  the  Laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  Pursuance  thereof;  and  all  Treaties  made,  or 
which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United 
States,  shall  be  the  supreme  Law  of  the  Land;2  and  the 
Judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  any  thing  in 
the  Constitution  or  Laws  of  any  State  to  the  Contrary  not- 
withstanding.3 

The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and 
the  Members  of  the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all  execu- 
tive and  judicial  Officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  Oath  or  Affirmation,  to  sup- 
port this  Constitution  ;*  but  no  religious  Test  shall  ever  be  re- 
quired as  a  Qualification  to  any  Office  or  public  Trust  under 
the  United  States. 


1  See  ante,  art.  i.,  sec.  3,  clause  1. 

2  An  act  of  Congress  repugnant  to  the  Constitution  can  not  become  a  law. — Narbury  vs.  Madi- 
son, 1  Cranch,  176. 

3  The  courts  of  the  United  States  are  bound  to  take  notice  of  the  Constitution. — Marlury  vs. 
Madison,  1  Cranch,  178. 

A  contemporary  exposition  of  the  Constitution,  practised  and  acquiesced  under  for  a  period  of 
years,  fixes  its  construction. — Stuart  vs.  Laird,  1  Cranch,  299. 

The  government  of  the  Union,  though  limited  in  its  powers,  is  supreme  within  its  sphere  of 
action,  and  its  laws,  when  made  in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution,  form  the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 
— McCuttochvs.  State  of  Maryland,  4  Wheaton,  405. 

4  See  Laws  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  1. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


629 


ARTICLE    VII. 

The  Ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States  shall       Ratification. 
be  sufficient  for  the  Establishment  of  this  Constitution  between 
the  States  so  ratifying  the  Same. 

DONE  in  Convention  by  the  Unanimous  Consent  of  the  States 
present,  the  Seventeenth  Day  of  September,  in  the  Year 
of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  Eighty- 
seven,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  the 
Twelfth.  IN  WITNESS  whereof  We  have  hereunto  sub- 
scribed our  Names. 

GEO.  WASHINGTON, 
P 'resident ';  and  deputy  from  Virginia. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
JOHN  LANGDON, 
NICHOLAS  GILMAN. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 
NATHANIEL  GORIIAM, 
RUFUS  KING. 

CONNECTICUT. 
WILLIAM  SAMUEL  JOHNSON, 
ROGER  SHERMAN. 

NEW  YORK. 
ALEXANDER  HAMILTON. 

NEW  JERSEY. 
WILLIAM  LIVINGSTON, 
DAVID  BREARLEY, 
WILLIAM  PATERSON, 
JONATHAN  DAYTON. 

Attest :         WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretary. 


PENNSYLVANIA. 

VIRGINIA. 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN, 

JOHN  BLAIR, 

THOMAS  MIFFLIN, 

JAMES  MADISON,  JR. 

ROBERT  MORRIS, 

GEORGE  CLYMER, 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

THOMAS  FITZSIMONS, 

"WILLIAM  BLOUNT, 

JARED  INGERSOLL, 

RICHARD  DOBBS  SPAIGHT, 

JAMES  WILSON, 

HUGH  WILLIAMSON. 

GOUVERNEUR  MORRIS. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

DELAWARE. 

GEORGE  REED, 
GUNNING  BEDFORD,  JR., 
JOHN  DICKINSON, 
RICHARD  BASSETT, 

CHARLES  C.  PINCKNEY, 
CHARLES  PINCKNEY, 
JOHN  RUTLEDGE, 
PIERCE  BUTLER. 

JACOB  BROOM. 

GEORGIA. 

MARYLAND. 

WILLIAM  FEW, 

JAMES  M'HENRY, 

ABRAHAM  BALDWIN. 

DANIEL  OF  ST.  Tnos.  JENIFER 

^ 

DANIEL  CARROLL. 

AMENDMENTS1 


TO  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  RATIFIED 
ACCORDING  TO  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  THE  FIFTH  ARTICLE 
OF  THE  FOREGOING  CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE  THE  FIRST.  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respect-  Freedom  m  religion 

.    ,  ,.   ,  «        ,.    .  i  •!  •   •  in  an(i  speech,  and    of 

mg  an  establishment  or  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exer-     the  press, 
cise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the 
press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and 
to  petition  the  Government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 


1  Congress,  at  its  first  session,  begun  and  held  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  Wednesday,  the  4th 
of  March,  1789,  proposed  to  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States  twelve  amendments  to  the  Con- 
stitution, ten  of  which,  only,  were  adopted. 


630 


SUPPLEMENT. 


Militia. 


Soldiers. 


Search-warrants. 


Capital  crimes. 


Trial  by  jury. 


Suits  at  common  law. 


Bail. 


ARTICLE  THE  SECOND.  A  well-regulated  Militia  being 
necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free  State,  the  right  of  the  peo- 
ple to  keep  and  bear  Arms,  shall  not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE  THE  THIRD.  No  Soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace 
be  quartered  in  any  house,  without  the  consent  of  the  Owner, 
nor  in  a  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by 
law. 

ARTICLE  THE  FOURTH.  The  right  of  the  people  to  be 
secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against 
unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated,  and 
no  Warrants  shall  issue,  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported 
by  Oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the  place 
to  be  searched,  and  the  person  or  things  to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE  THE  FIFTH.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer 
for  a  capital,  or  otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  pre- 
sentment or  indictment  of  a  Grand  Jury,  except  in  cases  aris- 
ing in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  Militia,  when  in 
actual  service  in  time  of  War  or  public  danger  ;  nor  shall  any 
person  be  subject  for  the  same  offense  to  be  twice  put  in  jeop- 
ardy of  life  or  limb ;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any  Criminal 
Case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived  of  life, 
liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law ;  nor  shall 
private  property  be  taken  for  public  use,  without  just  compen- 
sation. 

ARTICLE  THE  SIXTH.  In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the 
accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by 
an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the  crime 
shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been,  pre- 
viously ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature 
and  cause  of  the  accusation ;  to  be  confronted  with  the  wit- 
nesses against  him ;  to  have  Compulsory  process  for  obtaining 
Witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  Assistance  of  Counsel 
for  his  defence. 

ARTICLE  THE  SEVENTH.  In  Suits  at  common  law,  where 
the  value  in  controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right 
of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury, 
shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the  United 
States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law.1 

ARTICLE   THE   EIGHTH.     Excessive    bail    shall    not   be 


1  The  act  of  Assembly,  in  Maryland,  of  1793,  chap.  30,  incorporating  the  bank  of  Columbia,  and 
giving  to  the  corporation  a  summary  process  by  execution  in  the  nature  of  an  attachment  against 
its  debtors  who  have,  by  an  express  consent  in  writing,  made  the  bonds,  bills,  or  notes,  by  them 
drawn  or  endorsed,  negotiable  at  the  bank,  is  not  repugnant  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  or  of  Maryland. — Bank  of  Columbia  vs.  Okely,  4  Wheaton,  236,  249. 

But  the  last  provision  in  the  act  of  incorporation,  which  gives  this  summary  process  to  the  bank, 
is  no  part  of  its  corporate  franchise,  and  may  be  repealed  or  altered  at  pleasure  by  the  legislative 
will.— Id.,  245. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


631 


required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual 
punishments  inflicted. 

AIITICLE  THE  NINTH.  The  enumeration  in  the  Constitu-    Certain  rights  defined. 
tion,  of  certain  rights,  shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  dis- 
parage others  retained  by  the  people. 

ARTICLE  THE  TENTH.    The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  Eights  reserved. 
United  States,  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the 
states,  are  reserved  to  the  states  respectively,  or  to  the  peo- 
ple.1 

ARTICLE   THE   ELEVENTH.2   The  judicial   power  of  the  Judicial  power  limited. 
United  States  shall  not  be  construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in 
law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one   of  the 
United  States  by  Citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  Citizens  or 
Subjects  of  any  Foreign  State. 

ARTICLE  THE  TWELFTH. 3  The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  Amendment   respect- 

intf  the    election    of 

respective  States,  and  vote  by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice      President  and  vice 

President. 

President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of 
the  same  state  with  themselves ;  they  shall  name  in  their  bal- 
lots the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots 
the  person  voted  for  as  Vice  President,  and  they  shall  make 
distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all 
persons  voted  for  as  Vice  President,  and  of  the  number  of 
votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and 
transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  directed  to  The  president  of  the  Senate;4 — The  Presi- 

1  The  powers  granted  to  Congress  are  not  exclusive  of  similar  powers  existing  in  the  States, 
unless  where  the  Constitution  has  expressly,  in  terms,  given  an  exclusive  power  to  Congress,  or  the 
exercise  of  a  like  power  is  prohibited  to  the  States,  or  there  is  a  direct  repugnancy  or  incompatibil- 
ity in  the  exercise  of  it  by  the  States. — Houston  vs.  Moore,  5  Wheaton,  1,  12. 

The  example  of  the  first  class  is  to  be  found  in  the  exclusive  legislation  delegated  to  Congress 
over  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be, 
for  forts,  arsenals,  dockyards,  &c.  Of  the  second  class,  the  prohibition  of  a  State  to  coin  money  or 
emit  bills  of  credit.  Of  the  third  class,  the  power  to  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and 
the  delegation  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction. — Id.,  49. 

In  all  other  classes  of  cases,  the  States  retain  concurrent  authority  with  Congress. — Id.,  49. 

But  in  cases  of  concurrent  authority,  where  the  laws  of  the  States  and  the  Union  are  in  direct 
and  manifest  collision  on  the  same  subject,  those  of  the  Union  being  the  supreme  law  of  the  land, 
are  of  paramount  authority,  and  the  State  laws  so  far,  and  so  far  only  as  such  incompatibility  exists, 
must  necessarily  yield. — /<£.,  49. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  similar  to  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, which  excludes  incidental  or  implied  powers. — MiCullocli  vs.  State  of  Maryland,  4  Wheaton, 
406. 

If  the  end  be  legitimate,  and  within  the  scope  of  the  Constitution,  all  the  means  which  are 
appropriate,  which  are  plainly  adapted  to  that  end,  and  which  are  not  prohibited,  may  constitution- 
ally be  employed  to  carry  it  into  effect. — Id.,  421. 

The  act  of  Congress  of  4th  May,  1812,  entitled,  "An  act  further  to  amend  the  charter  of  the 
city  of  Washington,"  which  provides  (sect.  6)  that  the  corporation  of  the  city  shall  be  empowered 
for  certain  purposes  and  under  certain  restrictions,  to  authorize  the  drawing  of  lotteries,  does  not 
extend  to  authorize  the  corporation  to  force  the  sale  of  the  tickets  in  such  lottery  in  States  where 
such  sale  may  be  prohibited  by  the  State  laws. — Cohens  vs.  Virginia,  6  Wheaton,  264,  375. 

2  This  amendment  was  proposed  at  the  first  session  of  the  third  Congress.     See  ante,  art.  iii., 
sect.  2,  clause  1. 

3  Proposed  at  the  first  session  of  the  eighth  Congress.     See  ante,  art.  ii.,  sect.  1.  clause  3. 
Annulled  by  this  amendment.  4  See  Laws  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  109,  sect.  5. 


532  SUPPLEMENT. 

Amendment  respect-  dent  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and 
Prgesidheenteland0vic0ef  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates  and  the 
votes  shall  then  be  counted : — the  person  having  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  for  President,  shall  be  the  President,  if  such 
number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointed  ;  and  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then  from 
the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers,  not  exceeding  three 
on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President. 
But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by 
states,  the  representation  from  each  state  having  one  vote ;  a 
quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members 
from  two  thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  states 
shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  not  choose  a  President  whenever  the  right  of 
choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of 
March  next  following,  then  the  Vice  President  shall  act  as 
President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional 
disability  of  the  President.  The  person  having  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  as  Vice  President,  shall  be  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent, if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of 
Electors  appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then 
from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall 
choose  the  Vice  President ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall 
consist  of  two  thirds  of  the  whole  number,  of  Senators,  and  a 
majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  Pres- 
ident shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice  President  of  the  United 
States. 

NOTE. — Auother  amendment  was  proposed  as  article  xiii,  at  the  second  session  of  the  eleventh 
Congress,  but  not  having  been  ratified  by  a  sufficient  number  of  States,  has  not  yet  become  valid  as 
a  part  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  It  is  erroneously  given  as  a  part  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, in  page  74,  vol.  i.,  Laws  of  the  United  States. 


VIII. 

WASHINGTON'S    FAREWELL    ADDRESS.1 

FRIENDS  AXD  FELLOW-CITIZENS — 

The  period  for  a  new  election  of  a  citizen,  to  administer  the  executive  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  being  not  far  distant,  and  the  time  actually 
arrived  when  your  thoughts  must  be  employed  in  designating  the  person  who  is 
to  be  clothed  with  that  important  trust,  it  appears  to  me  proper,  especially  as  it 
may  conduce  to  a  more  distinct  expression  of  the  public  voice,  that  I  should  now 
apprise  you  of  the  resolution  I  have  formed,  to  decline  being  considered  among 
the  number  of  those  out  of  whom  a  choice  is  to  be  made.  I  beg  you,  at  the 
same  time,  to  do  me  the  justice  to  be  assured,  that  this  resolution  has  not  been 
taken  without  a  strict  regard  to  all  the  considerations  appertaining  to  the  rela- 
tions which  bind  a  dutiful  citizen  to  his  country ;  and  that,  in  withdrawing  the 
tender  of  service  which  silence  in  my  situation  might  imply,  I  am  influenced  by 
no  diminution  of  zeal  for  your  future  interest — no  deficiency  of  grateful  respect 
for  your  past  kindness ;  but  am  supported  by  a  full  conviction  that  the  step  is 
compatible  with  both. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  continuance  hitherto  in,  the  office  to  which  your  suf- 
frages have  twice  called  me,  have  been  a  uniform  sacrifice  of  inclination  to  the 
opinion  of  duty,  and  to  a  deference  for  what  appeared  to  be  your  desire.  I 
constantly  hoped  that  it  would  have  been  much  earlier  in  my  powrer,  consist- 
ently with  motives  which  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard,  to  return  to  that 
retirement  from  which  I  have  been  reluctantly  drawn.  The  strength  of  my 
inclination  to  do  this,  previous  to  the  last  election,  had  even  led  to  the  prepa- 
ration of  an  address  to  declare  it  to  you ;  but  mature  reflection  on  the  then  per- 
plexed and  critical  posture  of  our  affairs  with  foreign  nations,  and  the  unani- 
mous advice  of  persons  entitled  to  my  confidence,  impelled  me  to  abandon  the 
idea. 

I  rejoice  that  the  state  of  your  concerns,  external  as  well  as  internal,  no 
longer  renders  the  pursuit  of  inclination  incompatible  with  the  sentiment  of 
duty  or  propriety ;  and  am  persuaded,  whatever  partiality  may  be  retained  for 
my  services,  that  in  the  present  circumstances  of  our  country,  you  will  not  dis- 
approve my  determination  to  retire. 

The  impressions  with  which  I  first  undertook  the  arduous  task,  were  ex- 
plained on  the  proper  occasion.  In  the  discharge  of  this  trust,  I  will  only  say, 
that  I  have,  with  good  intentions  contributed  toward  the  organization  and  ad- 
ministration of  the  government,  the  best  exertions  of  which  a  very  fallible  judg- 


1  See  page  382.     The  original  manuscript  is  in  the  possession  of  James  Lennox,  Esq.,  of  Xe~»v 
York  city. 


C34  SUPPLEMENT. 

merit  was  capable.  Not  unconscious,  in  the  outset,  o*  the  inferiority  of  my 
qualifications,  experience  in  my  own  eyes,  perhaps  still  more  in  the  eyes  of 
others,  has  strengthened  the  motives  to  diffidence  of  myself;  and,  every  day,  the 
increasing  weight  of  years  admonishes  me  more  and  more  that  the  shade  of  re- 
tirement is  as  necessary  to  me  as  it  will  be  welcome.  Satisfied  that  if  any  cir- 
cumstances have  given  peculiar  value  to  my  services,  they  were  temporary,  I 
have  the  consolation  to  believe,  that  while  choice  and  prudence  invite  me  to  quit 
the  political  scene,  patriotism  does  not  forbid  it. 

In  looking  forward  to  the  moment  which  is  intended  to  t-erminate  the  career 

o 

of  my  public  life,  my  feelings  do  not  permit  me  to  suspend  the  deep  acknowl- 
edgment of  that  debt  of  gratitude  which  I  owe  to  my  beloved  country,  for  the 
many  honors  it  has  conferred  upon  me ;  still  more  for  the  stedfast  confidence 
with  which  it  has  supported  me ;  and  for  the  opportunities  I  have  thence  en- 
joyed of  manifesting  my  inviolable  attachment,  by  services  faithful  and  perse- 
vering, though  in  usefulness  unequal  to  my  zeal.  If  benefits  have  resulted  to 
our  country  from  these  services,  let  it  always  be  remembered  to  your  praise  and 
as  an  instructive  example  in  our  annals,  that  under  circumstances  in  which  the 
passions,  agitated  in  every  direction,  were  liable  to  mislead,  amid  appearances 
sometimes  dubious— vicissitudes  of  fortune  often  discouraging — in  situations  in 
which  not  unfrequently  want  of  success  has  countenanced  the  spirit  of  criticism 
— the  constancy  of  your  support  was  the  essential  prop  of  the  efforts,  and  the 
guaranty  of  the  plans  by  which  they  were  effected. 

Profoundly  penetrated  with  this  idea,  I  shall  carry  it  with  me  to  my  grave, 
as  a  strong  incitement  to  unceasing  vows  that  Heaven  may  continue  to  you  the 
choicest  tokens  of  its  benevolence — that  your  union  and  brotherly  affection  may 
be  perpetual — that  the  free  Constitution,  which  is  the  work  of  your  hands,  may 
be  sacredly  maintained — that  its  administration  in  every  department  may  be 
stamped  with  wisdom  and  virtue — that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the  people  of 
these  States,  under  the  auspices  of  liberty,  may  be  made  complete,  by  so  careful 
a  preservation,  and  so  prudent  a  use  of  this  blessing,  as  will  acquire  to  them 
the  glory  of  recommending  it  to  the  applause  of  every  nation  which  is  yet  a 
stranger  to  it. 

Here,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  stop.  But  a  solicitude  for  your  welfare,  which 
can  not  end  but  with  my  life,  and  the  apprehension  of  danger,  natural  to  that 
solicitude,  urge  me,  on  an  occasion  like  the  present,  to  offer  to  your  solemn  con- 
templation, and  to  recommend  to  your  frequent  review,  some  sentiments ;  which 
are  the  result  of  much  reflection,  of  no  inconsiderable  observation,  and  which 
appear  to  me  all-important  to  the  permanency  of  your  felicity  as  a  people. 
These  will  be  offered  to  you  with  the  more  freedom,  as  you  can  only  see  in 
them  the  disinterested  warnings  of  a  parting  friend,  who  can  possibly  have  no 
personal  motives  to  bias  his  counsel.  Nor  can  I  forget  as  an  encouragement  to 
it,  your  indulgent  reception  of  my  sentiments  on  a  former  and  not  dissimilar 
occasion.  Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with  every  ligament  of  your 
hearts,  no  recommendation  of  mine  is  necessary  to  fortify  or  confirm  the  attach- 
ment. 


WASHINGTON'S    FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  (J3o 

The  unity  of  government  which  constitutes  you  one  people,  is  also  now  dear 
to  me.  It  is  justly  so ;  for  it  is  a  main  pillar  in  the  edifice  of  your  real  inde- 
pendence, the  support  of  your  tranquillity  at  home,  your  peace  abroad  ;  of  your 
safety ;  of  your  prosperity  ;  of  that  very  liberty  which  you  so  highly  prize.  But 
as  it  is  easy  to  foresee,  that  from  different  causes  and  from  different  quarters, 
much  pains  will  be  taken,  many  artifices  employed,  to  weaken  in  your  minds 
the  conviction  of  this  truth  ;  as  this  is  the  point  in  your  political  fortress  against 
which  the  batteries  of  internal  and  external  enemies  will  be  most  constantly  and 
actively  (though  often  covertly  and  insiduously)  directed,  it  is  of  infinite  mo- 
ment that  you  should  properly  estimate  the  immense  value  of  your  national 
Union  to  your  collective  and  individual  happiness ;  that  you  should  cherish  a 
cordial,  habitual,  and  immovable  attachment  to  it ;  accustoming  yourselves  to 
think  and  speak  of  it  as  of  the  Palladium  of  your  political  safety  and  prosperity ; 
watching  for  its  preservation  with  jealous  anxiety ;  discountenancing  whatever 
may  suggest  even  a  suspicion  that  it  can  in  any  event  be  abandoned  ;  and  indig- 
nantly frowning  upon  the  first  dawning  of  every  attempt  to  alienate  any  portion 
of  our  country  from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now  link  to- 
gether the  various  parts. 

For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of  sympathy  and  interest.  Citizens  by 
birth  or  choice,  of  a  common  country,  that  country  has  a  right  to  concentrate 
your  affections.  The  name  of  AMERICA,  which  belongs  to  you  in  your  national 
capacity,  must  always  exalt  the  just  pride  of  patriotism,  more  than  any  appella- 
tion derived  from  local  discriminations.  With  slight  shades  of  difference,  you 
have  the  same  religion,  manners,  habits,  and  political  principles.  You  have 
in  a  common  cause,  fought  and  triumphed  together ;  the  independence  and  lib- 
erty you  possess  are  the  work  of  joint  councils,  and  joint  efforts,  of  common 
dangers,  sufferings,  and  successes.  But  these  considerations,  however  power- 
fully they  address  themselves  to  your  sensibility,  are  greatly  outweighed  by 
those  which  apply  more  immediately  to  your  interest — here  every  portion  of  our 
country  finds  the  most  commanding  motives  for  carefully  guarding  and  preserv- 
ing the  Union  of  the  whole. 

The  North,  in  an  unrestrained  intercourse  with  the  South,  protected  by  the 
equal  laws  of  a  -common  government,  finds  in  the  productions  of  the  latter,  great 
additional  resources  of  maritime  and  commercial  enterprise  and  precious  mate- 
rials of  manufacturing  industry.  The  South,  in  the  same  intercourse,  benefit- 
ing by  the  agency  of  the  North,  sees  its  agriculture  grow  and  its  commerce  ex- 
pand. Turning  partly  into  its  own  channels  the  seamen  of  the  North,  it  finds 
its  particular  navigation  invigorated ;  and  while  it  contributes,  in  different  ways, 
to  nourish  and  increase  the  general  mass  of  the  national  navigation,  it  looks  for- 
ward to  the  protection  of  a  maritime  strength,  to  which  itself  is  unequally 
adapted.  The  East,  in  a  like  intercourse  with  the  West,  already  finds,  and  in 
the  progressive  improvemement  of  interior  communications,  by  land  water,  will 
more  and  more  find  a  valuable  vent  for  the  commodities  which  it  brings  from 
abroad,  or  manufactures  at  home.  The  West  derives  from  the  East  supplies 
requisite  to  its  growth  and  comfort— and  what  is  perhaps  of  still  greater  conse- 


636  SUPPLEMENT. 

quence,  it  must  of  necessity  owe  the  secure  enjoyment  of  indispensable  outlets 
for  its  own  productions  to  the  weight,  influence,  and  the  future  maritime 
strength  of  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  Union,  directed  by  an  indissoluble  commun- 
ity of  interest  as  ONE  NATION.  Any  other  tenure  by  which  the  West  can  hold 
this  essential  advantage,  whether  derived  from  its  own  separate  strength,  or 
from  an  apostate  and  unnatural  connection  with  any  foreign  power,  must  be 
intrinsically  precarious. 

While,  then,  every  part  of  our  country  thus  feels  an  immediate  and  particu- 
lar interest  in  union,  all  the  parties  combined  can  not  fail  to  find  in  the  united 
mass  of  means  and  efforts,  greater  strength,  greater  resource,  proportionably 
greater  security  from  external  danger,  a  less  frequent  interruption  of  their  peace 
by  foreign  nations ;  and,  what  is  of  inestimable  value !  they  must  derive  from 
union  an  exemption  from  those  broils  and  wars  between  themselves,  which  so 
frequently  afflict  neighboring  countries,  not  tied  together  by  the  same  govern- 
ment :  which  their  own  rivalships  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  produce,  but  which 
opposite  foreign  alliances,  attachments,  and  intrigues  would  stimulate  and  em- 
bitter. Hence  likewise  they  will  avoid  the  necessity  of  those  overgrown  mili- 
tary establishments,  which,  under  any  form  of  government,  are  inauspicious  to 
liberty,  and  which  are  to  be  regarded  as  particularly  hostile  to  Republican  Lib- 
erty ;  in  this  sense  it  is,  that  your  Union  ought  to  be  considered  as  a  main  prop 
of  your  liberty,  and  that  the  love  of  the  one  ought  to  endear  to  you  the  preser- 
vation of  the  other. 

These  considerations  speak  a  persuasive  language  to  every  reflecting  and  vir- 
tuous mind,  and  exhibit  the  continuance  of  the  Union  as  a  primary  object  of 
patriotic  desire.  Is  there  a  doubt  whether  a  common  government  can  embrace 
so  large  a  sphere  ?  Let  experience  solve  it.  To  listen  to  mere  speculation  in 
such  a  case  were  criminal.  We  are  authorized  to  hope  that  a  proper  organiza- 
tion of  the  whole,  with  the  auxiliary  agency  of  government  for  the  respective 
subdivisions,  will  afford  a  happy  issue  to  the  experiment.  'Tis  well  worth  a  fair 
and  full  experiment.  With  such  powerful  and  obvious  motives  to  Union,  affect- 
ing all  parts  of  our  country,  while  experience  shall  not  have  demonstrated  its 
impracticability,  there  will  always  be  reason  to  distrust  the  patriotism  of  those 
who  in  any  quarter  may  endeavor  to  weaken  its  bands. 

In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  disturb  our  Union,  it  occurs  as  a 
matter  of  serious  concern,  that  any  ground  should  have  been  furnished  for  char- 
acterizing parties  by  geographical  discriminations — northern  and  southern — 
Atlantic  and  ivestern ;  whence  designing  men  may  endeavor  to  excite  a  belief 
that  there  is  a  real  difference  of  local  interests  and  views.  One  of  the  expedi- 
ents of  party  to  acquire  influence  within  particular  districts,  is  to  misrepresent 
the  opinions  and  aims  of  other  districts.  You  can  not  shield  yourselves  too  much 
against  the  jealousies  and  heart-burnings  which  spring  from  thase  misrepresent- 
ations :  they  tend  to  render  alien  to  each  other  those  who  ought  to  be  bound 
together  by  fraternal  affection.  The  inhabitants  of  our  western  country  have 
lately  had  a  useful  lesson  on  this  head :  they  have  seen  in  the  negotiation  by 
the  Executive,  and  in  the  unanimous  ratification  by  the  Senate,  of  the  treaty 


WASHINGTON'S    FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  637 

with  Spain,  and  in  the  universal  satisfaction  at  that  event  throughout  the 
United  States,  a  decisive  proof  how  unfounded  were  the  suspicions  propagated 
among  them,  of  a  policy  in  the  General  Government  and  in  the  Atlantic  States 
unfriendly  to  their  interests  in  regard  to  the  Mississippi :  they  have  been  wit- 
nesses to  the  formation  of  two  treaties — that  with  Great  Britain  and  that  with 
Spain — which  _  secure  to  them  every  thing  they  could  desire,  in  respect  to  our 
foreign  relations,  toward  confirming  their  prosperity.  Will  it  not  be  their  wis- 
dom to  rely  for  the  preservation  of  these  advantages  on  the  UNION  by  which  they 
were  procured  ?  Will  they  not  henceforth  be  deaf  to  those  advisers,  if  such  there 
are,  who  would  sever  them  from  their  brethren,  and  connect  them  with  aliens  ? 

To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your  Union,  a  government  for  the  whole 
is  indispensable.  No  alliances,  however  strict,  between  the  parts,  can  be  an 
adequate  substitute  :  they  must  inevitably  experience  the  infractions  and  inter- 
ruptions which  all  alliances  in  all  times  have  experienced.  Sensible  of  this 
momentous  truth,  you  have  improved  upon  your  first  essay,  by  the  adoption  of 
a  Constitution  of  government  better  calculated  than  your  former  for  an  intimate 
Union,  and  for  the  efficacious  management  of  your  common  concerns.  This 
government,  the  offspring  of  our  own  choice,  uninfluenced  and  unawed,  adopted 
upon  full  investigation  and  mature  deliberation,  completely  free  in  its  principles, 
in  the  distribution  of  its  powers,  uniting  security  with  energy,  and  containing 
within  itself  a  provision  for  its  own  amendment,  has  a  just  claim  to  your  confi- 
dence and  your  support.  Respect  for  its  authority,  compliance  with  its  laws, 
acquiescence  in  its  measures,  are  duties  enjoined  by  the  fundamental  maxims  of 
true  Liberty.  The  basis  of  our  political  systems  is  the  right  of  the  people  to 
make  and  to  alter  their  Constitutions  of  Government ;  but  the  Constitution  which 
at  any  time  exists,  till  changed  by  an  explicit  and  authentic  act  of  the  whole 
people,  is  sacredly  obligatory  upon  all.  The  very  idea  of  the  power  and  the 
right  of  the  people  to  establish  government,  presupposes  the  dutyof  every  indi- 
vidual to  obey  the  established  government. 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  laws,  all  combinations  and  associa- 
tions, under  whatever  plausible  character,  with  the  real  design  to  direct,  con- 
trol, counteract,  or  awe  the  regular  deliberation  and  action  of  the  constituted 
authorities,  are  destructive  of  this  fundamental  principle,  and  of  fatal  tendency. 
They  serve  to  organize  faction,  to  give  it  an  artificial  and  extraordinary  force — 
to  put  in  the  place  of  the  delegated  will  of  the  nation,  the  will  of  a  party,  often 
a  small  but  artful  and  enterprising  minority  of  the  community  ;  and,  according 
to  the  alternate  triumphs  of  different  parties,  to  make  the  public  administration 
the  mirror  of  the  ill-concerted  and  incongruous  projects  of  faction,  rather  than 
the  organ  of  consistent  and  wholesome  plans,  digested  by  common  councils,  and 
modified  by  mutual  interests.  However  combinations  or  associations  of  the 
above  description  may  now  and  then  answer  popular  ends,  they  are  likely,  in 
the  course  of  time  and  things,  to  become  potent  engines,  by  which  cunning,  am- 
bitious, and  ^unprincipled  men  will  be  enabled  to  subvert  the  power  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  to  usurp  for  themselves  the  reins  of  government ;  destroying  afterward 
the  very  engines  which  have  lifted  them  to  unjust  dominion. 


(538  SUPPLEMENT. 

Toward  the  preservation  of  your  government,  and  the  permanency  of  your 
present  happy  state,  it  is  requisite,  not  only  that  you  speedily  discountenance 
irregular  oppositions  to  its  acknowledged  authority,  but  also  that  you  resist 
with  care  the  spirit  of  innovation  upon  its  principles,  however  specious  the  pre- 
texts. One  method  of  assault  may  be  to  effect,  in  the  forms  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, alterations  which  impair  the  energy  of  the  system,  and  thus  to  undermine 
what  can  not  directly  be  overthrown.  In  all  the  changes  to  which  you  may  be 
invited,  remember  that  time  and  habit  are  at  least  as  necessary  to  fix  the  true 
character  of  governments  as  of  other  human  institutions — that  experience  is  the 
surest  standard  by  which  to  test  the  real  tendency  of  the  existing  Constitution 
of  a  country — that  facility  in  changes  upon  the  credit  of  mere  hypothesis  and 
opinion,  exposes  to  perpetual  change  from  the  endless  variety  of  hypothesis  and 
opinion ;  and  remember,  especially,  that  for  the  efficient  management  of  your 
common  interests,  in  a  country  so  extensive  as  ours,  a  government  of  as  much 
vigor  as  is  consistent  with  the  perfect  security  of  liberty,  is  indispensable.  Lib- 
erty itself  will  find  in  such  a  government,  with  powers  properly  distributed  and 
adjusted,  its  surest  guardian.  It  is,  indeed,  little  else  than  a  name,  where  the 
government  is  too  feeble  to  withstand  the  enterprise  of  faction,  to  confine 
each  member  of  the  society  within  the  limits  prescribed  by  the  laws,  and  to 
maintain  all  in  the  secure  and  tranquil  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  person  and 
property. 

I  have  already  intimated  to  you  the  danger  of  parties  in  the  State,  with  par- 
ticular reference  to  the  founding  of  them  on  geographical  discriminations.  Let 
me  now  take  a  more  comprehensive  view,  and  warn  you  in  the  most  solemn 
manner  against  the  baneful  effects  of  the  spirit  of  party,  generally.  This  spirit, 
unfortunately,  is  inseparable  from  our  nature,  having  its  root  in  the  strongest 
passions  of  the  human  mind.  It  exists  under  different  shapes  in  all  governments^ 
more  or  less  stifled,  controlled  or  repressed:  but  in  those  of  the  popular  form,  it 
is  seen  in  its  greatest  rankness,  and  is  truly  their  worst  enemy.  The  alternate 
domination  of  one  faction  over  another,  sharpened  by  the  spirit  of  revenge,  nat- 
ural to  party  dissension,  which,  in  different  ages  and  countries,  has  perpetrated 
the  most  horrid  enormities,  is  itself  a  frightful  despotism.  But  this  leads  at 
length  to  a  more  formal  and  permanent  despotism.  The  disorders  and  miseries 
which  result,  gradually  incline  the  minds  of  men  to  seek  security  and  repose  in 
the  absolute  power  of  an  individual ;  and  sooner  or  later,  the  chief  of  some  pre- 
vailing faction,  more  able  or  more  fortunate  than  his  competitor,  turns  this  dis- 
position to  the  purposes  of  his  own  elevation,  on  the  ruins  of  public  liberty. 

Without  looking  forward  to  an  extremity  of  this  kind  (which,  nevertheless, 
ought  not  to  be  entirely  out  of  sight)  the  common  and  continual  mischiefs  of  the 
spirit  of  party,  are  sufficient  to  make  it  the  interest  and  duty  of  a  wise  people 
to  discourage  and  restrain  it.  It  serves  always  to  distract  the  public  councils 
and  enfeeble  the  public  administration.  It  agitates  the  community  with  ill- 
founded  jealousies  and  false  alarms ;  kindles  the  animosity  of  one  part  against 
another;  foments  occasionally  riot  and  insurrection.  It  opens  the  door  to 
foreign  influence  and  corruption,  which  find  a  facilitated  access  to  the  govern- 


WASHINGTON'S    FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  639 

ment  itself  through  the  channels  of  party  passions.     Thus  the  policy  and  the 
will  of  one  country  are  subjected  to  the  policy  and  the  will  of  another. 

There  is  an  opinion  that  parties  in  free  countries  are  useful  checks  upon  the 
administration  of  the  government,  and  serve  to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  liberty. 
This  within  certain  limits  is  probably  true ;  and  in  governments  of  a  monarch- 
ical cast,  patriotism  may  look  with  indulgence,  if  not  with  favor,  upon  the  spirit 
of  party.  But  in  those  of  the  popular  character,  in  governments  purely  elective, 
it  is  a  spirit  not  to  be  encouraged.  From  their  natural  tendency,  it  is  certain 
there  will  always  be  enough  of  that  spirit  for  every  salutary  purpose.  And 
there  being  constant  danger  of  success,  the  effort  ought  to  be  by  force  of  public 
opinion,  to  mitigate  and  assuage  it.  A  fire  not  to  be  quenched ;  it  demands  a 
uniform  vigilance  to  prevent  its  bursting  into  a  flame,  lest,  instead  of  warming, 
it  should  consume. 

It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits  of  thinking,  in  a  free  country, 
should  inspire  caution  in  those  intrusted  with  its  administration,  to  confine 
themselves  within  their  respective  constitutional  spheres,  avoiding,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  the  powers  of  one  department,  to  encroach  upon  another.  The  spirit  of 
encroachment  tends  to  consolidate  the  powers  of  all  the  departments  in  one,  and 
thus  to  create,  whatever  the  form  of  government,  a  real  despotism.  A  just  esti- 
mate of  that  love  of  power,  and  proneness  to  abuse  it,  which  predominates  in  the 
human  heart,  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  us  of  this  position.  The  necessity  of  recip- 
rocal checks  in  the  exercise  of  political  power,  by  dividing  and  distributing  it 
into  different  depositories,  and  constituting  each  the  guardian  of  public  weal 
against  invasions  by  the  others,  has  been  evinced  by  experiments  ancient  and 
modern  :  some  of  them  in  our  country  and  under  our  own  eyes.  To  preserve 
them  must  be  as  necessary  as  to  institute  them.  If,  in  the  opinion  of  the  peo- 
ple, the  distribution  or  modification  of  the  constitutional  powers  be  in  any  partic- 
ular wrong,  let  it  be  corrected  by  an  amendment  in  the  way  which  the  Consti- 
tution designates.  But  let  there  be  no  change  by  usurpation ;  for  though  this, 
in  one  instance,  may  be  the  instrument  of  good,  it  is  the  customary  weapon  by 
which  free  governments  are  destroyed.  The  precedent  must  always  greatly 
overbalance  in  permanent  evil  any  partial  or  transient  benefit  which  the  use  can 
at  any  time  yield. 

Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead  to  political  prosperity,  religion 
and  morality  are  indispensable  supports.  In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the 
tribute  of  patriotism,  who  should  labor  to  subvert  these  great  pillars  of  human 
happiness,  these  firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  men  and  citizens.  The  mere 
politician,  equally  with  the  pious  man.  ought  to  respect  and  to  cherish  them. 
A  volume  could  not  trace  all  their  connections  with  private  and  public  felicity. 
Let  it  simply  be  asked  where  is  the  security  for  property,  for  reputation,  for 
life,  if  the  sense  of  religious  obligation  DESERT  the  oaths,  which  are  the  instru- 
ments of  investigation  in  courts  of  justice ;  and  let  us  with  caution  indulge  the 
supposition,  that  morality  can  be  maintained  without  religion.  Whatever  may 
be  conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  education  on  minds  of  peculiar  structure, 
reason  and  experience  both  forbid  us  to  expect  that  national  morality  can  pre- 


G40  SUPPLEMENT. 

vail  in  exclusion  or  religious  principle.  It  is  substantially  true,  that  virtue  or 
morality  is  a  necessary  spring  of  popular  government.  The  rule,  indeed,  ex- 
tends with  more  or  less  force  to  every  species  of  free  government.  Who  that 
is  a  sincere  friend  to  it  can  look  with  indifference  upon  attempts  to  shake  the 
foundations  of  the  fabric? 

Promote,  then,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance,  institutions  for  the  gen- 
eral diffusion  of  knowledge.  In  proportion  as  the  structure  of  a  government 
gives  force  to  public  opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public  opinion  should  be  en- 
lightened. As  a  very  important  source  of  strength  and  security,  cherish  public 
credit ;  one  method  of  preserving  it  is  to  use  it  as  sparingly  as  possible ;  avoid- 
ing occasions  of  expense  by  cultivating  peace;  but  remembering,  also,  that 
timely  disbursements  to  prepare  for  danger,  frequently  prevent  much  greater 
disbursements  to  repel  it;  avoiding,  likewise,  the  accumulations  of  debt,  not 
only  by  shunning  occasions  of  expense,  but  by  vigorous  exertions  in  time  of 
peace  to  discharge  the  debts  which  unavoidable  wars  may  have  occasioned,  not 
ungenerously  throwing  upon  posterity  the  burdens  which  we  ourselves  ought  to 
bear.  The  execution  of  these  maxims  belongs  to  your  Representatives,  but  it 
is  necessary  that  public  opinion  should  co-operate.  To  facilitate  to  them  the 
performance  of  their  duty,  it  is  essential  that  you  should  practically  bear  in 
mind,  that  toward  the  payment  of  debts  there  must  be  revenue ;  that  to  have 
revenue  there  must  be  taxes  ;  that  no  taxes  can  be  devised  which  are  not  more  or 
less  inconvenient  and  unpleasant ;  and  the  intrinsic  embarrassment  inseparable 
from  the  selection  of  the  proper  object  (which  is  always  a  choice  of  difficulties) 
ought  to  be  a  decisive  motive  for  the  candid  construction  of  the  conduct  of  the 
government  in  making  it,  and  for  a  spirit  of  acquiescence  in  the  measures  for 
obtaining  revenue  which  the  public  exigences  may  at  any  time  dictate. 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  toward  all  nations ;  cultivate  peace  and  "har- 
mony with  all ;  religion  and  morality  enjoin  this  conduct ;  and  can  it  be  that 
good  policy  does  not  equally  enjoin  it  ?  It  will  be  worthy  of  a  free,  enlight- 
ened, and  at  no  distant  period,  a  great  nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the  magnani- 
mous and  too  novel  example  of  a  people  always  guided  by  an  exalted  justice  and 
benevolence.  Who  can  doubt  that  in  the  course  of  time  and  things,  the  fruits 
of  such  a  plan  would  richly  repay  any  temporary  advantages  which  might  be 
lost  by  a  steady  adherence  to  it  ?  Can  it  be  that  Providence  has  not  connected 
the  permanent  felicity  of  a  nation  with  its  virtue  ?  The  experiment,  at  least, 
is  recommended  by  every  sentiment  which  ennobles  human  nature.  Alas !  is  it 
rendered  impossible  by  its  vices  ? 

In  the  execution  of  such  a  plan,  nothing  is  more  essential  than  that  perma- 
nent inveterate  antipathies  against  particular  nations,  and  passionate  attach- 
ments for  others  should  be  excluded ;  and  that,  in  place  of  them,  just  and 
amicable  feelings  toward  all  should  be  cultivated.  The  nation  which  indulges 
toward  another  an  habitual  hatred,  or  an  habitual  fondness,  is  in  some  degree  a 
slave.  It  is  a  slave  to  its  animosity  or  to  its  affection,  either  of  which  is  suffi- 
cient to  lead  it  astray  from  its  duty  and  its  interest.  Antipathy  in  one  nation 
against  another,  disposes  each  more  readily  to  offer  insult  and  injury,  to  lay 


WASHINGTON'S    FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  641 

hold  of  slight  causes  of  umbrage,  and  to  be  haughty  and  intractable,  when  acci- 
dental or  trifling  occasions  of  dispute  occur.  Hence  frequent  collisions,  obstin- 
ate, envenomed,  and  bloody  contests.  The  nation  prompted  by  ill-will  and 
resentment,  sometimes  impels  to  war  the  government,  contrary  to  the  best 
calculations  of  policy.  The  government  sometimes  participates  in  the  national 
propensity,  and  adopts,  through  passion,  what  reason  would  reject ;  at  other 
times,  it  makes  the  animosity  of  the  nation  subservient  to  projects  of  hostility, 
instigated  by  pride,  ambition,  and  other  sinister  and  pernicious  motives.  The 
peace  often,  sometimes  perhaps  the  liberty,  of  nations  has  been  the  victim. 

So,  likewise,  a  passionate  attachment  of  one  nation  for  another  produces  a 
variety  of  evils.  Sympathy  for  the  favorite  nation,  facilitating  the  illusion  of 
an  imaginary  common  interest,  in  cases  where  no  real  common  interest  exists, 
and  infusing  into  one  the  enmities  of  the  other,  betrays  the  former  into  a  par- 
ticipation in  the  quarrels  and  wars  of  the  latter,  without  adequate  inducement  or 
justification.  It  leads  also  to  the  concessions  to  the  favorite  nation  of  priv- 
ileges denied  to  others,  which  is  apt  doubly  to  injure  the  nation  making  the  con- 
cessions ;  by  unnecessarily  parting  with  what  ought  to  have  been  retained ;  and 
by  exciting  jealousy,  ill-will,  and  a  disposition  to  retaliate,  in  the  parties  from 
whom  equal  privileges  are  withheld — and  it  gives  to  ambitious,  corrupted,  or 
deluded  citizens  (who  devote  themselves  to  the  favorite  nation),  facility  to  be- 
tray or  sacrifice  the  interests  of  their  own  country  without  odium,  sometimes 
even  with  popularity  ;  gilding  with  the  appearance  of  a  virtuous  sense  of  obliga- 
tion, a  commendable  deference  for  public  opinion,  or  a  laudable  zeal  for  public 
good,  the  base  or  foolish  compliances  of  ambition,  corruption,  or  infatuation. 

As  avenues  to  foreign  influence  in  innumerable  ways,  such  attachments  are 
particularly  alarming  to  the  truly  enlightened  and  independent  patriot.  How 
many  opportunities  do  they  afford  to  tamper  with  domestic  factions,  to  practice 
the  arts  of  seduction,  to  mislead  public  opinions,  to  influence  or  awe  public 
councils  !  Such  an  attachment  of  a  small  or  weak,  toward  a  great  and  powerful 
nation,  dooms  the  former  to  be  the  satellite  of  the  latter.  Against  the  insid- 
ious wiles  of  foreign  influence  (I  conjure  you  to  believe  me;  fellow  citizens),  the 
jealousy  of  a  free  people  ought  to  be  CONSTANTLY  awake ;  since  history  and 
experience  prove  that  foreign  influence  is  one  of  the  most  baneful  foes  of  repub- 
lican government.  But  that  jealousy,  to  be  useful,  must  be  impartial  :  else  it 
becomes  the  instrument  of  the  very  influence  to  be  avoided,  instead  of  a  defense 
against  it.  Excessive  partiality  for  one  foreign  nation,  and  excessive  dislike  of 
another,  cause  those  wThom  they  actuate,  to  see  danger  only  on  one  side,  and 
serve  to  vail  and  even  second  the  arts  of  influence  on  the  other.  Heal  patriots, 
who  may  resist  the  intrigues  of  the  favorite,  are  liable  to  become  suspected  and 
odious  ;  while  its  tools  and  dupes  usurp  the  applause  and  confidence  of  the  peo- 
ple, to  surrender  their  interests.  The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us,  in  regard  to 
foreign  nations,  is,  in  extending  our  commercial  relations,  to  have  with  them  as 
little  political  connection  as  possible.  So  far  as  we  have  already  formed  en- 
gagements, let  them  be  fulfilled  with  perfect  good  faith.  Here  let  us  stop. 

Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us  have  none,  or  a  very 

41 


642  SUPPLEMENT. 

remote  relation.  Hence  she  must  be  engaged  in  frequent  controversies,  the 
causes  of  which  are  essentially  foreign  to  our  concerns.  Hence,  therefore,  it 
must  be  unwise  in  us  to  implicate  ourselves  by  artificial  ties,  in  the  ordinary 
vicissitudes  of  her  politics,  or  the  ordinary  combinations  and  collisions  of  her 
friendships  or  enmities.  Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invites  and  enables 
us  to  pursue  a  different  course.  If  we  remain  one  people  under  an  efficient 
government,  the  period  is  not  far  off  when  we  may  defy  material  injury  from 
external  annoyance  ;  when  we  may  take  such  an  attitude  as  will  cause  the  neu- 
trality we  may  at  any  time  resolve  upon,  to  be  scrupulously  respected ;  when 
belligerent  nations,  under  the  impossibility  of  making  acquisitions  upon  us.  will 
not  lightly  hazard  the  giving  us  provocation ;  when  we  may  choose  peace  or 
war,  as  our  interest,  guided  by  justice,  shall  counsel. 

Why  forego  the  advantage  of  so  peculiar  a  situation  ?  Why  quit  our  own  to 
stand  upon  foreign  ground?  Why,  by  interweaving  our  destiny  with  any  part  of 
Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  toils  of  European  ambition,  rival- 
ship,  interest,  humor,  or  caprice?  It  is  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of  permanent 
alliances  with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world ;  so  far,  I  mean,  as  we  are  now  at 
liberty  to  do  it ;  for  let  me  not  be  understood  as  capable  of  patronizing  infidelity 
to  existing  engagements.  I  hold  the  maxim  no  less  applicable  to  public  than  to 
private  affairs,  that  honesty  is  always  the  best  policy.  I  repeat  it,  therefore,  let 
those  engagements  be  observed  in  their  genuine  sense.  But.  in  my  opinion,  it  is 
unnecessary,  and  would  be  unwise  to  extend  them.  Taking  care  always  to  keep 
ourselves,  by  suitable  establishments,  on  a  respectable  defensive  posture,  we  may 
safely  trust  to  temporary  alliances  for  extraordinary  emergences. 

Harmony,  liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations,  are  recommended  by  policy,  hu- 
manity, and  interest  But  even  our  commercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal  and 
impartial  hand ;  neither  seeking  nor  granting  exclusive  favors  or  preferences  ; 
consulting  the  natural  course  of  things ;  diffusing  and  diversifying,  by  gentle  means, 
the  streams  of  commerce,  but  forcing  nothing ;  establishing  with  powers  so  dis- 
posed, in  order  to  give  trade  a  stable  course,  to  define  the  rights  of  our  merchants, 
and  to  enable  the  government  to  support  them,  conventional  rules  of  intercourse, 
the  best  that  present  circumstances  and  mutual  opinion  will  permit,  but  temporary, 
and  liable  to  be  from  time  to  time  abandoned  or  varied,  as  experience  or  circum- 
stances shall  dictate  ;  constantly  keeping  in  view,  that  it  is  folly  in  one  nation  to 
look  for  disinterested  favors  from  another ;  that  it  must  pay  with  a  portion  of  its  in- 
dependence for  whatever  it  may  accept  under  that  character ;  that  by  such  accept- 
ance, it  may  place  itself  in  the  condition  of  having  given  equivalent  for  nominal  fa- 
vors, and  yet  of  being  reproached  with  ingratitude  for  not  giving  more.  There  can 
be  no  greater  error  than  to  expect  or  calculate  upon  real  favors  from  nation  to  nation. 
'Tis  an  illusion  which  experience  must  cure,  which  a  just  pride  ought  to  discard. 

In  offering  to  you,  my  countrymen,  these  counsels  of  an  old  and  affectionate 
friend,  I  dare  not  hope  they  will  make  the  strong  and  lasting  impression  I  could 
wish ;  that  they  will  control  the  usual  current  of  the  passions,  or  prevent  our  na- 
tion from  running  the  course  which  has  hitherto  marked  the  destiny  of  nations  : 
but  if  I  may  even  flatter  myself  that  they  may  be  productive  of  some  partial 


WASHINGTON'S    FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  643 

benefit,  some  occasional  good;  that  they  may  now  and  then  recur  to  moderate 
the  fury  of  party  spirit,  to  warn  against  the  mischiefs  of  foreign  intrigues,  and 
guard  against  the  impostures  of  pretended  patriotism ;  this  hope  will  be  a  full 
recompense  for  the  solicitude  for  your  welfare,  by  which  they  have  been  dictated. 
How  far,  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties,  I  have  been  guided  by  the  princi- 
ples which  have  been  delineated,  the  public  records  and  other  evidences  of  mv 
conduct  must  witness  to  you  and  to  the  world.  To  myself,  the  assurance  of  my 
own  conscience  is,  that  I  have  at  least  believed  myself  to  be  guided  by  them. 

In  relation  to  the  still  subsisting  war  in  Europe,  my  proclamation  of  the  22d 
of  April,  1793,  is  the  index  to  my  plan.  Sanctioned  by  your  approving  voice 
and  by  that  of  your  representatives  in  both  Houses  of  Congress,  the  spirit  of  that 
measure  has  continually  governed  me  ;  uninfluenced  by  any  attempt  to  deter  or 
divert  me  from  it.  After  deliberate  examination,  with  the  aid  of  the  best  light? 
I  could  obtain,  I  was  well  satisfied  that  our  country,  under  all  the  circumstances 
oF  the  case,  had  a  right  to  take,  and  was  bound  in  duty  and  interest  to  take,  a 
neutral  position.  Having  taken  it,  I  determined,  as  far  as  should  depend  upon 
me,  to  maintain  it  with  moderation,  perseverance,  and  firmness. 

The  consideration  which  respects  the  right  to  hold  this  conduct,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary on  this  occasion  to  detail.  I  will  only  observe,  that  according  to  my  under- 
standing of  the  matter,  that  right,  so  far  from  being  denied  by  any  of  the  bellig- 
erent powers,  has  been  virtually  admitted  by  all.  The  duty  of  holding  a  neutral 
conduct  may  be  inferred,  without  anything  more,  from  the  obligation  which  justice 
and  humanity  impose  upon  every  nation,  in  cases  in  which  it  is  free  to  act,  to 
maintain  inviolate  the  relations  of  peace  and  amity  toward  other  nations.  The  in- 
ducements of  interest  for  observing  that  conduct  will  be  best  referred  to  your  own 
reflection  and  experience.  With  me,  a  predominant  motive  has  been  to  endeavor 
to  gain  time  to  our  country  to  settle  and  mature  its  yet  recent  institutions,  and 
to  progress,  without  interruption,  to  that  degree  of  strength  and  consistency, 
which  is  necessary  to  give  it,  humanly  speaking,  the  command  of  its  own  fortunes. 

Though  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  administration,  I  am  unconsciou> 
of  intentional  error,  I  am,  nevertheless,  too  sensible  of  my  defects  not  to  think 
it  probable  that  I  have  committed  many  errors.  Whatever  they  may  be,  I  fer- 
vently beseech  the  Almighty  to  avert  or  mitigate  the  evils  to  which  they  may 
tend.  I  shall  also  carry  with  me  the  hope  that  my  country  will  never  cease  to 
view  them  with  indulgence  ;  and  that  after  forty-five  years  of  my  life  dedicated 
to  its  service,  with  an  upright  zeal,  the  faults  of  incompetent  abilities  will  be 
consigned  to  oblivion,  as  myself  must  soon  be  to  the  mansions  of  rest.  Eelying 
on  its  kindness  in  this  as  in  other  things,  and  actuated  by  that  fervent  love  to- 
ward it,  which  is  so  natural  to  a  man  who  views  in  it  the  native  soil  of  himself 
and  his  progenitors  for  several  generations ;  I  anticipate  with  pleasing  expecta- 
tion that  retreat,  in  which  I  promise  myself  to  realize  without  alloy,  the  sweet 
enjoyment  of  partaking,  in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the  benign  influence 
of  good  laws  under  a  free  government — the  ever-favorite  object  of  my  heart, 
and  the  happy  reward,  as  I  trust,  of  our  mutual  cares,  labors,  and  dangers. 

UMTED  SrATKS,  September  H,  1796.  GEORGE   WASHINGTON. 


INDEX. 


Alenakes  Indians.    Tribes  of,  17,  22. 

ABERCROMBIE,  General.  His  expedition,  191.  Succeeds 
Lord  Loudon  as  cornmander-in-chief,  195.  Portrait 
of,  191. 

Aboriginals  of  America,  9—33.  Character  of  the,  16. 
Their  language  and  dialects,  12.  Their  tradition  of  a 
universal  deluge,  11.  Ledyard's  observation  respect- 
ing the,  11.  Their  agricultural  productions,  13.  Taken 
to^England,  53. 

Acadie.  Origin  of  the  name,  58.  Settled  by  the 
French,  80,  121.  Annexed  to  the  British  realm,  13(3. 
The  name  of,  changed  to  Nova  Scotia,  132.  Shirley 
and  Lawrence's  expedition  against,  185.  Desolated, 
in  1755,  185. 

Accohannock  Indians,  2v. 

Accomac  Indians,  20. 

Act  of  Supremacy,  in  1534,  75. 

ADAMS,  ANDREW.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

ADAMS.  JOHN.  Defends  Captain  Preston,  222.  Member 
of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  1774,  588.  Author 
of  the  Petition  to  the  King,  1774,  578.  Suggests  the 
appointment  of  Washington  as  commander-in-chief, 
238.  On  the  Committee  to  draft  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  251,  252,  589.  His  account  of  the  rea- 
sons why  Jefferson  was  chosen  to  write  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  559,  590.  Signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion, 6;i2.  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  War.  1770,  294. 
On  the  Committee  to  confer  with  Lord  Howe,  257. 
Commissioner  on  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  1782, 348.  First 
Minister  of  the  United  States  to  Great  Britain,  349. 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  364.  Re-elected 
Vice-President,  377.  Candidate  for  the  Presidency, 
1796;  President  of  the  United  States,  18,10,382,383.  Ills. 
Administration,  383  ss.  His  remarks  on  the  commerce 
of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  367  ;  on 
Ames's  eloquence,  380;  and  on  James  Otis's  speech, 
1761,  213.  Death  of,  457.  Portraits,  autograph,  and 
notice  of,  383,  589. 

ADAMS,  JOHN  QUINCY.  His  letter  to  Mr.  Jefferson  on 
the  embargo,  1809,  403.  Envoy,  1812,  419.  Commis- 
sioner at  Ghent,  1814.  443.  Secretary  of  State,  1817, 
447.  His  treaty  with  Spain,  1819,  451.  President  of 
the  United  States,  1825,  454.  Portrait,  autograph,  and 
notice  of,  454. 

ADAMS,  SAMUEL,  219,  221.  227,  234.  Member  of  the  first 
Continental  Congress,  1774,  588.  Member  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  604 ;  signer 
of  the  Articles,  611.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, 602. 

ADAMS,  THOMAS.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

ADAMS,  WILLIAM.  British  Commissioner  at  Ghent, 
1814,  443. 

AD i) iso N,  R.  C.     Commissioner  at  Panama,  1S26,  457. 

Address.  To  the  Anglo-American  colonies,  1774,  563 — 
572;  written  by  William  Livingston,  563.  To  the 
People  of  Great  Britain,  1774,  557—562;  written  by 
John  Jay,  557.  To  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Province 
of  Quebec,  1774, 572—578  ;  written  by  John  Dickinson. 
572. 

Admiralty.  Massachusetts  Board  of,  307.  Continental 
Board  of,  308. 

Africa.    Navigators  pass  round  the  southern  cape  of,  36. 

Agriculture.  Encouraged  by  Captain  John  Smith,  67, 
63.  American,  447. 

Aqua  Nueva,  485. 

Aix-la-Cfiapelle.  Peace  of,  138.  Conference  at,  1S54, 
respecting  Cuba,  522. 

Alabama.  '  State  of,  448. 

Alabama  Indians.   In  the  Creek  Confederacy,  1S56,  30. 

Alatamalia  River,  99. 


Albany,  or  Fort  Orange,  144.  Dutch  fort  and  store- 
house at,  1614,  72,  14ii.  Walloons  at,  1623,  73. 

ALBEMARLE,  Duke  of.  98. 

Albemarle  County,  97.     Colony.  164. 

ALBERT,  Prince.     Chief  patron  of  the  World's  Fair,  517. 

Aleutian  Inlands,  11. 

ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT,  11.  Proposed  colossal  statue 
of,  6,). 

ALEXANDER,  Emperor  of  Russia,  431.  Proposes  to  me- 
diate between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States, 
419.  Invites  Professor  Morse  to  be  present  at  his 
Coronation,  1856.  508. 

ALEXANDER,  SIR  WILLIAM.  Earl  of  Stirling,  80.  See 
STIRLING. 

ALEXANDER,  son  of  Massasoit,  124. 

Alf/erine  Pirates.  381,  444,  445. 

Algiers.  The  United  States  at  war  with,  in  1801,  390; 
and  in  1815,  445.  Decatur  at,  1815,  445.  Treaty  of 
Peace  between  the  United  States  and,  1795,  381. 

Algonquin  Indians.  Discovery  of  the,  17.  Their 
tribes  and  territory,  17.  History  of  the,  17—22. 
Language  of  the,  12.  With  Samuel  Champlain,  1608. 
59.  In  the  Indian  confederacy  to  exterminate  the 
white  people,  1763,  IS.  Funeral  ceremonies  of  the,  15. 
Population  of  the,  in  1650,  31.  See  Lenni- Lenape, 

Alien,  Laic  of  the  United  States,  386. 

Allefjhany  Mountain  ft.     Extent  and  name  of  the,  19. 

ALLEN,  ETHAN,  Colonel,  234.  At  Montreal.  240.  Notice 
of,  240. 

ALLEN,  Colonel.     In  the  Indian  War  of  1813,  416,  418. 

ALLEN,  Captain.     Of  the  brig  Argux,  429. 

ALMAGRO.     His  quarrel  with  Piz/aro,  44. 

ALSOP,  JOHN.  Member  of  the  first  Continental  Con- 
gress, 1774,  588. 

Amalji.    The  magnetic  needle  known  at,  in  1302,  39. 

Amboy,  New  Jersey.     Origin  of  the  name,  160. 

AMBRISTER.  ROBERT  C.,  448,  451. 

Amelia  Island,  448. 

America.  Discovery  of,  84.  Origin  of  the  name,  41. 
First  colony  in,  42.  Intercourse  of,  with  the  Old 
World,  long  before  the.  Christian  era,  11.  Marvellous 
stories  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  interior  of,  12.  He- 
roic age  of,  10. 

American.  Agriculture,  447.  Association.  228.  Col- 
onies, cost  of,  to  England,  in  sixty  years,  206.  Com- 
merce, protected  in  1801,  390,  391.  Manufactures,  447. 
System,  458,  459.  Party,  in  1856,  531. 

AMES,  FISHER.     Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of,  380. 

AMHERST,  JEFFREY,  Lord.  His  expedition  against 
Louisburg,  196.  Captures  Ticonderoga,  199  ;  and 
Crown  Point,  199,  200.  At  Quebec,  203.  Portrait  of, 
196.  Notices  of,  196,  199. 

AMIDAS,  PHILIP.     His  expedition  to  America,  55. 

AMPUDIA,  General,  481.     Surrenders  Monterey,  484. 

AMSTERDAM.  Henry  Hudson  sails  from,  in'  1609,  59. 
Charter  to  merchants  of,  in  1614.  72. 

Andastes  Indians,  19,  23.  Invaded  by  the  Five  Na- 
tions, 24. 

ANDERSON,  JOHN.  The  assumed  name  of  Major  Andre. 
325. 

Anderson's  Constitutional  Gazette,  595. 

ANDRE,  Major.  Arnold's  bargain  with,  325.  Captured 
and  executed ;  memorial  to,  326. 

ANDROS,  SIR  EDMUND.  Arrives  at  Boston,  129.  Impris- 
oned, 130.  Governor  of  New  York.  147;  and  of  New 
Jersey,  159,  160.  Usurpations  by,  155,  156. 

Androscogyin  Indians,  22. 

Annapolis,  Maryland.  The  Continental  Congress  meets 
at,  588. 

ANN  AAV  AN.    Famous  New  England  Indian,  21. 

ANNE,  Queen,  134.    Death  of,  136. 

ANNE  BOLEYN,  75. 


INDEX. 


Antiquities.    American,  11. 

Anti-Rentism,  130. 

ANVILLE,  Due  <T,  138. 

Apache  Indians,  33. 

Appaliichee  Bay.    Nervaez  at,  44. 

Appalachian  Indians.  Moore's  expedition  against 
the,  in  1T()8,  169,  170. 

Appalachian  Mountains,  19.  De  Soto  crosses  the,  in 
1539,  44. 

Appomattox  River,  C9. 

Approval  and  Veto  powers  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  616. 

Aquiday  Inland.     Indian  name  of  Rhode  Island,  91. 

A  quinuschioni.    A  name  given  to  the  Five  Nations,  23. 

Aquitneck,  or  Aquitnet.  The  Indian  name  of  Ilhode 
Island,  91. 

ARBUTHNOT,  Admiral.  Besieges  Charleston,  309,  310. 
Sails  to  New  York,  in  17SO,  313.  Attacks  the  French 
fleet,  1781,  330. 

ARBUTHNOT,  ALEXANDER,  448,  451. 

AEOHDALE,  JOHN,  Governor,  165,  167. 

ARGALL,  SAMUEL,  Captain.  His  piracies,  1613,  58.  Cap- 
tures Pocahontas,  70.  Deputy-Governor  of  Virginia, 
70.  Story  of  him  and  Dutch  traders,  in  1613,  72." 

"Argus"  brig,  429,  430. 

"Ariel"  schooner,  420. 

ARISTA,  General.     At  Metamoras,  481. 

Arkansas  Indians.  32. 

Arkansas.    State  of.  451.    Added  to  the  Union,  4G9. 

ARLINGTON,  Earl  of,  110. 

Armada,  Spanislt.     Described,  57. 

ARMISTEAD,  Major.     At  Fort  M-IIenry,  1814,  437. 

ARMSTRONG,  JOHN,  General,  193.  Author  of  the  New- 
burg  Address,  349.  Secretary  of  War,  426.  Notices 
of,  349,  426. 

ARMSTRONG,  JOHN,  Colonel,  193. 

Army,  American.  Condition  of  the,  in  1776,  257,  261. 
Bank  of  officers  in  the,  80S.  Disbanded,  1782,  050. 

Army,  British.  In  America,  number  of  men  in  the, 
258.  Sums  granted  for  the,  206.  State  of,  in  1778.  2S5. 

ARNOLD,  BENEDICT.     Gov.  of  Rhode  Island,  1663,  158. 

ARNOLD,  BENEDICT,  General.  At  Fort  Stanwix,  278; 
Lake  Champlain,  234,261;  Penn's  House,  162;  Phil- 
adelphia, 1778,  287;  Point  aux  Trembles,  241;  Que- 
bec, wounded,  241.  242  ;  Ridgefield,  270  ;  Saratoga, 
282;  Sillery,  243.  Reprimanded  by  Washington,  325. 
Treason  of,  324,  325,  326.  Escapes  to  the  Vulture, 
826.  Depredations  committed  by,  in  Virginia,  in 
1781,  330;  and  in  New  England,  340.  Portrait  and 
autograph  of,  325.  Notices  of,  324,  327. 

ARNOLD,  JAMES  ROBERTSON,  Notice  of.  326. 

Articles  of  Confederation  of  the  United  States,  1782, 
266, 267,  353,  355.  Copy  of  the  Articles,  604  ss. 

ASHBURTON,  Lord.  His  negotiations  with  Mr.  "Webster, 
1842,  472. 

ASHE,  General,  295.  Anecdote  of  Mrs.,  and  Colonel 
Tarleton,  332. 

Ashley  River,  98,  99.    Origin  of  the  name,  99. 

Asia.  Inhabitants  of  the  north-eastern  coast  of,  resem- 
ble Indians  of  North  America,  11. 

Assemblies.  In  America,  arbitrary  dissolution  of,  596, 
597. 

Assembly  House.    At  Chester,  Pennsylvania,  97. 

Assiniboin  Indians,  31,  32. 

ASTOR,  JOHN  JACOB.     His  trading  station,  479. 

Athapascas  Indians,  17. 

Athos,  Mount,  60. 

ATKINSON,  HENRY,  General.  Drives  hostile  Indians  be- 
yond the  Mississippi ;  notice  of,  463. 

Ailixco.     Defeat  of  Santa  Anna  at,  in  1847.  497. 

Atonement.    Doctrine  of,  among  Indians,  16. 

Attainder.    Bill  of,  619. 

Attiouandiron  Indians,  23. 

ATTUCKS,  CRISPUS,  221. 

Augusta,  Georgia.    Captured  by  Lee,  1781,  336,  337. 

AUSTIN,  ANN,  the  Quakeress.  Arrives  at  Boston,  in 
1656,  122. 

AUSTIN,  STEPHEN  F.,  477. 

Austria.  Aided  by  Russia,  crushes  the  rebellion  in 
Hungary,  in  1S4S,  518.  The  Consul- General  of,  seizes 
Martin  Koszta,  in  1853,518. 

Austrian  Succession.    War  of  the,  137. 

Autographs : 

ADAMS,  JOHN,  383. 
ADAMS,  JOHN  QuiNCY.455. 
AMES,  FISHER,  380. 
ARNOLD,  BENEDICT,  325. 
BAINBRIDGE,  Commodore,  391. 
BOONE,  DANIEL,  929. 
BUCHANAN,  JAMES,  532. 


BURR,  AARON.  397. 
CALHOUN,  JOHN  C.,  458. 
CARROLL,  Archbishop.  354. 
CARROLL,  CHARLES,  601. 
CHURCH,  BENJAMIN,  128. 
CLAIBORNE,  Governor,  440. 
CLAY,  HENRY,  500. 
CLARKE,  GEORGE  R.,  General,  300. 
CLINTON,  DE  WITT,  456. 
COLDEN,  CADWALLADER,  216. 
COXE,  TENCH,  369. 
DECATUR,  Lieutenant,  392. 
DICKINSON,  JOHN,  219. 
ELLSWORTH,  OLIVER,  360. 

FlLLMORE,  MlLLARD,  502. 

FRANKLIN,  BENJAMIN,  267. 
FREMONT,  JOHN  C.,  488. 
FULTON,  ROBERT,  398. 
GREENE,  NATHANIEL,  General,  331. 
HAMILTON,  ALEXANDER,  361. 
HANCOCK,  JOHN,  231. 
HARRISON,  WILLIAM  II.,  474. 
HAYNE,  ROBERT  Y.,  463. 
HENRY,  PATRICK,  214. 
HOPKINSON,  FRANCIS,  2S4. 
JACKSON,  ANDREW.  460. 
JACKSON,  JAMES,  347. 
JAY,  JOHN,  379. 
JEFFERSON,  THOMAS,  389. 
JONES,  PAUL,  307. 
KIRKLAND,  SAMUEL,  Rev.,  25. 
LIVINGSTON,  EDWARD.  452. 
LIVINGSTON,  ROBERT  R.,  366. 
KING,  RUFUS,  395. 
MACDONOUGH,  Commodore,  435. 
MADISON,  JAMES,  405. 
MARION,  FRANCIS,  317. 
MARSHALL,  JOHN,  351. 
MATHER,  COTTON,  133. 
MONROE,  JAMES,  447. 
MORRIS,  ROBERT,  264. 
MOTTE,  REBECCA,  335. 
PKNN,  WILLIAM.  95. 
PERRY,  Commodore,  423. 
PIERCE,  FRANKLIN.  514. 
PINCKNEY,  C.  C.,  384. 
PINKNEY,  WILLIAM,  400. 
POLK,  JAMES  K.,  479. 
PUTNAM,  RUFUS,  362. 
RANDOLPH,  JOHN,  403. 

RlTTENHOUSE,  DAVID,  211. 

RUSH,  BENJAMIN,  251. 

SCIIUYLER,  PHILIP,  239. 

SHELBY,  ISAAC,  417. 

STORY,  JOSEPH,  612. 

STUYVESANT,  PETER,  142. 

TAYLOR,  ZACHARY,  498. 

THOMPSON,  BENJAMIN,  446. 

THOMSON,  CHARLES,  227. 

TRUMBULL,  JONATHAN,  323. 

TYLER,  JOHN,  476. 

VAN  BUREN,  MARTIN,  470. 

VAN  RENSSELAER,  SOLOMON,  413. 

WASHINGTON,  GEORGE,  365. 

WASHINGTON,  MARTHA,  387. 

WEBSTER,  DANIEL,  503. 

WTEST,  BENJAMIN,  210. 

WHIPPLE,  ABRAHAM,  310. 

WILLIAMS,  ROGER,  90. 

WINTHROP,  JOHN,  117. 
Antossee,  Alabama.     Battle  at,  1813,  428. 
Avalon.    Territory  of.  81. 

Avenger  of  Blood.    Indian  custom  concerning  the,  140. 
AXEL,  Count,  93. 
AYLLON.    See  D'AYLLOX. 
AYSCUE,  SIR  GEORGE,  108. 
Aztecfi.The.  Empire  of,  10.  Colossal  statuary  of,  10.  Their 

tradition  of  a  universal  deluge,  11.    Account  of,  493. 

BACON,  Lord.  His  unsuccessful  expedition  to  New- 
foundland, in  1610,  74. 

BACON,  NATHANIEL,  110,  111.  His  exploits,  111,  112, 
Death  of,  112. 

BADGER,  GEORGE  E.    Secretary  of  the  Navy,  1841,  474. 

Bahama  Islands,  98.  The  land  first  discovered  by 
Columbus,  40. 

Bail.     In  the  United  States,  630. 

BAINBRIDGE,  Commodore.  Protects  American  com- 
merce, in  1801,  390,  391.  Captured  by  Tripolitans,  in 
1803,  391.  Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of,  391. 


646 


INDEX. 


BALBOA.    Picture  of,  in  armor,  42.    His  fate,  42. 

BALDWIN,  ABRAHAM,  356.  629. 

BALFOUR,  Colonel.     At  Charleston,  337. 

BALTIMORE,  Lord.  Proprietor  of  Maryland,  152.  Sum 
spent  by,  in  colonizing  Maryland,  209. 

Baltimore,,  Maryland.  Captain  John  Smith  eats  corn 
on  the  site  of/67.  General  Ross  approaches,  in  1814, 
436,  43T.  Congress  meets  at,  1776,  262.  5SS. 

BANCROFT,  GEORGE.  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  1845,  47S. 
His  History  of  the  United  States,  6,).  His  estimate  of 
the  Aboriginal  population  of  North  America,  in  1650, 
31. 

BANISTER,  JOHN,  611. 

Bank.  Of  Massachusetts,  372.  National,  372.  Of  New 
York,  372.  Of  North  America,  329,  372. 

Banner.    Of  the  expedition  of  Columbus,  described,  40. 

Baptists,  The.  Compelled  to  pay  fines,  in  Virginia, 
1660,  110. 

Barban/  Powers.  The  United  States  at  war  with,  in 
1SJ1,  390. 

B  ARBOUR,  JAMES.     Secretary  of  War,  1825,  454. 

Barcelona.     Columbus's  journey  from  Palos  to,  40. 

BARCLAY,  ROBERT.  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  160.  His 
"Apology  for  the  Quakers,"  160. 

BARCLAY,  Commodore,  420.  His  tribute  to  Commodore 
Perry,  423. 

BARLOW,  ARTHUR.     His  expedition  to  America,  55. 

BARLOW,  JOEL,  399. 

BARNEY,  Commodore.  His  flotilla,  in  1814,  436.  Notice 
of,  436. 

BARNWELL,  Colonel,  16S. 

Baronies.     In  England,  account  of,  62,  63. 

BARRE,  Colonel,  217,  225.  Opposes  the  measures  of 
Great  Britain  respecting  America,  in  1777,  282. 

BARRON,  Commodore,  401. 

BARRY,  WILLIAM  T.     Postmaster-General,  in  1S29,  461. 

BARRY,  Captain,  308. 

BARTLETT,  JOSIAII.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confeder- 
ation, 611 ;  and  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
602 ;  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  629. 

BARTON,  WILLIAM,  Colonel,  271. 

BARTRAM,  JOHN,  210. 

BASSETT,  RICHARD,  356. 

Bavaria.  Contest  of  the  Elector  of,  with  Maria  The- 
resa, 137. 

BAYARD,  JAMES  A.  Envoy,  in  1812,  419.  Commissioner 
at  Ghent.  443. 

BAYARD,  WILLIAM.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress, 556. 

Bear  Tribe  of  Indians,  15. 

Beaufort  Island,  98. 

BEAUMARCHAIS,  M.,  266. 

Beaver.  Figure  of  a,  on  the  seal  of  New  Netherland, 
73. 

BEDELL,  Colonel,  240. 

BEDFORD,  GUNNING,  jr.,  356,  629. 

Beekman's  Swamp,  148. 

BEERS,  Captain,  126. 

Behring  Strait,  11. 

BELCHER,  Governor,  136.  Patron  of  Nassau  Hall  Col- 
lege, Princeton,  178. 

Belgium.    Treaty  of  the  United  States  with,  469. 

BELKNAP,  JEREMY,  Dr.,  57. 

BELL,  JOHN.    Secretary  of  War,  in  1841,  474. 

Bell,  Church.  Removed  from  Deeriield  to  Caughnu- 
waga,  135. 

Belleisle,  Straits  of,  48. 

BELLOMONT,  Earl  of,  149. 

BELMONT,  AUGUSTE,  511. 

Belt,  Wampum,  13. 

Benin's  Heights.    Battle  of,  281. 

BENNET,  RICHARD.     Governor  of  Virginia,  1652,  109. 

Bergen,  New  Jersey,  93,  94. 

BERKELEY,  Lord.  Purchases  New  Jersey,  159.  Sells 
West  Jersey  to  the  Quakers,  95. 

BERKELEY,  SIR  WILLIAM,  98.  Governor  of  Virginia,  97, 
108.  His  delay  in  defending  Virginia  asainst  the 
Seneca  Indians,  110.  Controlled  by  the  popular 
will,  111.  His  flight  from  Bacon,  111,  112.  His 
cruelties,  112.  Reproached  by  Charles  II.,  112. 

BERKELEY,  Admiral,  401. 

BERKELEY,  Dean.  His  lands  in  Rhode  Island,  158.  No- 
tice of,  158. 

Bermuda  Inlands.  Gates,  Newport,  and  Somers  wreck- 
ed on  one  of  the,  1609,  68. 

BERNADOTTE.     With  his  Swedish  army,  1814,  431. 

BERNARD,  Governor,  220. 

BERRIAN,  JOHN  M'PiiF.nsoN.  Attorney-General  of  the 
United  States,  in  1829.461. 

Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania.    La  Fayette  at,  273. 


I   BEVERLY,  ROBERT,  Major,  112. 

|  Bible,  The.     The  statute-book  in  Connecticut,  1639, 154. 
|  BIDDLK,   EDWARD.      Member  of  the   first  Continental 
Congress,  1774,  5SS. 

BIDDLE,  Captain,  80S. 

Bill  of  Rights,  of  the  Continental  Congress,  228. 

BILLINGE,  EDWARD,  161). 

BILLOP,  Captain,  257. 

Billts  in  Congress,  how  originated,  etc.,  616. 

BINGIIAM,  Captain,  4(17. 

Biography,  American,  by  Jared  Sparks,  60. 

Birmingham  Jfeet ing '-House,  273. 

Blackfcet  Indians,  33. 

BLACK  HAWK,  Sac  chief,  18,  32,  463.  Captured,  in  1823, 
463.  Portrait  of,  IS. 

Black  Hawk  War,  463. 

Black  Rock  Village.    Burnt,  in  1818,  427. 

BLACKSTONE,  WILLIAM,  Rev.,  89. 

"Black  Warrior"  t-tearnboat,  521. 

BLAIR,  JAMES.  Signer  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  629. 

BLAIR,  JOHN,  Judge,  856,  369. 

BLAKELY,  Captain,  440. 

BLAND,  RICHARD.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  5S8. 

BLENNEKHASSET.     Aaron  Burr's  conduct  toward,  397. 

BLOCK,  ADRIAN,  the  navigator,  72,  82.  Explorations 
and  discoveries  bv,  72. 

Block  House,  Bui-net's,  192. 

Block  Island.     Origin  of  the  name  of,  87. 

BLOB  MART,  SAMUEL,  139. 

Bloody  Greek,  Connecticut,  12G. 

Bloody  3Ia>'sh,  Florida,  173. 

Blood;/  Pond,  190. 

BLOOMFIELD,  JOSEPH,  410. 

BLOUNT,  WILLIAM,  355,  356,  629. 

BLUCHER.     With  his  Prussian  army,  in  1814,  431. 

BLYTHE,  Captain,  430. 

Board.  Of  Admiralty:  see  Admiralty.  Of  Trade, 
rejects  the  proposed  Union  of  the  Colonies,  188,  184. 
Of  Trade  and  Plantations,  134.  Of  War,  appointed  by 
Congress,  in  1776,  294. 

Bohemia.     Reformation  of  the  Church  in,  62. 

BOLIVAR,  General.     President  of  Colombia,  457. 

BONAPARTE,  NAPOLEON.  Emperor,  899.  His  decrees 
at  Berlin,  400:  Milan,  402;  and  Rambouillet,  406. 
His  tribute  to  Washington,  387.  His  treaty  with  the 
United  States,  in  1810,'  386.  His  remark  on  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  603. 

"Bonhomme  Richard."     Paul  Jones's  ship,  307. 

Booksellers.     In  the  American  colonies,  179. 

BOONE,  DANIEL.    Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of,  300. 

BORDEN,  JOSEPH.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress, 
556. 

BOSCAWEN,  Admiral,  189,  195,  196. 

Boston,  Massachusetts.  Norwegians,  in  1002.  explore 
the  region  near,  85.  Founded,  118.  Expedition  from, 
to  Port  Royal,  135,  136.  Revolutionary  proceeding 
at,  in  1770,  221.  Boston  Port  Bill,  225,  226,  596.  Bos- 
ton Neck,  229.  Fortified  by  Gage.  229.  Cannonaded, 
in  1776,  247.  Evacuated  by  the  British,  in  1776,  247. 
Rejoicing  at,  on  account  of  liberty  in  France,  377. 

Boundary  between  Maine  and  New  Brunswick,  472. 

Bounties.     Paid  on  American  commodities,  206. 

BOUQUET,  Colonel,  19,  198.  At  Pittsburg,  205.  Notice 
of,  205. 

Bourbon  Dynasty,  431. 

BOURGAINVILLE,  M.  de.  202. 

BOWDOIN,  Governor,  353. 

BOWLER,  METCALF.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress, 556. 

Boiding  Green,  The,  in  New  York  city,  72. 

Bows  and  Arrows,  Indian,  14. 

"Boyer"  bri<r,  430. 

BOYD,  Colonel.  295. 

BOYD,  JOHN,  319. 

BOZMAN.     His  History  of  Maryland,  cited,  151. 

Braceti.     Battle  of,  488. 

BRADDOCK,  EDWARD,  General,  184.  His  meeting  with 
the  Governors  of  the  colonies,  185.  His  expedition  to 
Fort  Du  Quesne,  186.  Death  of,  186.  Shot  by  Thomas 
Faucett,  1S6. 

BRADFORD,  WILLIAM.     Governor,  115,  118. 

BRADFORD,  WILLIAM.  Editor  of  the  New  York  Gazette, 
150. 

BRADSTREET,  Colonel,  197,  198.    At  Detroit,  205. 

"Bramble"  schooner,  443. 

BRANCH,  JOHN.     Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  1829,  461. 

Brandywine.     Battle  of.  273.     Map  of  the  battle,  273. 

"Bandywine"  frigate,  453. 


INDEX. 


647 


BRANT,  JOSEKI.  The  famous  Mohawk,  26.  His  hostile 
measures,  in  1778,  291.  Not  at  Forty  Fort,  290,  291. 
Portrait  of,  278. 

Brass.  Ancient  ornaments  made  of,  found  in  America, 
11. 

BRAXTON,  CARTER.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, 602. 

Brazil.     Cabot  explores  the  coast  of.  47. 

BREARLY,  DAVID,  356.  Signer  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  629. 

BRECKENRIDGE,  JOHN  C.  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  1857,  531. 

Breeds  Hill,  234. 

BRENT,  CHARLES.  Governor  at  Santa  Fe ;  murdered, 
439. 

BREWSTER,  Elder,  77,  116. 

BREYMAN,  Colonel,  277. 

Bridgewater.     Battle  at,  in  1814,  433. 

BRIDPORT,  Lord.     His  tribute  to  Washington,  3S8. 

BRIGHT,  Rev.  Mr.     Comes  to  America,  in  1629,  117. 

Bristol,  England.  Cabot  sails  from,  for  America,  in 
1497,46. 

British.  Agents  among  the  Indians,  after  1783,  873. 
Fleet,  depredations  by  the,  in  the  United  States,  in 
1S13,  430  ;  and  in  1814,  436,  437.  Fleet  on  Lake 
Champlain,  captured,  in  1314,  435.  Claims  to  Oregon, 
479. 

British  Government :  see  Great  Britain. 

Broadicay,  New  York  city,  72. 

BROCK,  SIR  ISAAC,  General,  411,  414. 

BRODHEAD.    His  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  72. 

BROOKE,  Lord,  85. 

BROOKE,  Colonel.     Succeeds  General  Ross,  in  1814,  437. 

B  'ookfteld,  Connecticut,  126. 

li.'-ooklyn,  New  York.     Walloons  at,  in  1623,  73. 

BROWN,  JACOB.  Delegate  from  Delaware,  to  the  Con- 
vention on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  356 ;  signs 
them,  629. 

BROWN,  JACOB,  General.  At  Chippewa,  433.  At  Prcs- 
cott,  426, 427.  At  Sacketfs  Harbc>r,  426,  432.  Portrait 
of,  432.  Notice  of,  433. 

BROWN,  JOHN.  Secretary  of  the  Continental  Board  of 
Admiralty,  1779,  308. 

BROWN,  Major.  At  Fort  Brown,  482.  Mortally  wounded, 
492.  ' 

BROWN,  General  (British),  336,  337. 

BROWNE,  JOHN  and  SAMUEL,  119. 

BRYAN,  GEORGE.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress, 
556. 

BUCHANAN,  JAMES.  Secretary  of  State,  in  1845,  478.  At 
the  Ostend  Conference,  in  1854,  522.  President  of  the 
United  States,  1357,  531.  Portrait,  autograph,  and 
notice  of,  532. 

Buena  Vista.    Battle  of,  4S6. 

Buffalo,  New  York.     Burnt,  in  1813,  427. 

BUFORD,  ABRAHAM,  Colonel.  His  troops  slaughtered  by 
Tarleton,  1780,  313. 

BULL,  Captain.     Anecdote  of  him  and  Andros,  156. 

Bull,  Papal.  Described,  46.  The  Golden  Bull  of 
diaries  IV.,  46.  In  favor  of  Portugal  and  Spain,  46. 

Bull.    Brought  to  America  by  Columbus,  in  1493,  41. 

Bullet.     SeeSilcer  Bullet. 

Bunker  Hill,  234.  Battle  of,  236.  Map  of  the  battle, 
235. 

Bunker  Hill  Monument,  235. 

Burgesses,  The  Virginia  House  of,  106. 

BURGOYNE,  JOHN.  General,  234.  At  Fort  Edward,  276, 
277.  At  Lake  Champlain,  272.  At  St.  John,  271.  At 
Ticonderoga,  275.  Surrenders  at  Saratoga,  281.  Dines 
with  General  Schuyler,  281.  Portrait  of,  278.  No- 
tice of,  282. 

Burial-Place,  Indian,  15. 

BURKE,  EDMUND,  217,  221,  282. 

Burlington.     Count  Donop  at,  262. 

BURNET,  PETER  H.    Chief  Justice  of  California,  499. 

BURNET.  Justice,  of  Derby,  94. 

"•Burns  Riot?  The,  at  Boston,  1854,  521. 

BURR,  AARON.  In  Arnold's  expedition  to  Quebec,  241. 
Candidate  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States,  in  : 
1SOO,  388.  Vice-President,  388.  Not  re-nominated, 
396.  His  duel  with  Hamilton,  361.396.  Proposed  in- 
vasion of  Mexico,  396.  Tried  for  treason,  1807,  398. 
His  conduct  toward  Blennerhasset.397.  Portrait  and 
autograph  of.  397.  Notice  of,  396.  The  widow  of.  259. 

BURRINGTON,  GEORGE.     Gov.  of  North  Carolina,  171. 

BURRITT.  EI.IHU.  His  speech  at  the  opening  of  the 
World's  Fair,  1853,  517. 

BURROUGHS,  Rev.  Mr.     Executed  as  a  wizard.  133. 

BURROWS,  Lieutenant.  Captures  the  British  brig 
"Boxer?  432. 


BUSHNELL,  DAVID.    His  torpedo,  252. 

BUTE,  Lord,  213. 

BUTLER,  General,  483.    At  Monterey,  484. 

BUTLER,  BENJAMIN  F.   Attorney-General  of  the  United 

States,  in  1838,  470. 
BUTLER,  JOHN,  Colonel,  278,  290. 
BUTLER,  PIERCE,  356,  629. 
BUTLER,  WALTER  N.,  291. 

BUTLER,  ZEBULON,  Colonel,  290.    Notice  of,  290. 
BYRON,  Admiral,  305.     Succeeds  Lord  Howe,  292. 

CABOT,  GEORGE.  President  of  the  Hartford  Convention, 
444. 

CABOT,  JOHN.     Notice  of,  60. 

CABOT  SEBASTIAN.  His  commission  from  Henry  VII., 
46.  Sails  for  America,  in  1497,  46.  His  second  expe- 
dition, in  1498,  47.  Discovers  Labrador,  Newfound- 
land, and  portions  of  New  England,  41.  Explores  the 
coast  from  Labrador  to  the  Carolinas,  47.  Navigates, 
in  1517,  the  northern  coast  of  Hudson's  Bay."  Ex- 
plores, in  1526,  the  coast  of  Brazil.  47.  Discovers 
the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  47.  Notices  of,  47,  60.  Portrait 
of,  46. 

CADWALADER,  LAMBERT,  Colonel,  355. 

CADWALLADER,  JOHN,  General.     At  Trenton,  263,  263. 

Cahokia.     Captured  by  Major  Clarke,  303. 

Cahokia  Indians,  19. 

CALDWELL,  Rev.  Dr.,  334. 

CALDWELL,  JAMES.     Killed  at  Boston,  in  1770,  221. 

"Caledonian,"  The.     One  of  Perry's  vessels,  420. 

CALEF,  Mr.,  of  Boston.  His  controversy  with  Cotton 
Mather,  133. 

CALHOUN,  JOHN  C.  His  views  of  the  War  of  1812,  409. 
Secretary  of  War,  1817,  447.  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  454,  459.  Portrait,  autograph,  and  no- 
tice of,  453,  459. 

California.  Number  of  Indians  in.  in  1853.  33.  Con- 
quest of,  487.  A  Territory  of  the  United  States,  497. 
Admitted  to  the  Union,  501. 

Calumets.  Indian,  14. 

CALVERT,  CECIL.     Portrait  of,  81. 

CALVERT,  CHARLES,  153. 

CALVERT,  GEORGE,  Lord  Baltimore,  SI. 

CALVERT,  LEONARD.  82,  151. 

CALVIN,  JOHN,  the  French  Reformer,  75. 

CAMBACERES,  M.,  386. 

CAMBRIDGE,  England.  Meeting  at,  respecting  the  Ply- 
mouth Colony,  118. 

Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  Founded,  118.  The  col- 
lege founded  at,  121.  Provincial  Congress  at,  230. 

Cam  den,  New  Jersev,  93. 

CAMPBELL,  JAMES.     Postmaster-General,  1853,  515. 

CAMPBELL,  JAMES  S.,  Judge,  291. 

CAMPBELL,  WILLIAM,  Lord.  His  arbitrary  measures, 
599. 

CAMPBELL,  WILLIAM,  Colonel.  At  King's  Mountain, 
319. 

CAMPBELL,  Colonel  (British),  291.  292.  294. 

Canada,  Attempted  conquest  of,  1689,  131.  Proposed 
conquest  of,  1711,  136.  Pitt's  scheme  for  conquering, 
1759,  199.  Measures  for  the  conquest  of,  1760,  203,  204. 
End  of  French  dominion  in,  1763,  22.  Address  of 
Congress  to  the  people  of,  239.  Proposed  invasion  of, 
1778,  194.  Hull's  invasion  of,  410.  Invasion  of,  1812, 
412.  Wellington's  troops  sent  to,  1814,  432.  Revolu- 
tionary movement  in,  in  1837,  471,  472. 

Canadian  River,  516. 

Canandaigua  Village,  59. 

Canary  Islands.     Columbus  delayed  at  the,  39. 

CANONCIIET.  Treaty  of  Peace  with,  125.  His  perfidy 
and  death.  127. 

CANONICUS,  Narrasanset  chief,  21,  90,  91,  115.  Hum- 
bled by  Governor  Bradford,  115. 

Canterbury,  Archbishop  of.  His  authority  in  America, 
121. 

Cantons,  Indian,  17. 

CANUTE.  Placed  upon  the  throne  of  Alfred  by  the  Sea 
Kinss,  35. 

Cape.  Ann,  colony  at,  116.  Bajador,  36.  Breton,  137, 
138.  Charles,  orisin  of  the  name,  64.  Cabot  passes, 
in  1497,46.  Cod,  "origin  of  the  name,  57.  Farewell, 
46.  Fear,  origin  of  the  name,  55.  Of  Good  Hope, 
origin  of  the  name.  37.  Henlopen,  93.  Henry,  origin 
of  the  name.  64.  May,  35;  purchase  of,  and  origin  of 
the  name.  94. 

Capes  of  Virginia,  59. 

Capital  Crimes,  in  the  United  States,  630. 

Capitol  of  the  United  States,  338,  509. 

CARAMELLI,  HAMET,  392.  395. 

Caravels.    Light  Spanish  coasting  vessels,  39. 


648 


INDEX. 


Carcass.    Described,  23fi. 

CARDON,  Lord.    Settles  in  South  -Carolina,  166. 

CARLETON,  SIR  GUY.  Governor  of  Canada,  373.  At  St. 
John's,  241).  At  Quebec,  241.  His  propositions  of 
reconciliation,  1782,  345. 

CARLISLE,  Earl  of.    Commissioner  to  America,  1778,  256. 

Carolina.  Ainidas  and  Barlow  off  the  shores  of,  55. 
Colonies  founded  in,  62.  Origin  of  the  name,  50,  55, 
93.  The  colonies  of,  97,  163,  164  ;  separated,  171. 
Grant  from  Parliament  to,  in  1757,  206.  Opposes  tax- 
ation, 223. 

Carolina,  Fort,  98. 

"Caroline"  steamboat,  472. 

Carpenters'  Hall,  Philadelphia,  288,  588. 

CAEK,  SIR  ROBERT,  123. 

CARROLL.  CHARLES,  of  Carrollton,  252.  Signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  602.  Portrait  and  auto- 
graph of,  601.  Notice  of,  603. 

CARROLL,  DANIEL,  356.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, 611 ;  and  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  629. 

CARROLL,  JOHN,  Archbishop.  Apostolic-Vicar,  1786, 
354  Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of,  354. 

CARTERET,  SIR  GEORGE,  98,  159.  Purchases  New  Jer- 
sey, 159. 

CARTERET,  PHILIP.     Governor  of  New  Jersey,  94,  159. 

Carter et  County  Colony,  98,  164,  165. 

CARTIER,  JAMES.  His  expeditions,  48,  49.  Picture  of 
his  ship,  48. 

CARTWRKHIT,  GEORGE,  123. 

CARVER,  JOHN,  Governor,  77,  78.  His  interview  with 
Massasoit,  114.  His  chair,  79.  Death  of,  115.  Notice 
of,  78. 

Cascades,  Oregon.     Attacked  by  Indians,  1856,  523. 

Casco  Village.  Attacked  by  the  French  and  Indians, 
131. 

CASS,  LEWIS,  General  At  Detroit,  424.  Candidate  for 
the  Presidency,  1848,  493. 

Castile.    Emulates  the  Italian  cities  in  trade,  36. 

CASTILLON,  General.  Deserts  Colonel  Walker  at  Rivas, 
525. 

CASTINE,  Baron  de,  134. 

Castine.     Admiral  Griffith  seizes  the  town  of,  1814, 438. 

Castle  William,  220. 

CASTRO,  General.     Opposes  Fremont,  in  1856,  487. 

CASWELL,  RICHARD,  356,  588. 

Catacombs.     Ancient,  in  America,  11. 

Catawba  Indians,  26,  27.  Their  territory,  26.  Expel 
the  Shawnees,  in  1672,  26.  Invaded,  1701,  by  the  Five 
Nations,  25,  26.  At  war  with  the  Tuscaroras,  1712,  26. 
Join  the  conspiracy  to  exterminate  the  Carolinians, 
27.  Assailed  by  the  Cherokees,  27.  Allies  of  the 
North  Carolina  Colony,  168,  170.  Population  of,  in 
1650,  31.  Join  the  Americans  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  27.  Eloquent  appeal  of  a  warrior  of  the,  to  the 
Legislature  of  South  Carolina,  27.  Language  of  the, 
12. 

Catawba  River,  27. 

CATHARINE  OF  ARRAGON,  75. 

CATHARINE,  Queen  of  Russia,  266. 

Cathay,  The  country  of,  38. 

Cat  Island:  see  Guanahama. 

CATLIN.    His  Letters  and  Notes,  83. 

Cattle.  The  first  introduced  into  Connecticut,  86. 
Taken  to  Newfoundland,  and  Nova  Scotia,  47. 

Caughnawaga.    The  church-bell  at,  135. 

CAUNBITANT.    New  England  Indian  captain,  21. 

Cayuga  Indians.  23.     Hi-a-wat-ha's  address  to  the,  24. 

Census.  The  first,  of  the  United  States,  1791,  371.  Of 
the  United  States,  in  1800,  333. 

Cent.    United  States  coin,  372. 

Central  America.  League  in,  against  Walker,  1856, 527. 

Cerro  Gordo,  489.     Battle  of,  490. 

CHABON,  Admiral.  Encourages  settlements  in  New 
France,  48. 

Chad's  Ford.    Washington's  head-quarters  at,  274. 

Chair.    Governor  Carver's,  79. 

CHAMPE,  Serjeant.    Attempts  to  capture  Arnold,  326. 

CIIAMPLAIX,  SAMUEL.  His  expedition,  59.  Discovers 
Lake  Champlain,  59  ;  and  Lake  Huron,  59.  His  pub- 
lications, 59. 

Champlain,  Lake.  Discovered,  59.  See  Lake  Cham- 
plain. 

CIIANOO.  A  converted  Indian,  saves  Jamestown,  Vir- 
ginia, 106. 

CHANDLER,  General.    Notice  of,  426. 

CHAPIN,  E.  H.,  Rev.  His  speech,  at  the  opening  of  the 
World's  Fair.  1853,  517. 

CHARLES  I.,  of  England,  74.  Accession  of,  107, 116.  His 
intolerance,  116.  His  character,  108. 


CHARLES  II.,  of  England.  Restoration  of,  109.  His  prof- 
ligacy and  prodigality,  110.  His  gifts  to  Lord  Cui- 
pepper.  and  the  Earl  of  Arlington,  110.  Grants  a  new 
charter  to  Connecticut,  155.  Declares  the  Massachu- 
setts charter  void,  129.  Makes  judges  independent  of 
the  people,  110.  Reproaches  Governor  Berkeley,  112.* 
Gives  New  Netherland  to  his  brother  James,  144. 
Death  of,  113.  The  charter  of  Connecticut  contains  a 
portrait  of,  155. 

CHARLES  IX.,  of  France,  49,  51.  His  commission  to 
Coligny,  50. 

CHARLES  EDWARD,  son  of  James  II.,  134. 

Charleston,  South  Carolina.  Laid  out  by  Culpepper, 
165.  Map  of,  in  1680,  166.  Founded,  99,  117.  French 
and  Spanish  expedition  against,  169.  Siege  of,  in  1730, 
309,  311.  Map  of  the  siege,  311.  Captured  by  the 
British,  1730,  312.  Evacuated  by  the  British,  1732,  348. 
Oglethorpe  at,  in  1732,  100.  Refuses  to  allow  tea  to  be 
sold,  1773,  224. 

Charlestoivn,  Massachusetts,  236. 

Charter  Oak,  The.     Picture  of,  156. 

Charter  of  Liberties.  William  Perm's,  162.  Of  New 
York,  147. 

CHASE,  SAMUEL.  Member  of  the  first  Continental  Con- 
gress, 1774,  538.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, 602.  Member  of  the  Committee  of  Congress, 
on  Slavery,  1784,  534. 

CHATHAM,  the  Earl  of,  218.  His  conciliatory  measures, 
231.  His  denunciations  in  the  House  of  Lords,  282. 
His  letter  to  Sayre,  223.  His  opinion  of  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  223.  Death  of,  286.  Portrait  and  no- 
tice of,  217.  See  PITT. 

CJiattahoochee  River,  23. 103. 

CHAUNCEY,  Commodore,  420,  425. 

Chepultepec.    Battle  of,  1847,  494. 

Cher  aw  Indians,  20. 

Cherry  Valley.    Devastated,  in  1778,  290. 

"Cherub"  sloop-of-war,  431. 

Chenibusco.    General  Scott  at,  in  1847,  493. 

CHEESEMAN.     General  Montgomery's  Aid,  242. 

Cherokee  Indians.  De  Soto  penetrates  the  country  of 
the,  44.  Their  territory,  and  character,  27.  Foes  of 
the  Shawnees,  27.  At  war  with  the  Tuscaroras,  27 ; 
Five  Nations,  25,  27;  Six  Nations,  25;  Catawbas,  27. 
Among  the  confederates  against  the  Carolinians,  in 
1715,  27.  Allies  of  the  English  against  the  French,  27. 
Assisted  at  the  capture  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  1758,  27. 
Migrations  of  the,  23,  162.  Allies  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Colony,  163.  Allies  of  the  Americans  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  23.  Population  of  the,  in  1650,  31. 
Civilization  of  the,  23.  Friends  of  the  United  States, 
in  1812,  28.  Assist  the  United  States  in  subjugating 
the  Creeks,  23.  Language,  12.  Newspaper,  28:  see 
GUESS,  GEORGE. 

Cherokee  Phimiix.    An  Indian  newspaper,  28. 

Chesapeake  Bay.  Explored  by  Captain  John  Smith, 
67.  Gosnold  in  the,  in  1607,  64.  Indians  on  the,  20. 

'•'•Chesapeake"  frigate,  401,  429. 

Chester,  Pennsylvania.     William  Penn  at,  97. 

Chestnut-street,  Philadelphia.     Origin  of  the  name,  162. 

Chevaii(e-de-/rise.  Described,  274.  At  Charleston,  in 
1780,  311. 

Chevy  Chase,  233. 

Cheicing  Tobacco.    Invented  by  white  people,  14. 

Chickahominy  River,  66. 

Chickasaw  Indians,  29.  De  Soto  on  the  territory  of  the, 
in  1541,  44.  Their  territory,  30.  Early  friends  of  the 
English,  30. 

Chickasaw  River,  29. 

CHICKELEY,  SIR  HENRY,  113. 

Chiefs.     Indian  military  leaders,  14,  16. 

Chihuahua.    The  boundary  line  of  New  Mexico,  525. 

C/n'M.    Scandinavian,  born  on  Rhode  Island,  35. 

GUILDS,  Colonel.     At  Puebla,  494. 

Chimney  Point,  189. 

Chinese,  The.  Possessed,  they  say,  the  knowledge  of 
the  magnetic  needle,  more  than  1100  B.C.,  89.  In 
California,  for  gold,  497. 

Chippewa  Indians,  17.  Deadly  enemies  of  the  Potta- 
wattomies,  18.  Their  territory,  18.  Joined  by  the 
Ottowas,  IS :  and  by  the  Wyandots,  24.  Conspire 
against  the  English,  in  1763,  2o5. 

Chippewa.    Battle  of,  in  1814,  433. 

Chootaw  Indians,  29.  Their  territory,  character,  and 
migration,  30. 

Chowan  Indians,  23. 

Chow  an  River,  97. 

Christians,  Indian.     Converted  by  French  Jesuits,  22. 

CHRISTINA.     Daughter  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  93. 

Christina,  Delaware,  93. 


INDEX. 


CHRONICLE,  WILLIAM,  Major,  319. 
Chrysler 's  Field.    Battle  of,  in  1813,  427. 

CHURCH,   BENJAMIN,   Captain,   127.       His    sword,   128. 

Death  of,  127.     Portrait  and  autograph  of,  128. 
Church  of  England.     In  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  110. 
Established  in  Maryland,  154.     In  North  Carolina, 
168.     In  South  Carolina,  169. 

Church  and  State.     In  Massachusetts,  118. 

Church,  The,  at  Jamestown,  112. 

Churchill's  River,  17. 

Churchmen.     Persecuted  by  Puritans,  119. 

Cincinnati  Society.  Instituted,  in  1782,  852.  Order 
of  the,  352. 

Cincinnati^,  the  Roman,  353. 

Cipher  Writing.     Of  the  New  York  tories,  309. 

Citizens  of  the  United  States.     Privileges  of,  627. 

City  Hall,  of  New  York,  366.  City  Hall  Park,  New 
York,  148. 

Civilization.     New  period  of,  in  America,  52. 

CLAIBORNE,  WILLIAM  C.  C.,  Governor.  Portrait  and 
autograph  of,  440.  Notice  of,  441. 

Clam  Shell*.     Used  in  making  wampum,  13. 

Clans,  Indian,  17. 

CLARENDON.  Lord,  98. 

Clarendon  County  Colony,  98. 

CLARK,  AURAHAM.  Delegate  from  New  Jersey,  to  the 
Convention  on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  356. 
Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  6<i2. 

CLARKE,  GEORGE  R.,  General.  His  operations  in  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  314,  315,  319,  336.  His  expedi- 
tion against  the  Indians,  303.  Captures  Kaskaskia, 
and  Cahokia,  303.  Portrait  and  autograph  of,  300. 
Notice  of,  3  ,3. 

CLARKE,  Captain.  His  tour  of  exploration  with  Captain 
Lewis,  in  1804,  479. 

CLARK'S  History  of  Onondago  county,  cited,  23. 

CLARKE,  JOHN,  Dr.,  91. 

CLAY,  GREEN,  General.  At  Fort  Mclus,  418,  419.  No- 
tice of,  418. 

CLAY,  HENRY.  United  States  Commissioner  at  Ghent, 
1814,  443.  Nominated  for  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States,  1825.  454.  Secretary  of  State,  1825,  454. 
His  Compromise  Bill,  in  1833,  464,  50<>,  501.  Nom- 
inated for  the  Presidency,  in  1844,  478.  Portrait, 
autograph,  and  notice  of,  500. 

CLAY,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  486. 

CLAYBORNE,  WILLIAM,  82,  151. 

CLAYTON,  JOHN  M.     Secretary  of  State,  1849,  499. 

Clear  Water  Rirer,  19. 

CLEMENT  XIV.,  Pope,  266. 

"Cleopatra"  steamboat,  508. 

"ClermonF  steamboat.     Fulton's  first  steamboat,  399. 

CLEVELAND,  BENJAMIN.     At  King's  Mountain,  319. 

CLINCH,  General.  At  Fort  Drane,  and  Withlacoochee, 
467. 

CLINGAN,  WILLIAM.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, 611. 

CLINTON,  DE  WITT,  416.  His  part  in  the  Erie  Canal,  457. 
Portrait  and  autograph  of,  456.  Notice  of,  457. 

CLINTON,  SIR  HENRY,  General.  At  Boston,  1775,  234, 
236.  Joins  Sir  Peter  Parker,  1776,  248.  On  Long 
Island,  1776,  253.  At  New  York,  1777,  272.  Captures 
Fort  Clinton  and  Fort  Montgomery.  1777,  283.  Ex- 
pected by  Burgoyne,  1777,  281.  At  Moninouth,  1778, 
287 ;  pursued  by  Washington,  287.  His  moonlight 
despatch,  288.  His  marauding  expeditions,  in  177S, 
1779.  296.  Succeeds  Howe,  1778,  287.  Evacuates 
Rhode  Island,  and  proceeds  to  the  Carolinas,  1779, 
306,  309.  In  New  Jersey,  178ft,  320.  Deceives  Wash- 
ington, 320.  At  the  siege  of  Charleston,  1780,  309. 
Sails  for  New  York,  1780,  313.  Sends  emissaries  to 
the  Pennsylvania  mutineers,  1781,  328,  329.  Portrait 
of,  287. 

CLINTON,  JAMES,  General.    At  Tioga  Point,  304. 

CLINTON,  GEORGE,  Governor,  287.  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States,  1801,  396.  404.  With  General 
Knox,  when  he  entered  New  York,  in  1782,  350.  Por- 
trait and  notice  of,  350. 

Club,  Indian,  used  in  war,  14. 

CLYMER,  GEORGE,  356,  602,  629. 

COCKKURN,  Admiral.  His  marauding  expeditions,  in 
1813,  1814,  and  1815,  430,  440. 

Cod  Fishery,  47,  116. 

CODDINGTON,  WlLLIAM,  91. 

COFFEE,  General.  In  the  expedition  against  the  Creeks, 
1818,  428.  Notice  of,  428. 

Coin.  Persian,  found  in  Ohio,  11.  Roman,  found  in 
Missouri,  1 1. 

Coins  and  Currency,  of  the  United  States,  372.  Cop- 
per coins,  372. 


COLDEN,  CADWALLADER,  215.  Portrait  and  autograph 
of,  216. 

COLIGNY,  Admiral,  49,  50.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  studies 
the  art  of  war  with,  52.  The  friend  of  Huguenots,  49. 

COLLAMER,  JACOB.     Postmaster-General,  in  1849.  499. 

College.  At  Boston,  appropriation  for  establishing  a,  in 
1636,  211.  Dartmouth,  Harvard,  King's,  Nassau'Hall, 
Philadelphia,  Queen's,  Rhode  Island,  William  and 
Mary,  Yale,  178. 

COLLETON,  JAMES,  Governor,  166. 

COLLETON,  SIR  JOHN,  98. 
j  COLLIER,  SIR  GEORGE,  297. 

COLLINS,  JOHN.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
611. 

Colonies.  American,  history  of  the,  104,  174.  Amer- 
ican, during  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  51,  52. 
American,  population  of  the,  179.  New  England,  pro- 
posed Union  of  the,  in  1637, 121 ;  the  Union  dissolved, 
122. 

Colony.  Founding  of  a,  described,  61.  The  earliest  in 
America,  42. 

Columbia,  District  of,  388.  The  slave-trade  in  the, 
abolished,  501. 

Columbia  Rirer,  479. 

COLUMBUS,  CHRISTOPHER,  36.  His  marriage,  37.  His 
voyage  to  Iceland,  37.  His  son  Diego,  37.  At  the  gate 
of  the  monastery  of  Rabida,  38.  Queen  Isabella  fits 
out  a  fleet  for  him,  37.  He  sails  from  Palos,  in  1492, 39. 
High  admiral,  39.  Pecuniary  promises  made  to  him, 
39."  Picture  of.  before  the  Council  of  Salamanca,  34.  Ex- 
plores Cat  Island,  discovers  other  islands,  including 
Cuba  and  San  Domingo,  40.  Returns  to  Spain  in  March, 
1493,  40.  II is  three  subsequent  voyages  ;  appointed 
Viceroy  and  High  Admiral  of  the"  New  World ;  his 
fourth  voyage,  41.  His  first  landing  in  America  ;  takes 
possession  of  the  country,  in  the  name  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,  40.  Picture  of  the  banner  of  his  expedi- 
tion, 40.  Class  of  ships  used  by,  60.  Picture  of  the 
fleet  of,  39.  Sent  in  irons  to  Spain  ;  persecution,  neg- 
lect, and  death  of,  41.  Life  of,  by  Irving,  60.  Portrait 
of,  36. 

Comanche  Tndians,  33.     Territory  of  the,  45. 

Combahee  River.  D'Ayllon  anchors  at  the  mouth  of 
the,  43.  Named  Jordan,  by  D'Ayllon,  43. 

Commerce.  Of  the  American  colonies,  restrictions  im- 
posed on  the,  212.  American.  381,  082,  390,  891  ;  pro- 
tected, in  1801,  391  ;  injured  by  England  and  France, 
40d,40l  ;  injured  by  pirates,  1819,  453.  Of  Great  Brit- 
ain and  the  United  States,  367. 

Committee,  of  Safety.  Of  Massachusetts,  234.  Com- 
mittees of  Correspondence,  226. 

Como.     Witchcraft  at,  132. 

Company  of  Free  Traders,  96. 

"Concessions"  The,  of  Berkeley  and  Carteret,  159. 

Confederation.  American  Articles  of,  266,  267,  353, 
355 ;  copy  of,  604  ss. 

Congaree  Indians.  Hostile  to  the  South  Carolina  col- 
onies, 170. 

Congress.  The  word,  explained.  866.  First  Conti- 
nental, at  Philadelphia,  1774,  227,  228  ;  the  Earl  of 
Chatham's  opinion  of  it,  228 ;  State  Papers  put  forth 
by  the,  1774,  447  ss.;  second  Continental,  215,  238; 
Members  of  the,  588;  Declaration  by  the,  on  taking 
up  arms,  1775,  583,  587  ;  appoints  a  Committee  to  con- 
fer with  Washington,  1775,  239;  measures  of,  245; 
Armed  Marine  of,  307;  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs, 
SOT.  Continental,  Navy  Board  of:  Marine  Committee, 
and  Board  of  Admiralty  of,  SOS;  resolution  on  Inde- 
pendence, and  Committee  on  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, 251 ;  Committee  for  conferring  with  Lord 
Howe.  259;  Articles  of  Confederation  of:  see  Articles 
of  Confederation.  Sessions  of  the  Continental,  558. 
Continental,  sends  an  embassy  to  France,  1776,  and  to 
other  European  courts,  266';  rejects  Lord  North's 
Conciliatory  Bills,  286.  Of  the  United  States,  resolu- 
tion of  the,  1780,  to  allow  military  officers  half  pay  for 
life,  349;  disbands  the  army,  1782,  350;  efforts  of.  in 
1784,  to  restrict  slavery,  534;  at  New  York,  1787,  362  ; 
recommends  the  appointment  of  a  day  for  thanksgiv- 
ing and  prayer,  1787,  370;  measures  of  the,  respecting 
Revenues,  1789,  366,  367 ;  session  of,  1790,  371 ;  Extra- 
ordinary Sessions  of,  475.  Provincial,  at  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  230.  Meeting,  organization,  proceed- 
ings, journal,  adjournment,  etc.,  of,  615.  Powers 
vested  in,  616—618.  Power  of,  over  public  lands,  627. 
Discusses  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  1854,  520,  521. 

"Congress"  frigate,  414. 

Connecticut.  'Origin  and  signification  of  the  word,  85. 
Settlement  of,  62.  Pequod  Indians  in,  21.  History 
of  the  Colony  of,  154.  Constitution  of,  154.  Charter 


650 


INDEX. 


of,  from  Charles  II.,  155.  Takes  part  in  the  war 
against  King  Philip,  155.  Refuses  to  surrender  its 
charter,  156.  Joins  the  Confederacy  of  colonies,  in 
1(543,  121.  Population  of,  in  lTv,U,  157.  Grant  to,  from 
Parliament,  in  175S,  2015. 

Connecticut  River.  Discovered  by  Block,  72,  82.  Col- 
ony at  the,  85,  86. 

CANONCIIET.     Famous  New  England  Indian,  21. 

CONNOR,  Commodore.  Sails  tor  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
430.  Captures  Tampico,  Tabasco,  and  Tuspan,  485. 
At  Vera  Cruz,  489. 

CONRAD,  CHARLES  M.     Secretary  of  War,  1850,  502. 

"Constellation"  frigate,  382.  Captures  the  frigate  Uln- 
surgente,  1779,  385.  Action  of  the,  with  the  frigate 
La  Vengeance,  335. 

Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Washington  sug- 
gests a  Convention  on  the  subject  of  a;  history  of  the, 

355.  Copy  of  the,  612—682. 
Constitution  of  Government,  Pilgrim,  78. 
"Constitution"  frigate,  382,  415,  440.  Action  of  the,  with 

the  Guerriere,  414. 
Continental.      Army,   238.      Congress:    see    Congress. 

Money,  245;  depreciation  of,  293,328;  counterfeited, 

293. 
CONTREC<EUR,  M.     Attacks  the  Ohio   Company's  men, 

182. 

fontreras.     Battle  of,  1847,  493. 
Convention.      On  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  1787, 

356.  At  Albany,  1754,  183. 

CONWAY,  THOMAS,  General.     His  machinations,  285. 

CONWAY,   HENRY   SEYMOUR,  General.      His  motion  in  i 
Parliament,  1782,  346,  347. 

COODE.     The  insurgent,  153. 

COPERNICUS.     His  theory  of  the  Solar  System,  37. 

COPLEY,  JOHN  SINGLETON,  209. 

COPLEY,  LIONEL,  Royal  Governor,  153. 

Copper.  Ancient  "utensils  and  ornaments  made  of, 
found  in  America,  11.  Coins,  in  the  United  States, 
372. 

COPPIN.     Pilot  of  the  Mayflower,  78. 

Copp"8  mil,  235. 

COOPER,  ASHLEY,  Lord,  98. 

Cooper  Riper.     Origin  of  the  name,  99. 

CORDOVA,  FRANCISCO  FERNANDEZ  DE.  Discovers  Mex- 
ico, 43. 

Coree  Indians,  17,  20,  57.  Conspire  against  the  North 
Carolina  settlements,  163. 

CORN  BURY,  Lord,  149,  161. 

CORNPLANTER.     Seneca  chief,  20.  304. 

CORNSTALK.  Shawneu  chief,  unites  with  Logan  against 
the  white  men,  20.  His  bravery  ;  he  and  his  son 
shot,  2l. 

CORNWALLIS,  CHARLES,  Lord.  On  Long  Island,  1776, 
253,  254.  Captures  Fort  Lee,  259;  Newark.  New 
Brunswick,  Princeton,  and  Trenton;  pursues  Wash- 
ington, 260.  At  New  York,  262.  At  Princeton,  268. 
Approaches  Trenton,  263.  At  Charleston,  1780,  311. 
In  South  Carolina,  313.  At  Sanders's  Creek,  315.  In 
command  of  the  British  army  at  the  South,  1780,  315. 
At  Charlotte,  318.  At  Winnsborough,  319.  Succeeds 
Phillips,  1731,  330.  Pursues  Morgan,  332,  Abandons 
North  Carolina,  1731,  334.  At  Wilmington  and 
Petersburg,  383.  His  operation.,  ,.n  VirgLi.a,  ^33. 
Surrenders,  at  York  town,  1731,  341.  His  cruelty,  318. 
Portrait  and  notice  of,  318. 

CORONADA.    His  expedition,  45. 

Coronet.     Armorial  distinction,  73. 

Corpus  C/trifsti  village,  Mexico,  430. 

CORTEZ,  FERNANDO.  His  expedition  to  Mexico,  43. 
Dethrones  Montezuma,  10.  Notice  of,  43. 

CORTOREAL,  GASPER.  His  expedition  to  America,  in 
150;),  47. 

CORWIN,  THOMAS.    Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1850,  502. 

COSBY,  WILLIAM,  Governor,  15;). 

Costa  Rica.     Declares  war  against  Nicaragua,  1856, 526. 

COTTEN,  JOHN.   Clerk  of  the  Stamp  Act  Committee,  556. 

COTTON,  Rev.  Mr.,  113.     Comes  to  America,  in  1663,  86. 

Cotton.    Cultivation  of,  in  the  United  States,  368. 

Council  of  Plymouth,  117,  120. 

Council,  Indian.     How  composed,  16. 

"•Countess  of  Scarborough,'''  British  ship.  Captured  by 
Paul  Jones,  in  1779,  307. 

Counties,  Origin  of,  73. 

( 'owpens,  Battle  of,  331,  332. 

Cows.  Brought  to  America  by  Columbus,  in  1493,  41. 
A  hundred,  taken  to  Virginia,  in  1611,  68. 

COXE.  Speaker  of  the  New  Jersey  Assembly,  favors  a 
Union  of  the  Colonies,  1722,  183. 

COXE,  TENCH.  Portrait  and  autograph  of,  369.  Notice 
of,  368. 


Cradle.    Of  Peregrine  White,  78. 

CRAIG,  Major,  345. 

CRAIK,  Dr.  His  anecdote  of  Washington's  wonderful 
escape  from  death,  at  the  battle  of  Monongahela,  186. 

CRAMPTON,  Mr.     British  Minister,  dismissed," 523,  529. 

CRANCH,  Judge.  Administers  the  oath  of  office  to 
President  Tyler,  475. 

CRANE,  STEPHEN.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  1774,  588. 

Craney  Isl.md,  430. 

CRAVEN,  Lord.  One  of  the  principal  friends  of  Charles 
II.,  98. 

CRAVEN,  CHARLES.     Governor  of  South  Carolina,  17.1. 

CRAWFORD,  GEORGE  W.    Secretary  of  War,  in  Is49,  49.'). 

CRAWFORD,  WILLIAM  II.  United  States  Minister  t'> 
France,  1813,  429.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1817, 
447.  Nominated  for  the  Presidency,  1824,  454. 

Creation  of  the  World.  Indian  traditions  respecting 
the,  16. 

Creek  Indians,  29.  Their  lands,  30,  455,  456.  Allies  01 
the  British,  30.  Confederates,  19,  29,  80.  McGillivray, 
Emperor  of  the,  16.  Subjugation  of  the,  28.  Allies 
of  the  North  Carolina  Colony,  168.  Capture  Fort 
Minims,  in  1813,  427.  General  Jackson's  expedition 
against  the,  in  1814,  428.  Allies  of  the  Seminoles, 
1836,  467.  Creek  Sachem,  To-mo-chi-chi,  103. 

Creoles.     Origin  of  the,  41. 

"  (Crescent  City"  steamboat,  512. 

Crimea,  The.  Enlistments  in  American  cities,  for  the 
English  army  in,  528. 

CRITTENDEN,  J.  J.  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  1841,  474,  502. 

CRITTENDEN,  WILLIAM  L.  At  Cuba,  in  1S51 ;  executed, 
508. 

CROGHAN,  Major.     Portrait  and  notice  of,  420. 

Crown  Lands.     Discussion  respecting,  611. 

CROMWELL,  OLIVER.  Proposes  to  send  ships,  to  assist 
the  Connecticut  colonies  against  the  Dutch,  155. 
His  supposed  intention  to  migrate  to  America,  12',). 
His  motto,  13J.  Opposed  by  Virginia,  1U8.  Notice 
of,  108. 

CROMWELL,  RICHARD,  109. 

Cross.  Of  St.  George,  144.  Of  St.  Andrew,  144.  Pine, 
erected  by  De  Soto,  44.  Planted  on  the  shore  of 
Gaspe  Inlet,  48. 

Crow  Indium,  32,  33. 

Crow  River,  19. 

Crown  Point,  199.  Samuel  Cham  plain  at,  59.  John- 
son's expedition  against,  185.  Plan  of,  200. 

CROWNINSIIIELD,  BENJAMIN.  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
1817,  447. 

CRUGER,  JOHN.  Author  of  the  Declaration  of  Right.;, 
215,  549.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress,  556. 

CRUGER,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  335.  In  South  Carolina, 
178:),  313,  315. 

Crusaders.     Account  of  the,  38. 

Crystal  Pain ce.     At  London  ;  at  New  York.  517. 

Ciil/a.  Discovery  of,  by  Columbus,  40.  Exploring 
voyage  to,  41.  "invasion  of,  by  Lopez,  5i>2.  Prepara- 
tion at  New  York  for  the  invasion  of.  1851,  508.  Re- 
lations between  the  United  States  and  Spain  respect- 
ing, 1852,  512.  Affair  of  the  "Black  Warrior"  at, 
1854  ;  proposed  invasion  of,  1854,  521.  Proposed  pur- 
chase or  seizure  of,  522.  Conspiracy  in,  in  1855,  527. 

CULPEPPER,  Lord.  Grants  to,  by  Charles  II.,  110.  His 
character,  113. 

CULPEPPER,  JOHN,  99.  The  revolt  led  by,  164.  Lays 
out  the  city  of  Charleston,  165. 

Culpepper  Flag,  243 

CUNNINGHAM,  Provost-Marshal,  258. 

Currency,  National.     Of  the  United  States,  372. 

Cup,  Silver.   Found  in  an  ancient  mound  at  Marietta,  11. 

GUSHING,  CALEB.  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  1853,  515. 

CUSHIXG,  THOMAS.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress.  1774,  583. 

CUSHING,  WILLIAM,  Judge,  369. 

CUSHMAN,  ROBERT,  77. 

CUSTIS,  GEORGE  W.  P.    Notice  of,  514,  515. 

CUTLER,  MANASSEH,  363. 

"  Cyane,"  frigate,  440. 

DACRES.  Captain,  414. 

BADE,  FRANCIS  L.,  Major.  Massacred,  1835,  467.  No- 
tice of,  467. 

Dahcotah  Indians,  31,  32.  Hostile  to  the  United 
States,  1812,  32.  Confederated  with  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes,  1832,  32.  Language,  12. 

DALE,  SIR  THOMAS.  Arrives  at  Jamestown,  with  sup- 
plies, 69.  Governor  of  Virginia,  in  1614,  70. 


INDEX. 


651 


DALLAS,   GEORGE  M.     Vice-President  of  the  United 

States,  1845.  478. 
DANA,  FRANCIS.  355.  350,  611. 
DANIELS,  Colonel,  109. 
Danvers,  Witchcraft  at,  133. 
DARE,  ELEANOR.     Her  daughter  Virginia,  50. 
Darien,  Isthmus  of.    Boundary  of  the  Aztec  empire, 
10.     Colonized,  iii  1510,  by  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa, 
41.     Ship  Canal,  524. 
I)  ii-tm out!i  College,  178. 
Daughters  of  Liberty,  210. 
DAVENPORT,  JOHN,  88. 

DAVIE,  WILLIAM  RICHARDSON,  Colonel,  318,  350.     En- 
voy to  France,  1799,  3s5. 
DAVIS,  JEFFERSON.     Secretary  of  Wrar,  in  1853,  515. 

D'A  YLLON,  LUCAS  VASQUEZ.  Enslaves  natives  of  the  Ber- 
mudas, 42.  Governor  of  Chicora  ;  mortallv  wounded, 
43. 

DAYTON,  JONATHAN,  350.  Signer  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  029. 

DAYTON,  WILLIAM  L.  Nominated  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States,  1850,  532. 

DEANE,  SILAS.  Member  of  the  first  Continental  Con- 
gress, 1774,  588.  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Na- 
val Affairs,  1775,  8o7,  308.  American  Agent  in  France, 
260.  On  the  American  embassy  to  Fra/iee.  1770,  206. 
Returns  to  America,  1778,  287.  Proposes  to  present 
to  the  French  Government  Rittenhouse's  Planeta- 
rium, 269.  Portrait  and  notice  of,  260. 

DEARBORN.  HENRY.  Secretary  of  War,  1801, 390.  Com- 
mands the  Army  of  the  North.  1812,  412.  At  York, 
Canada,  1813,  425.  Portrait  and  notice  of,  410. 

Death.     Punishment  of,  among  Indians,  15. 

DECATUR,  STEPHEN,  Commodore,  415.  In  the  Mediter- 
ranean, 1815;  at  Algiers;  at  Tunis,  445.  His  exploit 
at  Tripoli,  392.  Captured,  1815,  440.  Portrait  and 
notice  of,  392. 

"  Decatiir^  sloop  of  war,  528. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  copy  of  the,  590 — 001. 

Declaration  of  Rights,  in  1083,  147;  in  1705,  215,  549. 

DE  CORDOVA:  see  CORDOVA. 

Deer-fteld,  Connecticut,  120.  Attacked  by  Rouville, 
135. 

DE  HART,  JOHN.  Member  of  the  first  Continental  Con- 
gress, 1774.  588. 

DE  HAVEN,  Lieutenant,  509. 

DE  HEISTER.     Hessian  General,  253,  254. 

DE  KALB,  Baron.      In  the  Southern   campaign,  1779, 
1780,  809,  814.     Death  of,  316.    Monument  to  ;  por-  : 
trait  and  notice  of,  310. 

DELANCEY,  JAMES,  Governor,  183, 185.  Favors  a  Stamp 
Act,  1755,  541. 

Delaware.     Settlement  of,  92.     Colonies,  144.     Swedes  ! 
in,  62.     Yields  to  the  Dutch,  in  1073,  147.     An  inde- 
pendent colony,  in  1770,  159. 

Delaware  B iu.     Verrazani  anchors  in,  48. 

Delaware  Indians,  17.  21.  Their  lands,  21.  Treaties 
with  the,  161,  363.  Their  hostility  to  the  English,  19. 

Delaware  River,  Washington  crosses  the,  200. 

DE  LA  WARR,  Lord.  Governor  of  Virginia,  OS.  At 
Jamestown,  69.  Character  of;  death  of,  69. 

Delft-Haven,  Holland.     Puritans  sail  from,  1620,  77. 

Deluge,  The  Universal.     Indian  traditions  of,  16. 

Democracy.  At  Massachusetts  Colony,  changed  to  a 
Representative  Government,  118. 

Democratic  Party  in  the  United  States,  1850,  531. 

DE  MONTS.  His  expedition  to  America ;  his  fort ;  his 
colony,  58. 

Denmark.  Comprised  in  Scandinavia.  34.  Traffic  of 
Iceland  and  Greenland  with,  in  950,  35. 

Descent.     Indian  rule  of,  10. 

Deseret.  The  country  of  the  Mormons;  signification  of 
the  name,  51)4. 

DESHA,  JOSEPH.     On  the  war  of  1812,  409. 

DE  SOTO,  FERDINAND.  Governor  of  Cuba,  and  of  Flor- 
ida; lands  at  Tampa  bay;  discovers  the  Mississippi 
river,  in  1541, 44, 45.  Proceeds  to  New  Madrid ;  death 
of,  45.  Portrait  of,  44. 

D'ESTAING:  see  ESTAING. 

Detroit.     Capture  of,  1813,  424. 

DE  VRIES,  Captain,  92.    His  plantation,  140. 

DEXTER,  SAMUEL,  389. 

DIAZ.  Portuguese  navigator,  discovers  Stormy  Cape, 
37. 

DICKINSON,  JOHN.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con-  ! 
gress,  550.  Member  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
1774;  corrects  the  Petition  to  the  King,  578.  588."  An-  ! 
thor  of  the  Address  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Quebec,  572.  ! 
Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  Oil.  Chair-  i 
man  of  the  Convention  on  the  Constitution  of  the  j 


United  States,  855.     Signer  of  the  Constitution,  629. 
His  u  Letters,"  218.     Portrait  and  autograph  of,  219. 

DICKINSON,  MAHLON.     Secretary  of  the  Navy,  1836,  470. 

DIESKAU,  BARON.  Fate  of  his  expedition,  189,  19,). 
Death  of,  190. 

Dime.     United  States  coin,  372. 

DINOCRATES,  the  Architect.  His  proposed  statue  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  Oi). 

DINWIDDIE,  ROKERT.  Governor,  185.  His  letter  to  St. 
Pierre,  181.  His  independent  companies,  184. 

Directory,  The  French.  883,  384. 

Discoveries.     English  and  French,  45  ss. 

Dissenters,  in  England,  7(5. 

DOBBIN,  JAMES  C.     Secretary  of  the  Navy,  1853,  515. 

DOUBS.  Governor,  185. 

Ddbbifsi  Ferry,  257. 

Dollar,  American,  372. 

Dominion,  The  Old:  see  Old  Dominion. 

DONELSON,  ANDREW  J.,  479.  Nominated  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  1850,  531. 

DONGAN,  THOMAS.  Governor,  147. 

DONIPHAN,  Colonel.  At  Braceti,  Chihuahua,  and  Sul- 
tillo,  488,  489. 

DONOP,  Count.     At  Burlington,  202.    Death  of,  295. 

Dorchester,  Massachusetts.     Founded,  118. 

DORR,  THOMAS  W.,  477. 

DOUGLASS,  Mr.  of  Illinois.  His  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill, 
1854,  519. 

Dover.     Attacked  bv  the  French  and  Indians,  1089, 130. 

DOWNIE,  Commodore,  434.     Death  of,  435. 

DRAKE,  SIR  FRANCIS,  50.  At  St.  Augustine,  57.  Dis- 
covers the  tobacco-plant ;  introduces  it  into  England. 
70. 

DRAKE,  S.  G.     His  Book  of  the  Indians.  33. 

DRAYTON,  WILLIAM  HENRY.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of 
Confederation,  Oil. 

Droicned  Lands  of  Illinois,  303. 

DRUMMOND,  General.  432,  433.  At  Burlington  Heights, 
433.  At  Fort  Erie,  1814,  434. 

DRUMMOND,  WILLIAM,  Rev.,  111.    Executed,  97,  112. 

Duality  of  God.     Taught  by  Indians,  15. 

DUANE,  JAMES.  Member  of  the  First  Continental  Con- 
gress, 1774,  588.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, Oil. 

DUANE,  WILLIAM  J.  Refuses  to  withdraw  the  Govern- 
ment funds  from  the  United  States  Bank,  405. 

DUCIIE,  JACOB,  Rev.,  228. 

DUDLEY,  JOSEPH,  129. 

DUDLEY,  THOMAS,  117.  Deputy-Governor  of  Plymouth 
Colony,  118. 

DUER,  WILLIAM.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

DUNBAR,  Colonel,  186. 

DUNMORE,  Lord,  237,  243.  His  arbitrary  measures,  in 
1775,  589.  Charged  with  employing  Indians  against 
the  Virginians,  600. 

Du  QUESNE,  The  Marquis,  182. 

Du,  Quesne,  Fort:  see  Fort  Du  Quesne. 

DUSTAN,  Mrs.  Captured  by  the  French  and  Indians, 
134. 

Dutch,  The.  Their  maritime  enterprise,  1609,  71.  East 
India  Company  of,  send  a  ship  to  the  Hudson  River, 
71.  Purchase  Manhattan  Island  from  the  Manhattan 
Indians;  their  contests  with  the  Indians,  21.  Settle 
at  Xew  Amsterdam.  62.  In  New  Netherland,  send  a 
friendly  salutation  to  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  118. 
Their  friendly  intercourse  with  the  Puritans.  85.  Op- 
pose Captain  Holmes,  1033,  85.  Purchase  Long  Island, 
114.  Claim  jurisdiction,  upon  the  Connecticut,  121. 
Settle  in  South  Carolina,  99.  Take  possession  of  New 
York,  in  1673,  147.  Monopolize  the  trade  of  Japan, 
512. 

Dutch.  East  India  Company,  59,  71.  Wrest  India  Com- 
pany, 72,  93,  139,  144.  Mariners,  traffic  of,  with  East- 
ern Asia,  59.  Traders,  story  of  Captain  Argall  and,  in 
1613,  72. 

Dutchman.     Picture  of  a,  176. 

Dutch  Point,  Connecticut,  85. 

DWIGHT,  THEODORE.  Secretary  of  the  Hartford  Con- 
vention, 444. 

DYER,  ELIPHALET.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress, 556  ;  and  of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  558. 

Eagle.    American  gold  coin,  372. 

Earls.    Districts  governed  by,  73. 

East  India  Company.    Send  tea  to  America;  notice 

of  the,  224. 
East  Jersey,  160. 

Eastern  Sioux.     Population  of,  in  1650,  31. 
Eating.    Tribes  in  America,  that  existed  without,  12. 


652 


INDEX. 


EATON,  JOHN  H.    Secretary  of  War,  1S20,  4G1. 

EATON,  THEOPHILUS.     Governor,  88,  154. 

EATON,  WILLIAM,  Captain.     Consul  at  Tripoli,  392. 

Edda  Indians,  23. 

EDEN,  WILLIAM.  Commissioner  sent  to  America,  1773, 
236. 

Ed enton,  North  Carolina.  First  popular  assembly  at,  93. 

Education.  Fostered  by  the  Massachusetts  Colony, 
121.  In  the  colonies,  178. 

EDWARD  VI.,  of  England,  75. 

EDWARDS,  JONATHAN,  210. 

EFFINGHAM,  Governor.     Character  of,  113. 

Egypt.    Origin  of  the  Indians  referred  to,  11. 

Elba.     Bonaparte  at,  1314,  431. 

Electors  for  President  and  Vice;President  of  the  United 
States,  361. 

Electro-magnetic  telegraph,  507. 

ELIOT,  JOHN,  Rev.,  128. 

ELIZABETH,  Queen,  of  England,  51,  76. 

Elizabeth  Mauds.     Discovered,  57. 

Elisabethtown,  New  Jersey.  Origin  of  the  name,  159. 
Families  remove  from  Long  Island  to,  in  1G64,  159. 

ELLEIIY,  WILLIAM.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confeder- 
ation, Gil ;  and  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
602. 

ELLIOTT,  SUSANNA,  Mrs.,  305. 

ELLSWORTH,  OLIVER,  356,  359.  Envoy  to  France,  1799, 
385.  On  the  Judicary  of  the  United  States,  868.  Por- 
trait and  autograph  of,  360.  Notice  of,  359. 

Elm.     Penn's  treaty,  96,  161. 

Embarkation  of  the  Pilgrims.    Weir's  picture  of  the, 

ENDICOT,  JOHN,  117. 

England:  see  Great  Britain. 

English  gentleman.     Picture  of  an,  in  1530,  57. 

"Enterprise"  brig,  430. 

"Epervier"  brig,  440. 

Erie  Indians,  19,  '23.     Invaded  by  the  Five  Nations,  21. 

Erie  Canal,  456,  457. 

Erie,  Lake :  see  Lake  Erie. 

Ernucfau.     Battle  at,  in  1314,  423. 

ERSKIXE,  General.     At  Trenton,  263. 

ERSKINE,  Mr.    British  Miniter  to  the  United  States,  406. 

Exopus  Indians,  143. 

Esquimaux  Indians,  17.    Their  account  of  Sir  John 

Franklin's  party,  509. 
"Essex"  frigate,  414,  430,  431. 
ESTAING,  Count  d\     Sent,  with  a  fleet,  to  America,  236. 

His  fleet  disabled  by  a  storm,  1778,  239.     In  the  West 

Indies,  1773,  292.     Off  the  coast  of  Georgia,  1779,  305. 

At  the  siege  of  Savannah,  305.     Portrait  and  notice 

of,  239. 

ESTAMI'ES.  Executed  in  Cuba,  in  1855,  527. 
Ettramadura.  Cortez  died  at,  in  1554,  43. 
Etchemin  Indians,  22. 

EUSTIS,  WILLIAM.     Secretary  of  War,  in  1809,  406. 
Eutaio  Springs.    Battle  of,  in  1781,  333. 
EVERETT,  EDWARD.     His  letter  on  English  and  French 

interference  respecting  Cuba,  513. 
EWING,  JAMES.     General.     At  Trenton,  263. 
EWING,  THOMAS.     Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  1841, 

474;  of  the  Interior,  in  1349,  499. 
Excommunication.    Account  of.  75. 
Exeter,  New  Hampshire.    Founded,  80. 
Eye.    A  people  in  America  with  only  one,  12. 

Fairfield,  Connecticut,  83. 

FAIRHAIR,  HAROLD,  of  Denmark,  35. 

Falls,  of  the  James  River,  105,  108. 

Famine.    In  the  Virginia  Colony,  1610,  69. 

Faneuil  Hall.    Picture  of,  225. 

FAUCHET,  M.     Succeeds  M.  Genet,  378. 

FAULKNER,  Major,  430. 

FAUST,  JOHN.    His  printing-office,  62. 

Feathers.     Indian  ornaments,  14. 

Federal  Constitution,  359,  360,  361. 

Federalist  Party,  377. 

"Federalist,"  The.  A  series  of  papers  by  Hamilton, 
Jay,  and  Madison,  361. 

Felucca  Gun-boat,  401. 

FENDALL,  Governor,  153. 

FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA,  38,  60.  Patrons  of  Colum- 
bus, 60. 

FERGUSON,  ADAM.  286. 

FERGUSON,  Captain.  Anecdote  of  him  and  Colonel 
I  lorry,  336. 

FERGUSON,  Mrs.  Her  attempt  to  bribe  General  Eeed 
236. 

FERGUSON,  PATRICK,  Major.  At  King's  Mountain  1780 
3D.  Death  and  grave  of,  319. 


Fernando  de  Taos.    Massacre  at,  in  1847,  489. 

FERRAR,  NICHOLAS,  107. 

FEW,  WILLIAM,  355,  356.     Signer  of  the  Constitution  of 

the  United  States,  629. 
Fidelity,  The  Order  of,  352. 
FILLMORE,   MILLAKD.      Vice-Presidcnt  of  the   United 

States,  493.     President,  1$50,  501,  5o2.    Nominated  for 

the  Presidency,  1*56,  531.    Portrait  and  autograph  oi', 

502.    Notice  of,  501. 
Fine  Arts  in  America,  209. 
Finland.     Comprised  in  Scandinavia,  34. 
Fire-places,  Ancient.    Found  in  North  America,  11. 
FISHER,  HENDRICK.     Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress, 556. 
FISHER,  MARY,  Quakeress.    Arrives  at  Boston,  in  1656, 

122. 

Fisheries,  349.     Prohibitory  Act  of  Parliament  respect- 
ing the,  1775,  231.     Difficulties  between  Great  Britain 

and  the  United  States  respecting  the,  in  Is52,  511 ; 

treaty  respecting  the,  523. 
Fishing  Creek,  27. 
FITZSIMONS,  THOMAS,  356.    Signer  of  the  Constitution 

of  the  United  States.  629. 
Five  Nations,  The.     History  of,  23.    Their  territory ; 

their  confederates,  23.    Joined  by  the  Mississagines. 

17.     At  war  with  the  Ottawas,  and  the  Huron's,  13, 

59 ;  the  Eries,  the  Andastes,  and  the  Shawnees,  19 ; 

the  Wyandots,  24;  the  Cherokees,  27;  the  Catawbas, 

in  1701,  26;  the  Lenni-Lenapes,  in  1650,  21.     Captain 

John  Smith's  friendly  relations  with,  67.     Allies  of 

Governor  Winthrop,  131.    Attempts  of  James  II.  to 

introduce   French  priests   among  them,  147.    Their 

treaty  of  neutrality,  in  1701.  135. 
Flag.     Culpepper,  243.     Royal,  of  Great  Britain,  144. 

Union,   245.      Of  the   thirteen   stripes,   unfurled  by 

Washington  at  Cambridge,  144. 
Flat/tend  Indians,  33. 
Flax,  American,  206. 
Fleet.    Of  Columbus,  picture  of  the,  39.    Of  England : 

see  Great  Britain.    Of  France:  sec  France. 
FLEMING,  Captain.     Death  of,  269. 
FLETCHER,  BENJAMIN,  Governor,  149,  156. 164. 
Flint  fiicer.    De  Soto  on  the  banks  of  the,  in  1539,  44. 
j  Floating  Batteries.    Described,  201. 
Florida.    Discovery  of;  origin  of  the  name,  42.    Nar- 

vaez.  Governor  of,  43,  44.     Melendez's  expedition  to, 

5",  51.     Oglethorpe's  expedition  to,  172.      Ceded  to 

England,   1763,   204.      Restored   to  Spain,   1733,  349. 

Ceded  to  the  United  States,  1819,  451.  State  of,  added 

to  the  Union,  1845,  478. 
FLOYD,   WILLIAM.     Member  of   the   first  Continental 

Congress,  1774,  588.     Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, 602. 
FOLSOM,  NATHANIEL.    Member  of  the  first  Continental 

Congress,  1774,  588. 

FOOTE,  Mr.,  Senator  from  Mississippi,  501. 
FORBES,  JOHN,  General.    Acts  contrary  to  the  advice 

of  Washington ;  his  expedition  to  Fort  Du  Quesne, 

198. 
FORCE,  PETER.    His  copy  of  the  Journal  of  Congress, 

572.     His  "  National  Calendar,"  613. 
FORSYTH,  JOHN.    Secretary  of  State,  1836,  470. 
Forts. 

Adams.  374. 

Amsterdam,  139. 

Andrew,  173. 

Bower,  433. 

Brooke,  467. 

Brown,  481. 

Carolina,  51,  98. 

Casimir,  142,  143. 

Clinton.  283,  324. 

Cumberland,  198. 

Dearborn,  412. 

Defiance,  374,  416. 

Deposit,  416. 

Diego.  172. 

Drane,  467. 

Du  Quesne,  27,  182, 185, 186. 

Edward,  189,  190,  191,  192,  275. 

Erie,  433,  434. 

Forty  Fort.  290. 

Frederica,  173. 

Frontenac,  198. 

Galphin,  336. 

George,  on  Lake  George,  198,  414,  425,  426,  427. 

George,  New  York  City.  248,  351. 

Granby,  235. 

Griswold,  340. 

Hamilton,  253. 


INDEX . 


653 


rlarrison,  416. 
Independence,  20,  220. 
King,  467. 
La  Fayette,  298. 
Leavenworth,  483,  4S6. 
Le  Breuf,  181. 
Lee,  259. 
Lyman,  189. 
Mackinaw,  411. 
Maiden.  410. 
Meigs,  418. 
Mercer,  274,  275. 
Mifflin.  274. 
M'Henry,  437. 
Minims,  427. 
Montgomery,  283. 
Morgan.  438. 
Moosa,  172. 
Motte,  335. 

Moultrie,  249,  ?>10,  468. 
Nassau,  72,  93,  94. 
Necessity,  1S3. 
Niagara,  199,  200,  427. 
Ninety-Six.  816,  3:35,  336. 
Ontario,  189.  192. 
Oranire,  72. 139,  144, 148. 
Oswego,  189,  192. 
Pepperell,  189. 
Pitt,  198. 
Presque  He,  181. 
Prince  George.  335, 
Putnam,  2^3,  324. 
Re co very.  374. 
St.  Frederic,  189. 
St.  Philip,  440. 
Sandusky,  419. 
Schuyler.  278. 
Simon,  173. 
Stamvix,  278. 
Steplienson,  419. 
Stoddart,  398. 
Sullivan.  249. 
Trumbull,  340. 
Venango,  181. 
Washington,  258. 
Watson,  335. 
Wayne.  374.  416. 
William,  173. 
William  Henry,  191,  194. 

Fortifications,  Ancient.    Euins  of.  'o  America,  11. 

FORWARD,  WALTER.  Secretarvofthe  Treasury,  1841,475. 

Folds.     The  first  taken  to  Virginia,  1009,  68. 

Fox,  CHARLES.  His  opposition  to  the  measures  of  Great 
Britain.  1777,  282.  His  remark  respecting  the  battle 
of  Guilford,  333. 

Fox,  GEORGE.  Visits  his  Quaker  brethren  in  America, 
1673,  94.  Notice  of,  122. 

fox  Indians,  17.  Conspire  against  the  English,  1763, 
205.  See  Sacs  and  Foxes. 

France.  A  cross,  with  the  arms  of,  planted  on  the 
shore  of  Gaspe  Inlet,  1534,  48.  Cessation  of  her  long 
contest  with  England,  16;i4,  63.  War  with  England, 
1688,  130.  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  1702.  135. 
First  American  embassy  to,  1776,  266.  Alliance  of, 
with  the  United  States.  1778,  283.  Fleet  of.  sent  to 
America,  in  1778,  286.  Secret  treaty  of,  with  Spain, 
1779,  3<:6.  Depredations  by.  on  American  commerce, 
1796,  382.  Fleet  of,  attacked  by  Arbuthnot,  1781,  33.1. 
Revolution  in,  1793.  377.  War  witli  England,  Spain, 
and  Holland.  1793,  377.  Jealous  of  the  United  States, 
1796.  382.  War  with  the  United  States,  1798,  385. 
Injures  the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  1806,  401. 
Negotiations  of,  with  the  United  States,  1810,  406. 
Mr.  Crawford,  United  States  Minister  to,  1813,  4'29. 
Claims  of,  in  North  America,  ISO.  Claims  of  the 
United  States  against,  468:  see  French.  Interfer- 
ence of,  respecting  Cuba,  in  1852,  513.  Protests 
against  the  annexation  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  the 
United  States,  in  185=3,  519. 

FRANCIS  I.     His  Expedition  to  America,  in  1523,  47. 

FRANKLIN,  BENJAMIN,  210.  His  Plan  of  Colonial  Con- 
federation, 1754.  183.  A  Colonel,  against  the  Indians 
at  Kittaning,  1756,  193.  At  Boston,  1775,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  invasion  of  Canada,  239.  Circulates  in 
England  the  State-papers  of  the  Colonial  Congress, 
230."  On  the  Committee  to  confer  with  Lord  Howe, 
257.  On  the  Committee  to  draft  a  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, 251,  252.  On  the  embassy  to  France, 
1776.  Issues  commissions  to  naval  officers,  308.  Com- 
missioner on  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  1782,  348.  The 


Pope's  Nuncio  makes  overtures  to,  respecting  an 
Apostolic  Vicar  in  the  United  States,  1783,  853.  Mem- 
ber of  the  Convention  on  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 1787,  356.  His  proposition,  respecting  pravers 
at  the  Convention,  1787,  359.  His  account,  of  the 
father  of  Cotton  Mather,  134.  Signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  6(12;  and  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  629.  M.  Turgofs  motto  for  a 
medal  in  honor  of,  603.  Portraits  of,  307,  5s9.  Auto- 
graph of,  367. 

FRANKLIN,  SIR  JOHN.     His  Expedition,  in  1845,  509. 

ERASER,  General.  276. 

FREDERIC    THE  GREAT.      His  opinion  of  Washington, 

269. 

j  FREDERIC  III.,  of  Prussia,  431. 
I  Fredericksbury,  Virginia,  67. 

Fredonia,  New  York.     Antiquities  found  near,  11. 

Free  Institutions.     Growth  of,  114. 

Freedom.  Ideas  of,  in  Massachusetts,  in  1635,  118.  In 
the  United  States,  629. 

FRELINGHUYSEN.  THEODORE.  Nominated  Yice-Presi- 
dent  of  the  United  States,  1844.  478. 

FREMONT,  JOHN  CHARLES,  Colonel.  His  exploits  in 
California,  487.  At  Los  Angelos;  r,t  San  Gabriel; 
refuses  to  obey  Colonel  Kearney,  and  is  deprived  of 
his  commission,  487.  Senator  from  California,  in 
1^49,  499.  Explores  the  Cochatope  Pass,  516.  Nom- 
inated for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States,  in 
1856,  532.  Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of,  487, 

FRENCH,  PARKER  II.,  Colonel,  427. 

French.  Colony,  on  Sable  Island,  57.  Acadinn,  121. 
Possessions  in  North  America,  between  the  Penob- 
scot  and  St.  Croix,  129.  Protestants,  thirty  families 
of,  at  Manhattan,  in  1623,  73;  in  Carolina.  55.  Revo- 
lution, 377.  Settlement,  the  earliest  in  the  New 
World,  58,  59.  Spoliations,  468. 

French,  The.  In  Canada,  discover  the  Alironquins,  17. 
First  visit  of,  to  the  Sioux  Indians,  in  1660,  82,  Ear- 
liest explorers  of  the  Middle  and  Upper  Mississippi,  31. 
Subjugation  of,  in  North  America,  204.  Assailed  by 
the  Natchez  Indians,  whom  they  almost  annihilate, 
in  1730,  29.  Their  expedition  'against  Charleston, 
169. 

French  and  Indian  War,  19.  104,  1S8,  179. 

Frenchtown.     Burned,  in  1813.  4SO. 

Fresh  Water  Hirer,  85. 

FROBISHER,  SIR  MARTIN.  His  Expedition,  52.  The 
ship  used  by,  60.  Notice  of,  51. 

"  Frolic,"  brig,  415. 

FRONTENAC,  M..  Governor  of  Canada,  131.  Burns 
Schenectada,  130.  131.  Repelled  by  Schuyler,  149. 

FRY,  JOSHUA,  Colonel,  182.    Death  of,  183. 

Fugitive  Slare  Law,  507.  Fugitive  slave  arrested  at 
Boston,  in  1854,  521. 

"Fulton"  ship  of  war,  512. 

FULTON,  ROBERT.  Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of, 
398,  399. 

"Fundamental  Constitutions"  The,  of  SLaftesbury  and 
Locke,  164,  165,167. 

Funeral.    Ceremonies,  Indian,  15.   Pyre,  Algonquin,  15. 

Furs.     Trade  in,  72,  116,  139,  140. 

GADSDEN,  CHRISTOPHER,  Lieutenant-Governor,  312,  556, 
558. 

GAGE,  THOMAS,  General.  A  Lieutenant-Colonel  at  the 
Battle  of  Monongahela,  1755,  1*0.  Governor  of  Mon- 
treal, 1760,  2(8.  Enters  Boston  with  soldiers.  1768, 
220.  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  1774,  226.  Sends 
his  secretary  to  dissolve  the  General  Assembly  of 
Massachusetts,  1774, 227.  Fortifies  Boston,  229.  No- 
tice of,  229. 

GAINES,  EDMUND  P.,  General.  Arrests  Aaron  Burr,  in 
1807,  398.  At  Fort  Erie.  1814,  733.  His  expedition 
against  the  Seminoles,  1817;  joined  by  General  Jack- 
son, 448.  Assailed  by  the  Seminoles,  near  Withlacoo- 
chee,  467.  Notices  of,  448,  467. 

GALILEO.     His  theory  of  the  revolution  of  the  earth,  37. 

GALLATIN,  ALBERT.  Leading  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  1 794. 389.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
39(1.  406.  Envoy,  1812,  419.  United  States  Commis- 
sioner at  Ghent;  1814,  443. 

Galleys.    Described,  172. 

GALLOWAY,  JOSEPH.  260,  588. 

Galveston.     Pirates  and  slave-dealers  at,  448. 

GAMBIEK,  Lord.  British  Commissioner  at  Ghent,  1814, 
433. 

GANSEVOORT,  Colonel.     At  Fort  Stanwix.  278. 

GARANGULA.  One  of  the  chief  men  of  the  Onondagas, 
26. 


654 


INDEX. 


GARDINER,  Colonel,  295. 
Gaspe  Inlet,  48. 
"Gaspee"  schooner,  223,  310. 

GATES,  HORATIO,  General.  His  appoinment  as  Adju- 
tant-General, 238.  Succeeds  General  Thomas,  201. 
Supersedes  General  Schuyler,  277.  At  Bemis's 
Heights,  273.  Burgoyne  surrenders  to,  2S1.  Chair- 
man of  the  Board  'of  War,  1778,  294.  His  flight  to 
Charlotte,  17SO,  310.  Trial  of,  330.  Portrait  and  no- 
tice of,  314. 

GATES,  SIR  THOMAS,  GS.     At  Jamestown,  1611,  G9.     lie- 
turns  to  England,  1614,  70. 
GEIGER,  EMILY,  337. 

GENET,  EDMUND  CHARLES.    Minister  from   France   to 
the  United  States,  377.     Fits  out  privateers,  377.    He- 
called,  in  1794,  378.     Notice  of,  377. 
Genesee  County,  New   York.      Ancient  bit  of  silver 

found  in,  11. 

Geneva,  Switzerland.     Witchcraft  at,  132. 
Gentleman.     Import  of  the  word,  in  1606,  64,  67.      En- 
glish: see  Kiif/linh  Gentleman. 

GEORGE  I.,  of  England,  130,  137. 

GEORGE  II..  of  England.  Accession  of,  137.  Charter 
granted  by,  for  the  proposed  Georgia  Colony,  100. 

GEORGE  III.*,  of  England.  Accession  of,  212.  His  insan- 
ity, 93.  Leaden  statue  of,  at  New  York,  pulled  down, 
252. 

GEORGE,  Prince  of  Denmark,  136. 

"George  Washington^  frigate,  391. 

Georgetown,  District  of  Columbia.     Burnt,  inJS13,  430. 

Georgia.  Settlement  of,  99.  Seal  of  1(10.  Colony  in, 
founded  by  Oglethorpe,  62.  Colony  of;  origin  of  the 
name,  100."  Invaded  by  the  Spaniards,  172.  deceives 
Parliamentary  aid,  2,* 9.  Claims  of,  to  Cherokee 
lands,  461.  'Controversy  in,  concerning  the  Creek 
lands,  455,  456. 

GERARD,  M.    French  Minister  to  the  United  States,  2S7. 

German*.     In  North  Carolina,  10S. 

GERRY,  ELBRIDGE,  356.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, Oil;  and  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, 602.  Envoy  to  France,  1797.  3S5.  Vice-Pres- 
ident  of  the  United  States,  1808,  497. 

GERMAINE,  GEORGE,  Lord,  2S2,  345. 

Germantown.     Battle  of,  275. 

GESLER,     Notice  of,  223. 

Ghent.    Treaty  at,  443,  444. 

Giants.     In  America,  stories  of.  12. 

GIDDINGS,  Major.     At  Ceralvo,  480. 

GILBERT,  EDWARD,  of  California,  499. 

GILBERT,  SIR  HUMPHREY,  52,  03.  His  expedition  to 
America;  notice  of,  52. 

GILBERT,  SIR  JOHN,  63. 

GILBERT,  RALEIGH,  63. 

OILMAN,  NICHOLAS,  356,  629. 

GIST,  General.  347. 

GLOUCESTER,  Duke  of,  272. 

Gloucester,  Delaware,  94. 

Gloucester,  Virginia.     Fortified  by  Cornwallis,  1781,  340. 

Goats.    The  first  taken  to  Virginia,  16u9,  08. 

GOD.     Duality  of,  taught  by  the  Indians,  15. 

GODFREY,  THOMAS,  209. 

GODYN,  SAMUEL,  92,  139. 

GOKFE,  WILLIAM.     The  regicide  judge,  123,  126. 

Gold.  Thirst  for,  in  the  'Virginia  Colony,  in  100S,  07. 
Discovery  of,  in  California,  497. 

GOLDSBOROUGH,  ROBERT.  Member  of  the  first  Conti- 
nental Congress,  1774,  588. 

Goldsmiths.    Among  the  Virginia  colonists,  in  160S,  67. 

GORE,  CHRISTOPHER,  222. 

GORGES,  SIR  FERNANDO,  63,  79,  129.  Associated  with 
John  Mason,  79. 

GORIIAM,  NATHANIEL,  356,  359,  029. 

GORM,  the  Old,  of  Norway,  35. 

GOSNOLD,  BARTHOLOMEW,  57,  03,  65.  His  discoveries  • 
his  fort,  57.  Death  of,  65. 

Gottenburg.     Minuit  sails  from,  in  1637,  93. 

GOULDBOURN,  HENRY.  British  Commissioner  at  Ghent 
in  1S14,  443. 

GOURGES,  DOMINIC  DE.  Surprises  and  captures  Fort 
Carolina,  51. 

Government.    Three  forms  of,  in  America,  211. 

GRAFFENRIED,  Count,  168. 

GRAHAM,  WILLIAM  A.  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  1850, 
502.  Nominated  Vice-President,  1852,  513.  " 

GRANGER,  FRANCIS.     Postmaster-General,  in  1841,  474. 

GRANT,  JAMES,  Colonel,  204. 

GRANT,  General  (British),  253.     His  reply  to  Rail  262 

G BASSE,  Count  de,  339,  340.    Portrait  of,  340. 

GRAVES,  Admiral,  340. 

Grave*,  Indian,  15. 


GRAY,  SAMUEL.   Killed  at  Boston,  by  Preston's  men,  2-1. 
GRAYSON,  WILLIAM,  355. 

Great  Britain.  First  maritime  connection  with  Rus- 
sia, 47.  Invaded  by  the  Spanish  Armada,  57.  Cessa- 
tion of  the  long  contest  of,  with  France,  1604,  63.  War 
with  France,  1088,  130 ;  with  Holland,  1072,  147  ;  with 
Spain,  1779,  135,  300;  with  Holland,  1780,  327.  Ac- 
knowledges the  Independence  of  the  United  States, 
1783,  348.  Non-intercourse  with  the  United  States. 
1806,  399.  Injures  the  commerce  of  the  United  States, 
401.  Navy  of,  in  1S12,  414.  At  war  with  the  United 
States,  181*2,  409  ;  Treaty  of  Peace,  1815,  443.  Claims 
of,  to  territory  in  North  America,  17,  63,180,478,  479. 
Difficulties  of,  with  the  United  States,  concerning  the 
fisheries,  1852,  511.  Interference  of,  respecting  Cuba, 
1S52,  513.  Protests  against  the  annexation  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands  to  the  United  States,  519.  Reci- 
procity treaty  of,  with  the  United  States,  523.  Difficul- 
ties of,  respecting  enlistments,  in  1855,  528.  Royal 
standard  of,  144. 
Great  IFoi'sefhoe  Bend.  General  Jackson  at  the,  1814. 

428. 
Great  Kenaicha-  River.     Shawnee  Indians  subdued  at 

the,  19. 

Great  Plains,  The,  483. 
Great  Salt  Lake.     Mormons  at,  503. 
Great  Spirit,  The.      Indian  traditions  respecting,  11. 

Indian  prayer  to,  for  guidance,  23. 

Greek  Inscription*.    On  ancient  armor  found  at  Mon- 
tevideo, 11. 
GREEN,  ROGER,  97. 

Green  Bay.     Indians  on  the  western  shores  of,  IS. 
GREEN,   CHRISTOPHER,    Lieutenant-Colonel,    of   Rhode 

Island,  275. 

GREENE,  NATHANIEL,  General.  Appointed  Brigadier- 
General,  1775,  238.  At  Fort  Lee,  259.  At  Trenton, 
1776,  259.  Accompanies  La  Fayettc  to  Rhode  Island, 
1778,  289.  At  Springfield,  1780,"  320.  Succeeds  Gates, 
1780;  his  operations,  33').  Joins  Morgan  at  the  Yad- 
kin,  17SI ;  his  retreat  from  Virginia,  332.  Opposes 
Cornwallis  at  Guilford  court-house,  333.  Pursues 
Cornwallis  ;  at  the  battle  of  Hobkirk's  Hill ;  his  letter 
to  M.  Luzerne,  334.  At  the  siesre  of  Fort  Ninety-Six, 
1781,  336.  Pursues  Stewart,  337.  At  the  battle  of 
Eutaw  Springs,  338.  Receives  intelligence  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Cornwallis,  345.  Takes  possession  of  Charles- 
ton, 1782,  348.  Portrait  and  autograph  of,  831. 
GREENE,  ZKCHARIAH,  Rev.  252. 

Greenland.     Settlement  of,  35.     Traffic  of,  with  Nor- 
way and  Denmark,  in  950,  35. 
Greenrille,  Treaty  of,  in  1795,  24. 
Grenadiers.     Described,  201. 

GRENVILLE,  GEORGE.     Author  of  the  Stamp  Act,  221. 
GRENVILLE,  SIR  RICHARD.     Ills  Expedition  to  America. 

55,  50. 

Grenville,  Georgia,  213. 

GREY,  General.     His  marauding  Expedition.  290. 
GREY,  Captain.    Of  Boston,  479i 
Greytown.     Bombardment  of,  in  1854,  524 
GRIDLEY,  RICHARD.    Engineer  of  the  Continental  Army, 

138,  190,  198,  234. 

GRIDLEY.  Mr.  Advocate  for  the  Crown,  1761.  212. 
GRIER,  Mrs.    Judge  Henry's  account  of,  241. 
GRIFFITH,  Admiral.    At  Castine,  1S14,  428. 
GRI.IALVA,  JUAN  DE.     His  Expedition  to  Mexico,  43. 
GRINNELL,  Henry.     His  Expeditions  in  search  of  Sir 

John  Franklin,  in  1850  and  1S53,  509. 
Groton,  Massachusetts,  87,  127. 
GRUNDY,  FELIX.     On  the  war  of  1812,  409. 
Guanafiama.    The  place  of  Columbus's  first  landing  in 

America,  40. 
GUDRIDA.      Wife   of  a  Scandinavian   Navigator;    and 

mother  of  a  child  born  in  America,  35. 
GUESS,  GEORGE.    A  native  Cherokee,  invents  an  alpha- 
bet of  his  lansuage,  28. 
Guilford.     Battle  of,  1781,  333. 
Gun-boats  of  the  United  States,  401. 
GUNNISTON,  Captain.    His  Expedition  to  explore  a  route 
for  a  Pacific  railroad;   attacked  by  Indians;    death 
of,  516. 

"GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS."'      The  assumed  name  of  Ar- 
nold, 92,  325. 
GUTHRIE,  JAMES.     Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  1853, 

515. 
GUTTENBERG,  JOHN.    Prints  a  Bible,  with  cut  metal 

types,  62. 
GWIGNEDD,  OWEN,  Prince.    His  son  Madoc  sails  from 

Wales  to  America,  1170.  32. 

GWINN,  WILLIAM  M.    United  States  Senator  from  Cal- 
ifornia, in  1849,  499. 


INDEX. 


655 


GWINNETT,  BUTTON.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, 6;;4;  and  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
602. 

Habeas  Corpus.    The  Writ  of,  619. 

Hartleys  Quadrant,  209. 

Hartley,  Connecticut,  126. 

HAKLUYT,  RICHARD,  63. 

HALE,  SIR  MATTHEW.    Condemns  persons  accused  of 

witchcraft,  132. 

HALE,  NATHAN,  Captain.     Executed,  258. 
^  Half- Moon,"  The.     Henry  Hudson's  ship,  48,59,71. 

Picture  of,  59. 

HALL,  LYMAN.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, 602. 

HALL,  NATHAN  K.     Postmaster-General,  in  1850,  502. 
HALL,  Judge.     Arrests  General  Jackson,  1815,  443. 
HAMER,  General,  483. 

HAMILTON,  ALEXANDER,  General.  Washington's  favor- 
ite Aid  and  Secretary.  36,),  361.  Member  of  the  Con- 
vention on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  1787,  356. 
Signer  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  One 
of  the  authors  of  "The  Federalist,"  361.  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  1789,  370  ;  his  financial  Reports,  370,  371, 
His  Scheme  respecting  Public  Lands,  372.  His  disa- 
greement with  Jefferson,  874.  His  duel  with  Burr, 
396.  Portrait  and  autograph  of,  361.  Notice  of,  360. 

HAMILTON,  PAUL.     Secretary  of  the  Navy,  1809,  406. 

HAMPDEN,  JOHN,  85.  His  supposed  intention  to  mi- 
grate to  America,  120. 

HAMPTON,  WADE,  General,  410,  427. 

Hampton  Roads.     The  British  fleet  in,  in  1813,  430. 

HANCOCK,  JOHN.  At  Salem,  230.  Gage's  purpose  to 
hang  him,  234.  Leads  troops  to  Rhode  Island,  in 
1778,  289.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
611;  and  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  252, 
602.  His  sloop  '••Liberty,'"'  220.  Portrait,  autograph, 
and  notice  of,  230,  231. 

HANHAM,  THOMAS,  63. 

HANSFORD,  CHARLES.     Executed,  112. 

HANSON,  JOHN.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

HARDY,  Commodore,  430,  437. 

Harlem  Heights.     Washington  at,  257. 

Harlem  Plains.     Skirmish  at,  258. 

HARMER,  General.  His  Expedition  asainst  the  Indians, 
373. 

HARNETT,  CORNELIUS.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, 611. 

HARPER,  JOHN  A.  A  member  of  the  Committee  on 
President  Madison's  Special  Message.  1812,  409. 

HARRINGTON,  JONATHAN,  222. 

HARRIOT.  His  "Report  on  the  new  found  land  of  Vir- 
ginia ;"  notice  of,  55,  56. 

Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania.  National  Convention  at, 
1827,  458. 

HARRISON,  BENJAMIN.  Of  Virginia,  588.  Member  of 
the  first  Continental  Congress,  588.  Signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  602.  At  Boston,  1775, 

-     239. 

HARRISON,  ROBERT  II.,  Judge,  369. 

HARRISON,  WILLIAM  HENRY.  At  the  battle  of  Tippe- 
canoe,  408.  Commands  the  army  of  the  North-east, 
412.  His  Expedition  against  the  Indians,  1813,  416. 
At  Fort  Meigs,  418.  Attacks  Maiden,  1813,  423.  His 
fame,  424.  President  of  the  United  States,  in  1841 ; 
his  administration,  473.  Death  of,  475.  Portrait  and 
autograph  of,  474.  Notice  of,  473. 

HART,  JOHN.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, 6i)2. 

Hartford,  Connecticut,  88.  Convention  at,  in  1814, 
444. 

HARTLEY,  DAVID,  348. 

HARVARD,  EBENEZER,  873. 

HARVARD,  JOHN,  Rev.  121. 

Harvard  College,  121, 178. 

HARVEY,  SIR  JOHN,  107.  165.     Impeached,  207. 

HARVIE,  JOHN.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

HASLETT,  Colonel.    Death  of,  269. 

Hatter  as  Indians,  20,  55,  167.  ' 

Havana.  The  body  of  Columbus  removed  to,  41.  The 
"•Black  Warrior"  steamer  seized  at,  521. 

Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  134. 

HAVILAND,  Colonel.  203. 

Havre-de-  Grace,  Maryland,  82,  430. 

HAWLEY.  JESSE,  456. 

HAYNK,  ISAAC,  Colonel,  337. 

HAYNE,  ROBERT  Y.  Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of, 
463,  464. 


i  HAZZARD,  W.  W.    His  plantation,  173. 
,  Head  of  Elk,  Maryland,  340. 
j  HEALD,  Captain,  412. 
I  HEATH,  SIR  ROBERT,  97,  98. 
HEATH,  WILLIAM,  General.  238.     In  the  Highlands,  259. 

At  Peekskill,  260.     In  New  Jersey,  264,  265. 
I  HECKEWELDER.     His  History  of  the  Indian  Nations,  33. 
i  Hedge's  Wharf,  Plymouth,  79. 

Heights  of  Abraham,  202. 

I  HM  Gate,  New  York.     Navigated  by  Block,  72. 
i  Helmet,  Ancient.     Found  at  Montevideo,  11. 
i  Hemp,  American,  206. 
HENDERSON,  General,  483. 
HENDRICK.     Death  of,  190. 

j  Henrietta  Maria,  sister  of  Louis  XIII.,  of  France,  81. 
,  HENRY,  Prince,  of  Portugal.     Patron  of  navigators,  36. 
:  HENRY  IV.,  of  France.     His  edict  of  Nantes,  166. 
"  HENRV  IV.,  of  Castile  and  Leon,  38. 
!  HENRY  VII.,  of  England.    Zealous  in  the  cause  of  mar- 
itime discovery,  46. 

i  HENRY  VIII.,  of  England.  Defies  the  Pope;  Defender 
of  the  Faith,  75.  "Revival  of  an  obsolete  statute  of, 
221.  Punishes  witchcraft,  132. 

'  HENRY,  PATRICK.     Member  of  the  First  Continental 
Congress,  1774,  228,  588.     His  eloquence,  in  1775,  237. 
His  regiment  at  the  battle  of  the  Great  Bridge,  243. 
Member  of  the  Convention  on  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, 1787,  356.     Declines  the  appointment  of  En- 
voy to  France,  in  1799,  385.     Picture  of,  before  the 
Virginia  Assembly,   207.      Portrait,   autograph,   and 
notice  of,  214. 
i  HENRY,  Judge,  241. 
HERKIMER,  General.     At  Oriskany,  278. 
Heroic  Age  of  America,  10. 
HERRERA,  President,  481. 

i  Hessians,  The.  Account  of,  246.  Marauders,  296.  297. 
Capture  of,  at  Trenton,  by  Washington,  263.  With 
Burgoyne,  281. 

i  HE  WES,  "JOSEPH,  588.     Member  of  the  Convention  on 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  604.     Signer  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  602. 
HEYES,  PETER,  92,  94. 

!  HEYWARD,  THOMAS,  JR.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, 611;  and  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, 602. 

HI-A-WAT-HA,  Legend  of,  23.  24. 
HICKEY,  Mr.    His""  Constitution  of  the  United  States,"1 

613. 

;  Hichittie  Indians,  30. 
'  Hierarchy.     Described.  175. 
i  Hieroglyphics,  Indian,  13. 
I  HIGGINSON,  Rev.  Mr.  117.    Death  of,  118. 
'  High  Hills  of  Santee,  337. 

Highlanders,  in  Georgia,  171. 
!  HILDRETH.     His  History  of  the  United  States,  60. 
i  HILTON.     The  brothers,  fishmongers,  79. 
j  Hindostan.    Origin  of  tiie  Indians  referred  to,  11. 

HINMAN,  Captain,  308. 
i   HI-O-KA-TOO,  Seneca  Chief,  25. 

History  of  the  World,  Raleigh's  55. 
|  Hobkirk's  Hill.     Battle  of,  334. 
Hoboken.     Slaughter  of  Indians  at,  141. 
HOBOMOK.     Famous  New  England  Indian,  21. 
,  Hochelaga.     Cartier  at,  in  1535,  48. 
i  HOOKER,  THOMAS,  Rev.     His  colony,  86. 
I  HOOPER,  JOHN.     Bishop  of  Gloucester,  76. 
1  HOLBORNE,  Admiral,  194. 
Holland.     Expeditions  from,  to  America,  71,  72.     War 

with  England,  in  1672,  147;  and  in  1780,  327. 
HOLMES,  Admiral,  201. 
HOLMES  WILLIAM,  Captain,  85. 
HOLT,  Chief  Justice.     His  decision  respecting  slaves 

and  slavery,  533. 

HOLTEN,  SAMUEL.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

Homestead  Bill,  The,  1854,  520. 

HOOPER,  WILLIAM.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  1774,  588.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, 602. 

HOPKINS,  EDWARD,  Governor,  88, 155. 
HOPKINS,    EZEK.      First    Commander-in-chief   of  the 

American  Navy,  1775,  308. 

HOPKINS,  STEPHEN.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  1774,  588.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, 602;  and  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 604. 

HOPKINSON,  FRANCIS.    Sisrner  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence,  602.      Portrait  and  autograph   of,   2b4. 
Notice  of,  285. 
HOPKINSON,  JOSEPH.     Author  of  "  Hail  Columbia,"  2.85. 


656 


INDEX. 


"  Hornet"  sloop  of  war,  414,  423,  429. 

HOKKY,  Colonel.  Anecdote  of  him  and  Captain  Fergu- 
son, 386. 

Horse.  The  first  taken  to  Virginia,  in  1G09,  GS.  Co- 
lumbus takes  horses  to  America,  1493,  41.  Taken  from 
Cuba  to  America,  1528  ;  their  fate,  44.  Taken  by  De 
Soto  to  America,  44. 

HOSMER,  TITUS.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

HOTHAM,  Admiral,  292. 

Housatonic  Indians,  189. 

House.     Early  New  England,  picture  of  an,  1TG. 

House  of  Burgesses,  Virginia.  The  beginning  of  the, 
106. 

House  of  Lords.     Described,  218. 

House  of  Representatives,  of  the  United  States,  613, 
614,  G15.  Qualifications,  and  appointment  of  Repre- 
sentatives, 613. 

House  of  Representatives,  of  Massachusetts  Colony, 
122. 

HOUSTON,  WILLIAM.  One  of  the  Georgia  Delegates  to 
the  Convention  of  1787,  356. 

HOUSTON,  WILLIAM  CHURCHILL.  One  of  the  New  Jer- 
sey Delegates  to  the  Convention  of  17»7,  35G. 

HOUSTON,  General.     At  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  478. 

HOWARD,  JOHN  EAGER,  Colonel.  At  the  battle  of  the 
Cowpens,  332. 

HOWARD,  Admiral.  57. 

HOWE,  GEORGE,  Lord.    Notice  of,  197. 

HOWE,  RICHARD,  Lord.  At  Boston,  247.  At  New 
York,  252.  Prepares  to  attack  New  York;  paroles 
General  Sullivan  ;  asks  Congress  to  appoint  a  Com- 
mittee of  Conference,  257.  His  letter  to  Washington, 
253.  Meets  the  Committee  appointed  by  Congress, 
177G.  257.  In  Raritan  bay,  287.  His  fleet  disabled  by 
a  storm,  in  1778,  289. 

HOWE,  ROBERT,  General,  244,  292,  298.  Suppresses  the 
mutiny  at  Pompton,  1781,  329. 

HOWE.  SIR  WILLIAM,  General,  202,  234,  235.  At  Que- 
bec, 2  12.  At  New  York,  252.  His  Proclamation,  260. 
Perplexes  Washington,  272.  At  Brandywine,  273. 
At  Elkton,  173.  Attempts  to  entice  Washington  from 
his  encampment,  183.  Knighted,  after  the  battle  of 
Brooklyn,  273. 

HOWELL,  Mr.,  of  Rhode  Island.  Member  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Congress,  1784,  on  Slavery,  534. 

Huamnntld.     Battle  of,  in  1847,  494. 

HUDSON,  HENRY,  Captain.  Sent  to  America  by  Lon- 
don Merchants;  his  voyage  to  the  polar  regions;  his 
ship;  applies  to  the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  59. 
His  plowing  account  of  his  discoveries,  71.  Fate  of, 
59.  Portrait  of,  59. 

Hudson's  B.iy,  17,  47.     Discovered,  59. 

Hudson's  B  ty  Fu  -  Company,  509. 

Hudson  River.     Henry  Hudson  sails  up  the,  59. 

Huei'fano  River,  51<>. 

HUGER,  Colonel.     Defeated  by  Tarleton,  in  1780.  311. 

Huguenots,  The.  Persecution  of,  in  France,  1G6.  Ad- 
miral Coligny,  the  friend  of,  49.  In  North  Carolina, 
168.  In  South  Carolina,  166.  Influence  of,  in  Amer- 
ica, 52. 

HULL,  ISAAC,  Commodore,  414. 

HULL,  WILLIAM,  General,  410,  411. 

HULSEMAN,  The  chevalier,  511.  His  procedure  in  rela- 
tion to  Koszta,  in  1853,  518. 

HUMPHREY,  ALEXANDER,  SJ. 

HUM iMi RE Y,  JOHN,  117. 

HUMPHREYS,  CHARLES.  Member  of  the  first  Continent- 
al Congress,  1774,  5S8. 

Hungary.     Revolution  in.  511. 

HUNT,  Captain.     Kidnaps  Indians,  74. 

HUNTER,  ROBERT,  Governor,  15'J. 

"Hunter's  Lodges,""  472. 

HUNTINGTON,  SAMUEL.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  602  ;  and  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

Huron,  Lake:  see  Lake  Huron. 

Huron  King.  Taken  by  Cartier  to  France ;  dies  in 
France,  49. 

Huron  Indians,  21,  23.     With  Samnel  Champlain,  59. 

Huron-Iroquois  Indians,  22-26.  Their  territory,  23. 
Their  language,  12. 

Huron  County.     Invaded  by  the  Five  Nations,  24. 

Huss.    The  Bohemian  Reformer,  62. 

HUTCHINSON,  Governor,  222.  His  famous  "Letters," 
224,  225. 

HUTCHINSON,  Captain,  126. 

HUTCHINSON,  ANNE,  Mrs.,  SO,  91, 120.    Murder  of.  141. 

Hutchinson  Controversy,  88. 

Hutchinson  s  River,  141. 


HUTSON,  RICIIAKD.     Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confeder- 
ation, 611. 
HYDE,  EDWARD,  Governor,  149,  153. 

Iceland.  Discovered  and  colonized  ;  traffic  of,  with 
Norway  and  Denmark,  in  the  year  950,  35.  Com- 
prised in  Scandinavia,  34.  A  Norwegian  vessel  sails 
from,  to  Greenland,  in  1002,  35.  Columbus's  voyage 
to,  37.  Icelandic  Chronicle,  cited,  35.  Intimations 
in  the  tales  and  poetry  of,  respecting  America;  early 
voyages  from,  34. 

Idol.  Representing  a  man  Avithout  arms,  found  near 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  11. 

Ile-aux-yoia',  203. 

Illinois  Indians,  17,  18,  19.  Invaded  by  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes,  18. 

Illinois.    Territory  and  State  of.  390,  448. 

Immigrants.  How  admitted,  according  to  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  619. 

Immortality  of  the  Soul.    Taught  by  the  Indians,  15. 

Independence,  American.  General  desire  for,  in  1776, 
25ti.  War  for,  229.  Asserted  by  the  Committee  of 
Conference  with  Lord  Howe,  257.  Acknowledged  by 
Great  Britain,  in  1783,  348. 

Indian.  Alliances,  against  the  Colonies,  124.  Burial- 
place,  15.  Chiefs,  14;  Chiefs,  dine  with  Governor 
Winthrop,  118.  Confederacy,  against  South  Carolina, 
170.  Corn,  Captain  John  Smith  eats,  on  the  spot 
where  Baltimore  is  now  situated,  67  :  see  Maize. 
Doctrines  of  Atonement,  16;  and  of  the  Immortality 
of  the  Soul,  15.  Rule  of  lineal  descent,  16.  Dresses, 
13.  Food,  13.  Funeral  ceremonies,  15.  Government, 

16.  Graves,  15.     Hieroglyphics,  13.     Implements  of 
labor,  13.     Lands,  purchased   by  the   United   States 
from  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  18.     Manitou,  15.     Money, 
13.     Mounds,  15.     Polygamy,  15.     Portraits  and  cos- 
tumes, 53.  Presents,  received  from  Great  Britain,  2U6. 
Religion,  15.    Sachems,  14.     Sacrifices,  16.    Territory, 

17,  390.     Totum,  15.     Traditions  of  the  Creation,  the 
Deluge,  and  their  own  origin,  16.     Treaties,  362,  363; 
Treaty  of  Peace,  1795,  374.     Wampum,  described,  13. 
War-club,  14.     Weapons,  14. 

Indians,  The.  Early  history  of,  involved  in  obscurity, 
10,  11.  Origin  of,  referred  to  the  Phoenicians,  Egyp- 
tians, Hindoos,  and  lost  tribes  of  Israel,  11.  Resem- 
blance of,  to  Asiatics,  11.  Account  of  the  Aboriginal 
tribes  of,  12.  Employments  of  women  among,  12,  13. 
Extreme  Western,  32,  83.  Population  of,  in  the 
United  States,  1853,  32.  Their  hostility  to  the  white 
people;  their  plan  to  exterminate  the  white  people; 
slaughter  of,  in  1622,  106. 

Indian  War  of  1S32,  462.     Hostilities,  1855,  527. 

Indies,  The.  Columbus's  voyage  in  quest  of  a  western 
passage  to,  34.  The  trade  of,  monopolized  by  the 
Italian  cities,  36. 

Indigo,  American,  206. 

Industry,  Private.  Erfects  of,  in  Virginia,  and  in  Ply- 
mouth, 70. 

Infidels.     Not  any,  among  Indians,  15. 

INGERSOLL,  JARED,  856,  416.  Signer  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  629. 

INGHAM,  SAMUEL  D.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1829, 
461. 

INGOLDSBY,  RICHARD,  148, 150. 

INGRAHAM,  Captain.  His  exploit  at  Smyrna;  Congress 
votes  a  sword  to,  518.  Portrait  of,  518. 

Intolerance.  In  Massachusetts,  118, 119, 123.  In  Mary- 
land, New  York,  and  New  England,  132,  183. 

"Intrepid,"  The.     Tripolitan  vessel,  392. 

"Investigator"  ship,  510. 

loica  Indians,  32. 

Iowa.    State  of,  added  to  the  Union,  1845,  478. 

Iron.  Utensils,  found  in  ancient  mounds  in  America, 
11. 

Iron  Chain  across  the  Hudson,  324. 

Iroquois  Indians.  The  Wyandots  incorporated  with 
the,  24.  Population  of  the,  in  1650,  31. 

IRVIN,  Colonel.    At  Agua  Frio,  486. 

IRVINE,  WILLIAM,  355. 

IRVING,  WASHINGTON.    Life  of  Columbus  by,  60. 

ISABELLA,  Queen.  Sister  of  Henry  IV.,  of  Castile  and 
Leon,  38.  Columbus's  personal  interview  with  ;  por- 
trait of,  38. 

Isinglass  Mirrors.    Ancient,  found  in  Ohio,  11. 

Me  of  Rhodes,  91. 

Israel.  The  origin  of  the  Indians  referred  to  the  lost 
tribes  of,  11. 

Italian  cities.  Their  monopoly  of  the  trade  of  the  In- 
dies, 36. 

IZARD,  General.  Succeeds  Wilkinson,  432.  Notice  of,  434. 


INDEX 


057 


JACKSON,  ANDREW,  General.  Anecdote  of  him,  when  a 
boy,  314.  The  mother  of,  314.  His  confidence  won 
by  Burr,  397.  His  expedition  against  the.  Creeks,  in 

1813,  428.     Storms   Pensacola,  1814,  438.      At  New 
Orleans,  438,  439.     His  treaty  with  the  Creek  Indians, 

1814,  438.     His  expedition  against  the  Serninoles,  1817, 
448.      Captures   Pensacola,   1818,  451.      Subdues  the 
Serninoles,  30.     Nominated  for  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States,  1825,  454.      President  of  the  -United 
States,   1829 ;    his  administration,   459.      Re-elected, 
1832,  464.     Portrait  and  autograph  of,  460.    Notice  of, 
459,  461.     See  United  States  Bank. 

JACKSON,  HUGH,  314. 

JACKSON,  JAMES.    Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of, 

347,  348. 
JACKSON,  ROBERT,  314. 

JACKSON,  WILLIAM.  Secretary,  at  the  time  of  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  629. 

Jacksonborough.  South  Carolina  Legislature  at,  in 
1781,  338. 

Jalapa.    Generals  Scott  and  Twiggs  at,  489,  490. 

JAMES  I.,  of  England.  Character  of ;  persecutes  Puri- 
tans, 76.  His  hatred  of  tobacco,  70.  His  proposal  to 
contract  for  the  whole  crop  of  tobacco  in  Virginia,  in 
162S,  107.  His  acts  of  usurpation  in  Virginia,  107. 
Death  of,  116.  Patents  granted  by,  63,  64. 

JAMES  II.,  of  England.  Accession  of;  his  character,  113, 
147.  Oppressive  measures  of,  129.  His  arbitrary  pro- 
ceedings respecting  the  Jerseys,  160.  Driven  into 
exile,  162. 

James  River.  Origin  of  the  name,  64.  English  navi- 
gators enter  the,  20,  61.  Indians  on  the,  17. 

JAMESON,  Colonel,  326. 

Jamestown,  Virginia.  Founded,  166.  Origin  of  the 
name,  64.  Picture  of  the  building  of,  61.  Captain 
Smith  at,  in  1608;  Captain  Newport  at,  in  1608,  67. 
Cultivation  of  tobacco  at,  70.  Famine  at,  in  1610; 
saved  by  Pocahontas  ;  Lord  Delaware's  arrival  at,  69; 
saved  by  Chanco,  106.  Nathaniel  Bacon  at,  111. 
Destruction  of,  by  Bacon,  112.  Picture  of  the  ruins 
of,  112. 

Japan.    Perry's  expedition  to,  512. 

JASPER,  Sergeant,  249,  305. 

"Java"  frigate,  415. 

JAY,  JOHN.  One  of  the  authors  of  the  Federalist,  361. 
Addresses  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  written  by, 
228,  557.  Commissioner  on  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  1782, 

348.  First  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  369. 
Special  envoy  to  Great  Britain,  1794,  379.     His  treaty, 
379,  380.      Portrait  and  autograph,  and  notice  of,  379. 

JEFFERSON,  THOMAS.  On  the  "Committee  to  draft  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  251 ;  the  reasons  why 
he  was  chosen  to  write  it,  589,  590.  Signer  of  the 
Declaration,  602.  His  letter  to  llichard  Henry  Lee, 
590.  Tarleton's  attempt  to  capture,  339.  Commis- 
sioner on  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  in  1782,  348.  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  of  Congress,  1784,  on  Slavery: 
his  report,  534.  Denounces  the  slave-trade,  as  pirati- 
cal, 593.  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  1789,  370.  His 
disagreement  with  Hamilton,  374.  His  remarks  re- 
specting Algerine  piracies,  381 ;  and  on  Coins  and 
Coinage,  372.  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  in 
1796,  383.  President,  1800,  388.  Ee-elected,  396. 
His  embargo,  1807,  402,  403.  His  account  of  Logan, 
26.  The  motto  on  his  seal,  130.  Death  of,  457.  Por- 
traits and  autograph  of,  389,  589.  Notice  of,  388,  389. 

JEFFREYS,  Colonel,  112, 113. 

JENNINGS,  Colonel,  416. 

JENIFER,  DANIEL,  of  St.  Thomas,  256,  629. 

Jersey.  Grant  from  Parliament  to,  in  1756,  206.  West, 
139.  Union  of  the  Jerseys,  161. 

Jersey  Prison-Ship,  259. 

JESSUFF.    Bashaw  of  Tripoli,  392. 

JESSUP,  THOMAS  S.    At  Fort  Dade ;  notice  of,  468. 

Jesuits,  The.  Origin  of,  130.  Missionaries,  180.  Their 
Influence  over  the  Indians,  22,  130. 

JOHN,  King  of  Portugal.  His  Expedition  to  America, 
47.  Names  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  37. 

'•'•John  Adams"  frigate,  438. 

JOHNSON,  CAVE.    Postmaster-General,  in  1845,  478. 

JOHNSON,  ISAAC,  and  Lady  ARABELLA,  1. 

JOHNSON,  SIR  JOHN,  278,  373. 

JOHNSON,  SIR  NATHANIEL,  Governor,  169. 

JOHNSON,  REVERDY.  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  1849,  499. 

JOHNSON,  RICHARD  M..  Colonel,  424.  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States,  469. 

JOHNSON,  ROBERT,  Governor,  171. 

JOHNSON,  THOMAS,  588.  Nominates  Washington  as 
Commander-in-chief,  238. 

42 


JOHNSON,  SIR  WILLIAM.    His  exploit  against  Dieskau. 

190.     His  Expedition  against  Crown  Point,  185,  189. 

Accompanies  General  Prideaux  to  Fort  Niagara,  200. 

At  the  battle  of  Quebec,  1760,  203.     Notice  of,  278. 
JOHNSON,  WILLIAM  SAMUEL,  356,  556,  629. 
JOHNSTONE.  GEORGE.    Commissioner  sent  to  America, 

in  1778,  286. 
JONES,  JOHN  PAUL,  Commodore.     His  exploits,  306, 307. 

Sails  for  Holland,  in  1779.  307.     His  fleet,  in  1779.  308. 

Congress  presents  a  gold  medal  to  him,  308.     Portrait 

and  autograph  of.  307.     Notice  of,  306. 
JONES,  THOMAS  AP  CATESTJY,  Lieutenant,  439. 
JONES,  SIR  WILLIAM.     Decides  against  the  Duke  of 

York's  claim  to  New  Jersey,  160. 
JONES,  Captain.     Of  the  sloop  "  Wasp"  415. 
JONES,  WILLIE,  of  North  Carolina,  256. 
Judiciary  of  the  United  States,  368,  369,  623,  624,  626, 

JUMEL,  Madame,  259. 
JUMONVILLE,  M.     Death  of,  183. 

Jury,  Trial  by.  Established  in  the  Colony  of  Virginia. 
1621,106. 

KALB  :  see  DE  KALB. 

KAMEHAMEHA,  King.     Death  of,  in  1S54,  519. 

KANE,  Judge.  His  action,  in  the  case  of  Wheeler's 
slaves,  526. 

KANE,  ELISHA  K.,  Dr.  His  Expedition  in  search  of  Sir 
John  Franklin,  in  1853;  portrait  and  notice  of,  510. 

Kansas.  Boundaries  of.  519.  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill. 
1854,  519,  520,  521.  Civil  war  in,  1855,  529-531. 

Kansas  Indians.  20,  32. 

Kansas  River,  20,  21. 

Kaskaskia  Indians,  19. 

Kaskaskia.     Captured  by  Major  Clarke,  303. 

Kayingehaga  Indians,  23. 

KEANE,  General,  439. 

KEARNEY.  STEPHEN  W..  Colonel.  At  Santa  Fe,  486. 
At  San  Gabriel,  487.  Notice  of,  486. 

Kegs,  Battle  of  the,  285. 

KEITH,  SIR  WILLIAM.  Advises  the  policy  of  the  Stamp 
Act,  1728,  541. 

KENDALL,  AMOS.     Postmaster-General,  1836,  470. 

Kennebec.     Sir  John  Popham  at,  in  1607,  73. 

Kensington,  Philadelphia,  96. 

KENT,  Chancellor,  618. 

Kent  Island,  82. 

KENTON,  SIMON.    Joins  Major  Clarke,  303. 

Kentucky.    Added  to  the  Union,  in  1792,  377. 

KEPPEL,  Admiral,  185. 

Kettle  Creek.    Skirmish  at,  in  1779,  295. 

KEY,  FRANCIS  S.,  437. 

Kickapoo  Indians,  17, 18. 

KIDD,  Captain.  His  Expedition  against  the  pirates  • 
executed,  149. 

KIEFT,  SIR  WILLIAM,  Governor,  140.  Recalled  in  1647  : 
death  of,  141. 

KING,  RUFUS,  356.  American  minister  at  London,  401. 
Nominated  for  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  in 
1809,  396,  404.  Nominated  for  President,  in  1817, 446. 
Portrait  and  autograph  of,  395.  Notice  of,  396.  Signer 
of  the  Constitution,  629. 

KING,  WILLIAM  R.  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States;  death  of,  513. 

KING,  SAMUEL  W.,  477. 

King  George's  War,  136. 

KING  PHILIP.  His  father ;  last  of  the  Wampanoags,  21. 
Arouses  the  New  England  tribes  against  the  English. 
22.  His  hostility  to  the  White  Men;  attacks  Ply- 
mouth men  ;  is  besieged  and  flees,  125.  His  war  of 
extermination,  126, 127.  Death,  22, 128.  His  son,  sold 
as  a  slave,  128. 

King's  College,  178. 

King's  Mountain.  Major  Ferguson  at,  in  1780,  319. 
Battle  of,  319. 

Kingston.  New  York.    Burned,  283,  297. 

King  William's  War,  134. 

KINNEY,  H.  S.,  Colonel,  524,  525. 

KINSEY,  JAMES.  Member  of  the  first  Continental  Con- 
gress, 1774,  488. 

Kipp's  Say,  258. 

KIRKLAND,  SAMUEL,  Rev.  Missionary  to  the  Six  Na- 
tions ;  portrait  and  autograph  of,  25.  Notice  of,  25, 
26. 

Kittaning.    Chastisement  of  the  Indians  at,  193. 

Knights-errant,  of  Europe,  14. 

Knisteneaux  Indians,  17. 

KNOWLTON,  Colonel.    Death  of,  258. 

KNOX,  HENRY,  General.  Takes  possession  of  Fort 
George,  850,  351.  At  Washington's  last  Interview 


658 


INDEX. 


with  his  officers,  352.  Secretary  of  War,  in  17S9 ;  por- 
trait of,  370.  Notice,  350. 

KNYPHAUSEN,  General.  At  Brandywine,  278.  At 
Springfield,  320.  At  Wcstchester,  259.  At  New 
York,  in  1779,  309. 

KONOSCHIONI.  The  name  given  to  the  Five  Nations, 
23.  \ 

KOSCIUSZKO,  THAUDEUS.  At  Fort  Ninety-six,  336. 
Portrait  and  notice  of,  336. 

KOSSUTH,  Louis.     His  tour  in  the  United  States,  511. 

KOSZTA,  MARTIN.     Hungarian  refugee,  518. 

'Labrador'.  Norwegian  voyagers  driven  on  the  coast 
of,  in  1002;  explored,  in  1002,  35.  Discovered  by 
Cabot,  in  1497, 46.  Coast  of,  explored  by  Weymouth, 
58. 

La  Oolle.    Battle  at,  in  1814,  432. 

Laconia.    Territory  of,  79,  80. 

LA  FAYETTE,  General.     His  first  interview  with  Wash- 
ington, 272.     At  Brandywine,  272,  453.     At  Bethle- 
hem, 273.    At  Monmouth,  2SS.     In  Rhode  Island,  289.  j 
Obtains  aid  from  France,  for  the  American  cause,  3  )6. 
His  return  from  France,  1780,  321.     In  Virginia,  33:), 
339.    Pursues  CornwallLs,  1781,  339.    Visits  the  United  ! 
States,  in  1824,  453.     Lays  the  corner-stone  of  a  inon-  j 
ument  to  De  Kalb,  1825,  316.     Portrait  and  notice  of,  ; 
273. 

Lake  Ckamplain.    Discovered.  59. 

Lake  Erie.    Battle  near,  in  1755, 190.     Indians  on,  19. 

Lake  George.    Map  of,  194. 

Lake  Huron.    Discovered.  59.     Indians  on,  17. 

Lake  Michigan.     Indians  on,  18. 

Luke  Ontario.    Indians  on,  17. 

Lake  Superior,  18. 

Lake  Winnipeg,  31. 

LAMB,  JOHN,  Colonel,  212,  270. 

Lancaster,  Massachusetts.     Burnt,  127. 

Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  The  Colonial  Congress  meets 
at,  588. 

Land.    Price  of,  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1681,  96. 

Land*.  Public,  of  the  United  States,  372.  Indian, 
ceded  to  the  United  States,  24. 

LANE,  RALPH,  Governor,  55. 

LANE,  General.     At  Puebla,  1817,  494. 

LANGDON,  JOHN,  356.  6-29. 

Languages,  Indian,  12. 

LANGWORTIIY,  EDWARD.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, 611. 

LANSING,  JOHN  J.,  356. 

LA  PLACE,  M.    Anecdote  of  Ethan  Allen  and,  234. 

Lapland.    Comprised  in  Scandinavia,  34. 

LAS  CASAS.     His  part  in  the  slave-trade,  533. 

LATIIROP,  Captain,  126. 

LAUDONNIERE.  His  expedition,  with  emigrants,  to 
America,  in  1564 ;  fate  of  the  emigrants,  5'J. 

LAURENS,  HENRY.  Commissioner  on  the  Treaty  of 
Peace,  1782,  348.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

LAURENS,  JOHN,  Colonel.  Anecdote  of  him  and  Count 
de  Vergennes,  329.  Deatli  of,  in  1782,  348. 

LA  VEGA,  General,  482,  483. 

LAWRENCE,  Governor.  His  expedition  aiainst  Acadie, 
185. 

LAWRENCE,  JAMES,  Captain.     Notice  of,  429. 

LAWRENCE,  RICHARD,  Colonel,  111.     Executed,  112. 

LAWRENCE,  Major,  438. 

-Lawrence"  ship,  420. 

LEAR,  TOBIAS,  Colonel.  Consul-General  in  the  Medi- 
terranean ;  his  treaty  with  the  Bashaw  of  Tripoli, 
18)5,335.  Compelled  by  the  Dey  of  Algiers  to  pur- 
chase his  freedom,  1812,  445. 

Lebanon.    Dr.  Wheelock's  school  at.  25. 

LEDYARD,  JOHN,  the  Traveler.  His  observation  respect- 
ing the  inhabitants  of  Eastern  Siberia,  11. 

LEDYARD,  WILLIAM,  Colonel,  340. 

LEK,  ARTHUR.  One  of  the  American  embassy  to 
France,  1776,  266. 

LEE,  CHARLES,  General.  A  Captain  at  Ticonderosa, 
1753;  wounded,  197.  Major-General.  1775,  238.  At 
Boston,  239.  At  New  York,  248.  At  North  Castle, 
259.  Urged  by  Washington  to  reinforce  him,  260; 
captured,"261.  At  Monmouth,  288.  Insults  Washing- 
ton, 233.  His  letter  to  Wayne,  298.  His  remark  re- 
specting Gates's  laurels,  316.  Portrait  of.  248. 

LEE,  CHARLES.  Attorney-General,  1796,  383.  Notices 
of,  243,  283.  Portrait  of,  248. 

LEE,  FRANCIS  LIGHTFOOT.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  602  ;  and  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

LEE,  HENRY,  General.     His  exploit  at  Paulus's  Hook, 


1779,  94,  298.  With  General  Marion,  1781,  335.  On 
the  Savannah  River,  1781,  336.  At  Fort  Ninety-six, 
337.  Suppresses  the  Whiskey  Insurrection,  1794,378. 
His  funeral  oration  on  Washington,  3S7.  Portrait 
and  notice  of,  333. 

LEE,  LUDWELL.  Anecdote  of  him,  when  a  boy  at 
school,  251. 

LEE,  RICHARD  HENRY.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  1774,  588.  His  Resolution  on  American 
Independence,  250,  251,  589.  John  Adams's  account 
of  him  as  a  speaker  ;  Jefferson's  letter  to,  590.  Signer 
of  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  611.  Notice  of,  "250. 

LEGARE,  HUGH  S.  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  475. 

Legislative  Powers  of  Congress,  612. 

LEISLER,  JACOB,  Governor,  131,  148.    Executed,  148. 

LEITCH,  Major.    Death  of,  258. 

LE  MOYNE,  JAMES.  His  illustrations  of  the  costume 
and  customs  of  the  Aboriginals,  50. 

Lenni-Lenape  Indians,  17,  20.  Subdued  by  the  Five 
Nations,  in  1650;  their  migration,  21.  Join  the  Hu- 
rons,  and  the  Shawnees  ;  friends  of  the  British  during 
the  Revolution,  21.  Crushed  by  General  Wayne, 
1794,  21. 

LENOX,  JAMES.  Possesses  the  original  manuscript  of 
Washington's  Farewell  Address,  633. 

LEON.  PONCE  DE,  General.    At  Braceti,  488. 

"Leopard"  frigate,  402. 

LESLIE,  General,  332.     At  Charleston,  in  17S2,  347. 

"Levant"  sloop-of-war,  440. 

LEVI,  M.    Successor  to  Montcalm,  203. 

LEWIS,  ANDREW,  General.    Notice  of,  244. 

LEWIS,  FRANCIS,  602,  611. 

LEWIS,  Colonel.    At  Frenchtown.  1813,  416,  418. 

LEWIS  and  CLARKE'S  Expedition,  395. 

Lewifston,  Delaware,  92,  94,  430. 

Lewiston,  New  York.    Burnt,  1813,  427. 

Lexington.    Battle  of,  232,  233. 

Lei/den,  Netherlands.     Puritans  at,  77. 

Liberty.    The  instinctive  love  of,  207,  205.  '     • 

" Liberty"  sloop,  220. 

Liberty-pole.    At  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  79. 

LIEF,  Captain.  Sails  from  Iceland  for  Greenland,  in 
1002,  35. 

Ligonia.    Agricultural  settlement  of,  80. 

LIHOLIHO,  ALEXANDER,  Prince,  519. 

LINCOLN,  Earl  of,  118. 

LINCOLN,  BENJAMIN,  General.  At  Boundbrook,  270. 
Commands  the  Southern  Army,  1778.  294.  At 
Charleston,  296.  Besieges  Savannah,  in  1779,  3U5.  At 
Charleston,  1780,  309.  Surrenders  to  Clinton,  1780, 
311.  At  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  342.  Suppresses 
Shay's  Rebellion, '1787,  353.  Portrait  of,  294.  Notice 
of,  295. 

LINCOLN,  LEVI.  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  390. 

"Vlnsurg ente"  friirate.  Captured  by  the  frigate  "C'o?z- 
stellation,"  in  1799,  385. 

LISPENARD,  LEONARD.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act 
Congress,  556. 

"Little  Beir  sloop  of  war,  407. 

Little  Oxage  River,  18. 

Little,  Wabaah.    Major  Clarke  at  the,  303. 

Liturgy.     The  use  of  the,  refused  by  the  Puritans,  119. 

LIVINGSTON,  EDWARD.  Author  of  the  penal  code  of 
Louisiana,  451.  His  defense  of  General  Jackson,  443. 
Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of,  451,  452. 

LIVINGSTON,  PHILIP.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress, 556  ;  and  of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  583. 
Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  602. 

LIVINGSTON,  ROBERT.     Patroon,  149. 

LIVINGSTON,  ROBERT  R.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act 
Congress,  556.  On  the  Committee  on  the  Articles  of 
Confederation,  604 ;  and  on  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, 251.  His  memorial  to  Parliament,  215. 
Author  of  the  Petition  to  the  Kins.  1765,  552.  His 
connection  with  Robert  Fulton,  399.  Portraits  of, 
366,  589.  Autograph  and  notice  of,  366. 

LIVINGSTON,  WILLIAM.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  1774,  588.  His  Address  to  the  Ansjlo-Amer- 
ican  Colonies,  228, 563.  Member  of  the  Convention  on 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  1787,356.  Signer  of  the 
Constitution,  629. 

LT.OYD,  THOMAS,  162. 

LOCKE,  JOHN.  His  "Fundamental  Constitutions,"  99, 
164. 

London  Company.  Send  Henry  Hudson  on  an  expedi- 
tion to  America,  59.  Send  Captain  Newport  t<>  Ro- 
anoke  Island,  606.  64.  New  charter  of  the,  1609,  68. 
Third  charter  of  the,  1612,  70.  Dissolved,  81, 106,  107. 


INDEX. 


659 


LOGAN,  JOHN.    Mingo  Chief,  20,  26,  27. 

LONGFELLOW.     His  Indian  Edda,  23. 

Long  House.    Doors  of  the,  23. 

Long  Maud,  59.     (i ranted  to  the  Earl  of  Stirling,  144. 

Battle  of,  254.     Plan  of  the  battle  of,  254. 
Long  Island-  Indians,  21,  141. 
Long  Island  /Sound.   Explored  by  Captain  Block,  1614, 

Long  Parliament,  The,  152.  Confirms  the  charter  of 
Rhode  Island,  157. 

LOPEZ,  General.  Invades  Cuba,  502,  508 ;  and  is  exe- 
cuted, in  1851,  5;<S. 

Lords  Spiritual,  213. 

Lords  of  Trade,  134. 

'IS Orient     Naval  expedition  fitted  out  at,  in  1779,  308. 

LORRAINE,  Duke  of.  Vespucius  dedicates  a  volume  to, 
in  1507,  41. 

Los  ANGELOS.  Stockton  and  Fremont  take  possession 
of,  487. 

Lottery     Authorized  by  Congress,  in  1776,  293. 

LOUDON,  Lord,  191,  192,  193,  194. 

Louis  XIV.,  of  France.  Revokes  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
166.  James  II.,  of  England,  flees  to  the  court  of, 
130.  Acknowledges  Charles  Edward,  as  king  of  En- 
gland, 134.  Acknowledges  the  Independence  of  the 
'United  States,  2S3. 

Louis  PHILIPPE.    Dethroned,  511. 

Louisburg.  Captured,  136-138.  Captured  by  Am- 
herst,  196. 

Louisiana.  Ceded  to  France  in  1800  ;  sold  to  the 
United  States,  by  Napoleon,  204.  Territory;  State, 
451.  Admitted  to  the  Union,  409. 

LOVELACE,  Lord,  144, 150. 

LOVELL,  JAMES.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

Low,  ISAAC.  Member  of  the  first  Continental  Congress, 
1774.  588. 

LOYOLA,  IGNATIUS,  130. 

LUDLOW,  Captain.     Death  of,  429. 

LUDWELL,  PHILIP,  165,  167. 

Lundy's  Lane.    Battle  of,  in  1814,  433. 

LUTHER,  MARTIN,  the  Reformer,  62. 

Lutherans.  Persecuted  and  slaughtered  by  Mclendez, 
51. 

Lutzen.    Battle  of,  93. 

LUZERNE,  M.    General  Greene's  letter  to,  in  1731,  334. 

LYELL,  SIR  CHARLES,  517. 

LYFORD.     Persecuted  by  the  Pilgrims,  119. 

LY.MAN,  General.    At  Fort  Edward,  189-191. 

LYNCH,  THOMAS.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress, 
556 ;  and  of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  5SS.  On 
the  Committee  that  arranged  the  plan  of  a  campaign 
against  Canada,  in  1775,  239.  Signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  602. 

M'CLELLAND,  ROBERT.  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  in 
1853,  515. 

M'CLUEE,  Captain.  Demonstrates  the  fact  of  a  north- 
west passage  round  the  Arctic  coast,  510. 

M'CLURE,  JAMES.  Delegate  from  Virginia  to  the  Con- 
vention on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  1787,  356. 

M'CLURE,  General.     At  Fort  George,  1813,  427. 

M'CREA,  JANE,  277. 

MCDONALD,  DONALD  and  FLORA,  248. 

McDouGALL.  General.  At  Pcekskill,  270.  Secretary 
of  the  Continental  Board  of  Admiralty,  1781.  308. 

MCDOWELL,  CHARLES.    At  King's  Mountain,  319. 

McGiLLiviiAY.     Emperor  of  the  Creeks,  16. 

M'HENRY,  JAMES.  356.  384.  Signer  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  629. 

M-KEAN,  THOMAS.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress, 
556  ;  and  of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  588.  Signer 
of  the.  Articles  of  Confederation,  611 ;  and  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  602. 

M-KENZIE,  WILLIAM  LYON,  472. 

M'KiNNEY.    His  History  of  the  Indian  tribes,  33. 

MCLELLAN.  J.,  jr.,  quoted,  33. 

Mac/lion,  Maine,  80. 

MACOMH,  General.    At  Plattsburg,  in  1814;  notice  of, 

MACDONOUGH,  Commodore.  Notice  of, 434.  His  prayer; 
portrait  and  autograph  of,  435. 

"  Macedonian'1''  frigate,  415, 

Madeira  Wine.    John  Hancock's  cargo  of,  220. 

MADISON.  JAMES,  356.  One  of  the  authors  of  the  Feder- 
alist,  361.  Signer  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  620.  His  view  of  the  Revenues  of  the  United 
States,  367.  Secretary  of  State*  390.  President  of  the 
United  States,  1809,  4o4.  Re-elected,  415.  Portrait, 
autograph,  and  notice  of,  405. 


l  MADOC.    Son  of  Prince  Owen  Gwignedd,  migrates  to 

America,  32. 

Madrid.    Special  messenger  sent  to,  respecting  the  af- 
fair of  the  Black  Warrior,  521. 
I  MAGAW,  Colonel.     At  Fort  Washington,  258. 

•  Maine.    Discovered;  visited  by  Pring  and  Weymouth, 

58.  Indian  tribes  of,  127.  Settlement  of,  80,"  122.  A 
part  of  Massachusetts  until  1820,  129.  A  State,  452. 
Boundary  of,  452. 

Maize.   The  first  that  was  found  by  Miles  Standish,115. 
Manchester.     Burnt,  1813,  427. 
Mandan  Indians.     White  Indians;  supposed  Welsh 

origin  of  the,  32. 
;  Manhattan  Indians.     Sell  Manhattan  Island  to  the 

Dutch,  21. 

Manhattan  Island.  Sold  to  the  Dutch  by  the  Manhat- 
tan Indians,  21.  Purchased  by  Minuit,  139.  Origin 
of  the  name,  48.  The  fort  at  the  southern  extremity 
of,  72. 

!  Manitoii.     Indian  doctrine  of,  15,  16. 
MANLY,  Captain,  80S. 
Mannahoac  Indian  ft,  17. 
MANNING,  JOHN.     The  traitor,  147. 
;  MANSFIELD,  Lord.    His  decision  respecting  slavery,  533. 

MANSFIELD,  Captain,  481. 

:  MANTEO.    Indian  Chief;  Lord  of  Roanoke,  55,  56. 
|  Manufactures,  American,  177,  178,  216,  447,  458. 
i  MARCHANT,  HENRY.    Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, 611. 

I  MARCHESA,  Father,  38. 
MARCY,  WILLIAM  L.  Secretary  of  War,  1845,  478.  Secre- 

of  State.  1853,  515. 

Mares.    First  taken  to  Virginia,  in  16C9,  68. 
Mariana,  Territory  of,  79. 
;  MARIA  THERESA,  Empress  of  Austria,  187. 

•  Marietta,  Ohio.    Silver  cup  found  in  an  ancient  mound 

at,  11. 

Marine  Committee  of  Congress,  3C8. 
I  Mariner's  Compass,  39. 

I  MARION,  General,  204.  In  South  Carolina,  1780,  314. 
Exploits  of,  317,  318,  319,  320,  338.  Refuses  to  drink 
wine,  317.  His  first  appearance  at  Gates's  camp,  318. 
Anecdote  of  him  and  a  British  officer  at  Charlestown, 
32(1.  His  camp  destroyed,  in  1781,  820;  his  brigade 
defeated,  in  his  absence,  345.  Portrait,  autograph, 
and  notice  of,  317. 

i  MARKHAM,  WILLIAM,  96,  161. 162, 163. 
!  Marlborough,  Massachusetts.    Burnt,  127. 
!  Marriage,  Indian,  14,  15. 

!  Marriage  Contracts.    Restraints  on,  by  Andros,  130. 
!  MARSH,  Colonel.    His  Expedition  against  Port  Royal, 

135. 

i  MARSHALL,  JOHN.  Envoy  to  France,  1797,  385.  An- 
nounces the  death  of  Washington,  886.  Administers 
the  oath  of  office  to  President  Monroe,  1817, 446 ;  Pres- 
ident Adams,  1825,  454;  President  Jackson,  1829,  461. 
Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of,  351. 
Martha's  Vineyard.  Discovered,  57,  58.  Christian 

Indians  at,  123. 
|  MARTIN,  ALEXANDER.     Member   of  the  Convention, 

1787,  on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  356. 
MARTIN,  LUTHER.      Delegate   from   Maryland    to  the 
Convention,  1787,  on  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
356. 
;  "  MARY  JOHNSON,"  the  assumed  name  of  Arthur  Lee, 

266. 

Maryland.    Settlement  of,  80-82.      Origin  of  the  name 
j       of,  81.     Roman  Catholic  colony  in,  62.    The  Seneca 
Indians  make  war  upon  the  colonists,  82,  110.    Dec- 
laration of  Rights,  in  1639,  151.     Civil  war  in,  1645; 
Toleration  Act ;  an  asylum  for  persecuted  Church- 
men and   Puritans,   151.      Colonial   government  of; 
civil  war  in,  in  1655,  152.     History  of,'151. 
MASON,  GEORGE.    Delegate  from  Virginia  to  the  Con- 
vention, 1787,  on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  356. 
!  MASON,  JOHN.     Merchant  and  naval  commander,  79. 
Governor  of  Portsmouth,  England,  80.     Controversy 
of  the  heirs  of,  129. 
MASON,  JOHN,  .Captain.      Exterminates  the  Pequods, 

87,  88. 
MASON,  JOHN  Y.      Attorney-General  of  the    United 

States,  1845,  478. 
'  Massachusetts  Indians,  22. 

Massachusetts.  Settlement  of,  62.  History  of,  in  1620, 
114.  Colony;  charter,  117.  Character  of  the  colony, 
119  ;  rapid  growth  of  the  colony,  creates  alarm  in  Eng- 
land, 120.  Fortifications  in,  121.  Joins  the  confed- 
eracy of  colonies,  1643,  121.  Government  of;  com- 
merce of,  with  the  West  Indies,  122.  Growth  of  the 
colony,  129.  Controversy  of,  with  the  heirs  of  Gorges 


G60 


INDEX. 


Mason,  129.     A  royal  province,  132.     Cost  of 
ing,  2^9.  '  Early  legislatioa  of,  175.     Grant  from 


and 

settling, 

Parliament  to,  1758,  2()6.  Assembly's  view  of  taxa- 
tion, 219.  A  tlotilla  fitted  out  by,  in  1770,  299.  Board 
of  Admiralty  of,  307.  Rebellion  in,  in  17S7,  353. 

MASSASOIT.  Chief  of  the  Wampanoags,  9J.  Sachem, 
114,115.  His  sons,  21,  124. 

Massaya.     Captured,  in  1S55,  527. 

MATHER,  COTTON.  His  controversy  with  Calef;  liis  be- 
lief in  witchcraft,  133.  Portrait  and  autograph  of,  133. 
Notice  of,  134. 

MATTHEWS,  JONATHAN.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, 611. 

MATTHEWS,  SAMUEL.     Governor  of  Virginia,  109. 

MATTHEWS,  General  (British),  297,  320. 

MATTOCKS,  JOHN,  Captain,  319. 

Maumee  River,  19. 

MAURICE,  Prince  of  Nassau,  71. 

MAURITIUS,  The.     Origin  of  the  name,  71. 

MAURY,  Lieutenant.  His  account  of  the  drift  of  sea- 
weed, 39. 

MAVERICK.  RICHARD,  123.  i 

MAWHOOD,  Lieutenant-Colonel.     At  Princeton.  268. 

MAY,  CORNELIUS  JACOBSEN.  First  Director  of  New 
Netherland,  73. 

MAY,  JACOBUS,  Captain,  93,  94. 

MAY,  Cantain.     Captures  General  La  Vega,  4S2. 

"  May- Flower?  Puritan  vessel,  77.     Picture  of,  77,  78. 

MAZEON.     Descendant  of  Uncas,  21. 

Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence,  237. 

Medal.  Presented  by  Congress  to  Washington,  after 
the  battle  of  Germantown,  275;  to  General  Wayne, 
29S;  to  the  captors  of  Andre  327.  Struck  by  Louis 
XLV.,  after  the  repulse  of  Phipps,  131. 

Medford,  Massachusetts.     Burned,  127. 

MEDICI,  LORENZO  DE.     Vespueius's  letter  to,  41. 

Meeting  ILmse.     First,  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  86. 

Meherrin  Indians,  23. 

MEIGS,  Colonel,  271. 

'•  Melampus?  ship,  401. 

MELENDEZ,  PEDRO.  Governor  of  Florida,  50,  51. 

Memorial  to  Parliament.  Livingston's,  215.  Otis's, 
552-556. 

MENDOZA,  Cardinal,  38,  45. 

Menomonee  Indians,  17,  19. 

MERCER,  HUGH,  General,  192,  259.  Death  of;  notice  of, 
269. 

MERCER,  JOHN  FRANCIS,  356. 

MEREDITH,  WILLIAM  M.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
1849,  499. 

Mesilla  Valley.    Dispute  respecting  the,  515. 

METACOMET:  see  KING  PHILIP. 

Metamoras.     General  AMPUDIA  at,  481. 

Mexico.  Origin  of  the  name,  493.  Civilization  and  the 
arts  in,  in  1521,  43.  Burr's  proposed  invasion  of,  396. 
The  United  States  at  war  with.  480.  The  City  of, 
captured  by  General  Scott,  494.  Treaty  of  Peace  be- 
tween the  United  States  and,  in  1848,  497.  Treaty  of, 
with  the  United  States,  respecting  boundaries,  1854, 
522. 

Miami  Indians,  17,  24,  25.  Treaty  with  the,  in  1S09, 
408.  Their  territory,  19.  Conspire  against  the  En- 
glish. 1763,  205. 

MIANTONOMOH.  Narraganset  Sachem,  21,  87,  91,  125, 

MICANOPY.     Head  Sachem  of  the  Seminoles,  466. 

Michigan.  Lake:  see  Lake  Michigan.  Peninsula, 
Indians  on  the,  18.  Territory,  396.  State  of,  admit- 
ted to  the  Union,  469. 

Michigania  Indians,  19. 

Micmac  Indians,  22. 

Middle  Plantation,  The,  111. 

MIDDLETON,  ARTHUR.     Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, 602. 

MIDDLETON,  HENRY.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress.  1774,  58S;  President  of  the  Congress.  578. 

MIFFLIN,  THOMAS,  General,  254,  257,  268,  356.  Member 
of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  1774,  5SS.  Signer 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  629.  "liis 
address  to  Washington,  1782 ;  portrait  and  notice  of, 
352. 

MILBORNE,  Deputy  Governor,  131,  148.    Executed,  148. 

Militia.     Of  the  United  States,  630. 

MILLER,  Colonel.  Defeats  Tecumseh,  near  Browns- 
town,  411.  At  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane,  433. 

Minetaree  Indians,  31,  32. 

Mingo  Indian*,  23.     Logan,  the  Mingo  Chief,  20. 

Minqiui  Indian* :  see  Mohaick  Indians. 

Minnesota  Territory.  Origin  and  signification  of  the 
name  ;  rapid  progress  of,  503.  Purchase  of  lands  in, 
by  the  United  States.  1851,  5o9. 


MINON,  General.    Driven  from  Santillo,  4S6. 

Minsi  Indians.    Their  territory,  21. 

Mint.     Of  the  United  States,  372,  373. 

MINI-IT,  PETER,  Governor,  85,  93,  139. 

MIRABEAU,  M.  His  observation  on  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  603. 

Mirrors.     Ancient,  made  of  isinglass,  11. 

Mischianza,  The,  at  Philadelphia,  285. 

Mishawan.    The  foundation  of  Charleston  laid  at,  117. 

Mixsissagues  Indians,  17,  205. 

Mississippi.  Territory,  388.  State  admitted  to  the 
Union,  1817.  448. 

Missouri  Indians,  32. 

Missouri.     Roman  coin  found  in.  11.     State,  448,  452. 

"•Missouri  Compromise^  The,  452. 

Missouri  River,  516. 

MITCHELL,  NATHANIEL,  355. 

MITCHELL,  STEPHEN  M.,  355. 

MITCHELL,  Colonel,  432. 

Mobile.    The  British  repulsed  at.  in  1814,  43S. 

Mobilian  Indians,  29-31.  Their  lands:  their  tribes. 
29.  Origin  of  their  hostility  to  the  white  people,  42. 
Population  of  the,  in  l(55i>,  31.  Language  of  the,  12. 

Mohammedd.n  soldier.     Picture  of  a,  392. 

Mohaick  Indians,  23.  Other  names  of  the,  23.  Turtle 
tribe  of  the,  15.  One  of  Five  Nations,  21.  Active 
enemies  of  the  Americans,  26.  Hi-a-wat-ha's  address 
to  the,  24.  Refuse  to  join  King  Philip,  127.  At  New 
Amsterdam,  141.  Claim  sovereignty  over  the  River 
Indians,  141.  Allies  of  Colonel  Williams,  190.  Join 
St.  Leger,  278. 

Mohaick  Valley.     Devastation  of  the,  in  1778,  290. 

Mohegan  Indians,  17,86.  Their  territory;  vassals  of 
the  Five  Nations,  21.  A  Chief  of  the,  urges  the  Eng- 
lish to  settle  in  Connecticut  Valley,  85. 

Mohegan  Plain,  21. 

MolinoH  del  Key.     Battle  of,  1847,  494. 

MONCKTON,  Colonel,  185,  2ul.     Grave  of,  288. 

Money.  Continental,  245.  The  first  coined,  in  the 
United  States,  122. 

MONK,  General,  98. 

Monmouth,  New  Jersey.  Battle  of,  287.  Map  of  the 
battle,  288. 

Monocan  Indians,  17. 

MONROE,  JAMES.  His  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  in 
1806,401.  President  of  the  United  States,  1S17;  his 
tour,  446.  Re-elected  President,  1820,453.  "Monroe 
doctrine,"  448,  513.  Portrait  and  autograph  of,  447. 
Notice  of,  446. 

MONROE,  Colonel.  Surrenders  Fort  William  Henry; 
his  troops  slaughtered,  194. 

MONROE,  Major.     At  Point  Isabel,  481. 

Montagues  Indians,  17. 

Montauk  Indians,  21. 

MONTCALM,  MARQUIS  DE,  192, 194.  Notice  of,  120.  Mon- 
ument to,  202. 

MONTEANO,  DON  MIGUEL  DE,  173. 

Monterey.     Battle  of,  484. 

Montevideo,  South  America.  Ancient  swords,  helmet, 
and  shield  found  at,  11. 

MONTEZUMA.  The  reign  of,  10.  His  deputation  to 
Cortez,  43. 

MONTGOMERY,  JOHN,  Governor,  150. 

MONTGOMERY,  Colonel  (British).  Lays  waste  the  Cher- 
okee country,  204. 

MONTGOMERY,  RICHARD,  General,  238.  At  Boston ;  at 
St.  John's;  at  Montreal,  240.  241.  Assaults  Quebec, 
242.  Death  of;  portrait  of,  242.  Notice  of,  240. 

MONTGOMERY.  Commodore.  Takes  possession  of  San 
Francisco.  487. 

Monticello,  Virginia,  404. 

Montreal.  Origin  of  the  name,  48.  Surrender  of,  in 
1760,  203. 

Monument  to  Unccis,  21. 

MOOERS,  General,  435. 

MOORE,  JAMES.  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  168-170. 

MOORE,  Colonel.  Son  of  the  Governor  of  South  Caro- 
lina ;  captures  Tuscarora  Indians,  168. 

Moravians.  At  Bethlehem,  nurse  La  Fayette,  after  his 
being  wounded  at  Brandywine,  274. 

MOREHEAD,  Rev.  Mr.,  216. 

MORGAN,  DANIEL,  General.  At  Quebec,  242.  At  Saratoga, 
282.  At  the  Covvpens.  331.  Portrait  and  notice  of,  331. 

MORGAN,  WIILLIAM,  457. 

MORGAN,  Colonel.     At  Agua  Frio,  486. 

Morocco.     War  of  the  United  States  with,  1801,  390. 

Morm.ons,  The.  Petition  of,  for  a  civil  government, 
499.  Notice  of,  503,  504. 

MORRIS,  GOUVERNEUR,  185,  356.  Signer  of  the  Articles 
of  Confederation,  611;  and  of  the  Constitution,  629. 


INDEX. 


661 


His  remarks  on  Coins  and  Currency,  372.  His  part 
in  the  Erie  Canal,  457.  Portrait  and  notice  of,  364. 

MORRIS,  LEWIS.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, 6u2. 

MOKRJS,  LEWIS.  First  Royal  Governor  of  New  Jersey, 
161. 

MORRIS,  EGBERT.  Supplies  Washington  with  money, 
at  Trenton,  2(53.  Agent  of  Marine;  his  privateers, 
308.  His  National  Bank,  329.  Signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  602  ;  of  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, 611  ;  and  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  629.  At  the  Convention,  17S7,  on  the  Articles 
of  Confederation,  356.  His  views  of  harmonizing  the 
money  of  the  United  States,  372.  Portrait  and  auto- 
graph of,  263.  Notice  of,  264. 

MORRIS,  ROGER.     Notice  of,  259. 

MORRIS,  Commodore.  His  exploit  on  the  Penobscot 
River,  1814,  438. 

MORRIS,  Major.     Death  of,  269. 

Morrisiana.     Purchase  of,  by  Lewis  Morris,  161. 

Morristown.  New  Jersey.  Washington's  winter  quar- 
ters at,  269,  3U6.  Sufferings  of  the  American  troops 
at,  306. 

MORSE,  SAMUEL  F.  B.  Portrait  and  notice  of,  507,  508. 
His  tour  to  Russia,  508. 

MORTON,  JOHN.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress, 
556;  and  of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  1774~  5SS. 
Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  6u2. 

MOTTIC.  REBECCA.  Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of, 
335,  336. 

MOFLTUII:,  General,  204,  295.  Portrait  and  notice  of, 
249. 

Mound*.     Indian,  15.     Ancient,  in  Ohio,  11. 

Mount  AthoH,  60. 

Mount  Defiance,  276. 

Mount  Hope.  9o,  124. 

Mount  Hope  Bay.  A  Scandinavian  child  born  on  the 
shore  of,  35. 

Mount  Independence,  276. 

Mount  Vernon.    Leonard  Calvert  at,  in  1634,  82. 

Mummies.     Found  in  America,  11. 

MURDOCK,  WILLIAM.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress, 556. 

MURRAY,  General,  201,  203. 

MURRAY,  W.  V.     Envoy  to  France,  in  1799,  385. 

Muskingum  Rirer,  21. 

Muskogee  Indian*,  29. 

Musquito  Coast,  523.  King  of  Musquito;  Indians;  ter- 
ritory, 524-526. 

Mi/stic.  River,  87. 

Nahant,  57.    Captain  Block  at,  in  1614,  72. 

Nansemond  River.    Settlement  on  the,  in  1609,  97. 

Nantes.    The  Edict  of,  166. 

Nanticoke  Indians.     Allies  of  the  Five  Nations,  17,  20. 

Nantuckft.    Discovery  of,  57.    Christian  Indians  at,  123. 

NAPOLEON  :  see  BONAPARTE. 

Narraganset  Indians,  21,  22,  86.  Propose  to  exter- 
minate the  white  people,  87.  Treaty  of  Peace  with 
the,  125.  Join  King  Philip,  127. 

Na>-raganset  Bay.     Penetrated  by  Captain  Block,  72. 

Narrows,  The,  in  New  Yor     15 ay,  59. 

NARVAEZ,  PAMPHILO,  Governor  of  Florida,  43,  44. 

NASH,  Governor,  330. 

N(tsh,ville,  Tennessee.     An  idol  found  near,  11. 

Nassau  I  fall  College,  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  178. 

Natchez  Indians,  29,  30.  Population  of,  in  '1650,  31. 
Language  of  the,  12. 

National.  Bank  of  the  United  States,  372.  Currency, 
372.  Debt,  in  1782,  353. 

Nauml>eag  Colony,  117. 

"Nautilus"  brig,  414. 

Naiwoo,  Illinois,  504. 

Navajo  Indians,  488. 

Naval  Stores.  Imported  from  America  into  Great 
Britain,  206. 

Navigation  Act,  The,  of  1651,  109, 123,  177. 

Navy,  American.  Origin  of  the,  245,  246,  382.  Rank 
of  Commanders,  308.  State  of,  in  1811,  407 ;  in  1812, 
414,415:  in  1814.  445. 

Navy,  British,  206.  445. 

NKAL,  Captain.     Death  of,  269. 

Nebraska.    Boundaries  of,  519,  520. 

Negro  Plot,  in  New  York,  150. 

Negro  Slaf.es  :  see  Slaves. 

NEILSON,  JOHN,  356. 

NEILSON,  THO::AS,  jr.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence. 602.  Member  of  the  Convention  on  the 
Articles  of  .an federation,  604. 

Neosho  Indian^.  24. 


Neutral  Indians,  23. 

New  Amsterdam.  Meeting  of  Dutch  deputies  at,  in 
1653,  143. 

Newark,  New  Jersey,  260. 

New  Brunsicick.  Origin  of  the  name  of,  58.  Bound- 
ary of,  472. 

New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  260. 

Newburg  Addresses,  349. 

Newcastle,  Delaware,  93,  143.  William  Penn  at.  in  1682, 
96. 

New  England  Indians,  17,  22.  Invaded  by  the  Fivo 
Nations,  24. 

New  England.  Scandinavians  visit  the  coast  of,  34. 
Explored  by  Captain  John  Smith,  in  1614.  Origin  of 
the  name,  74.  Proposed  union  of  the  colonies  of.  in 
1637,  121.  Population  of,  in  1675,  126.  Effects  of 
King  Philip's  War  in,  129. 
i  New  England  House.  Picture  of  a,  176. 

Newfoundland.  Portuguese  settlement  in.  47.  Seen 
by  Cabot,  in  1497,  46.  Cod-fishery  at,  discovered  by 
Cabot,  47.  Visits  to,  by  early  navigators,  52. 
i  New  France.  The  name  given  by  Verazzani  to  the  re- 
gions discovered  bv  him,  48.  Champlain's  History  of, 
59. 

j  New  Hampshire.  Origin  of  the  name,  80.  Settlement 
of,  62,  122.  A  royal  province,  80, 129.  Grant  to,  1770, 
206. 

Neiv  Haven  Colony,  121,  127,  154. 

New  Haven,  Connecticut.  88. 

New  Jersey.  Origin  of  the  name,  159.  Wampum  man- 
ufactured in,  13.  Swedes  in,  62.  Founded.  93,  159. 
Sale  of,  by  the  Duke  of  York,  144.  The  Dutch  take 
possession  of,  in  1763,  147.  Discontents  in,  on  account 
of  the  half-penny  rent,  159.  Invaded  by  Matthews, 
in  1780,  320.  History  of  the  colony  of,  159. 

New  London.     Burnt  by  Arnold,  340. 

New  Mexico.  Number  of  Indians  in,  in  1853.33.  A 
Territory  of  the  United  States,  in  1848,  497,  501. 
Claims  of  Texas  to  portions  of,  499.  Petition  of,  for  a 
civil  government,  in  1850,  499.  Boundary  between, 
and  Chihuahua,  515. 

1  New  Netherland,  72.  A  county,  73.  Seal  of;  first  child 
born  in,  73.  Founded.  139.  Given  by  Charles  II.  to 
his  brother  James.  Duke  of  York,  113,  144. 

New  Orleans.    Ceded  to  Spain,  204.    Battle  of,  1815,439. 

NEWPORT,  CHRISTOPHER,  Captain,  65,  68.  Arrives  with 
supplies,  in  160S,  67. 

Newport,  Rhode  Island,  48.  Ternay's  fleet  at,  1780,  321. 
Tower  at :  see  Tower. 

New  RocJtelle.  New  York.  Mrs.  Hutchinson  takes  ref- 
uge at ;  her  fate,  120. 

New  Scotland,  132. 

Newspapers.  In  the  American  colonies ;  in  the  United 
States,  in  1850,  179. 

New  Sweden,  93,  143. 

New  Windsor,  New  York.  Washington's  head-quarters 
at,  in  1781,  328. 

Neic  York  City,  Dutch  settlement  at,  62.  Origin  of, 
72,  144.  Picture  of,  a  century  ago,  144.  Expedition 
from,  to  Canada,  181.  Colony  at,  139.  The  Dutch 
take  possession  of,  in  1673,  147.  Evacuated,  1783,  350. 
Great  fire  at,  1835,  471. 

New  York.  History  of  the  colony  of,  139  ss.  Grants 
from  Parliament  to,  in  1756,  206."  Brodhead's  History 
of  the  State  of.  72.  General  Knyphausen  at,  3(9.  The 
Continental  Congress  at,  588. 

New  York  Bay,  48,  57. 

New  York  (lazetle  newspaper,  150. 
!  New  York  Weekly  Journal,  150. 
I  Nezperce  Indians,  33. 

Niagara  Falls.  Battle  at,  1814,  433.  Village  at,  burnt, 
1813,  427. 

Niagara  Frontier,  Map  of  the,  434.  Shirley's  expedi- 
tion to  the,  185,  189. 

"Niagara"1  ship,  425. 

Niantic  Indians,  87. 

Nicaragua.  Its  jurisdiction  over  the  Musquito  Terri- 
tory, 524,  525.  Costa  Rica  declares  war  against,  in 
1856,  526.  Affairs  of,  526,  527. 

NICHOLSON,  FRANCIS,  Governor,  148, 171. 

NICHOLSON.  Colonel,  136. 

NICOLA,  Colonel.  His  letter  to  Washington,  proposing 
to  make  him  a  king,  1782,  349. 

NICOLAS,  Father.  Removes  the  church-bell  from  Deer- 
field,  135. 

NICOLLET,  M.  His  account  of  the  murder  of  Pontiac, 
IS. 

NICOLLS,  RICIIARP,  Colonel,  123,  144. 

Ninety-sir.  Origin  of  the  name,  335.  Siege  of,  by 
Greene,  1781,  336. 


662 


INDEX. 


NINIGRET.  Cousin  of  Miantonomorj,  21.  At  New  Am- 
sterdam, 141,  142,  154,  155. 

Nimpuc  Indians,  22,  125. 

Nobility.  Origin  of  the  exclusive  privileges  of  the,  63. 
Titles  of,  not' granted  by  the  United  States,  619. 

Non- Conformists.     Persecution  of  the,  76. 

Norfolk,  Virginia,  244,  297. 

Norman  Ship.     Picture  of  a,  85. 

NORTH,  Lord.  His  Conciliatory  Bills.  286.  His  man- 
ner of  receiving  the  news  of  the  capture  of  Cornwallis, 
in  1731,  345.  Retires  from  office,  1782,  345.  Portrait 
and  notice  of,  224. 

North-eastern  Passage,  59. 

North-eastern  Boundary  Question.  476. 

North  Carolina.  98.  Number  of  Indians  in,  in  1853, 
32.  Colony,  167.  Opposes  taxation,  223.  Joins  the 
Confederacy,  in  1789,  371. 

North  Cattle.    The  American  camp  at,  259. 

Northfield,  Connecticut,  126. 

Northman.     Picture  of  a,  34. 

Northmen.  Discover  America,  34.  Mariners,  very  ad- 
venturous, 35. 

North  Point.     Battle  of,  1814,  437. 

North  River,  94. 

North  Sen.     Islands  of  the.  35. 

North  Virginia,  63. 

North-  West  Passage,  52,  58. 

North-  West  Territory,  363,  534. 

Norway.  The  Capes  of.  59.  Comprised  in  Scandina- 
via, 34.  Vessels  of,  sail  from  Iceland  for  Greenland, 
in  1002,  35. 

Norwich,  Connecticut,  25.  Indians,  and  Indian  Burial- 
place  at,  21. 

Norridgewock  Indians,  22. 

Nottoicay  Indians,  23. 

Nova  Scotia,  58,  132,  136.  De  Monts  at,  in  1604,  58. 
Origin  of,  80.  Portuguese  settlement  in,  47. 

Nova  Ccesarea,  93. 

Nueces,  The.     General  Taylor  at,  481. 

Nullifiers  of  South  Carolina,  463. 

NUNEZ,  VASCO:  see  BALBOA. 

Oath.    Of  whom  required  by  the  United  States,  and 

what  for,  623. 
Oconee  Rire<\  28. 
Ocracock  Inlet,  55. 

OGDEN,  ROBERT.     Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress, 
•  556. 

Ogdensburg.    Capture  of,  in  1813,  425. 
Ogeechee  River.  23. 

OGILVIE,  Captain.     At  Queenstown,  1812,  413. 
OGLETHORPE,  JAMES  EDWARD,  General.     His  voyage  to 

America,  in  1732,  100.     Founds  Savannah,  $2,  100. 

His  first  interview  with  the  Indians  at  Savannah,  80. 

His  fort,  100.     His  colony,  171.     Meets  fifty  Indian 

Chiefs  in  Council,  in  1733;  purchases  Ian  1  from  them, 

103.     His  contests  with  the  Spaniards,  172.     Portrait 

of,  104.     Notice  of,  99. 

O'llARA,  General.     At  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  342. 
Ohio.    State  ;  its  progress,  390.     Persian  coin  found  in, 

Ohio  Company,  The.     Organized,  863.     George  II.'s 

grant  to,  131. 

Oh-nen-ta-ha,  or  Onondaga  Lake,  23. 
OJEDA.     Accompanies  Vespucius  to  the  West  Indies 

and  South  America,  in  1499,  41.     Vespucius  an  officer 

undf-r,  60. 

Old  Dominion,  The.     Origin  of  the  name,  109. 
OLDIIAM,  JOHN,  87. 

OLIVER,  Chief  Justice.     Impeached,  597. 
Omaha  Indians,  32. 
"  Omnibus  Bill,"  The,  501. 
Oneida  Indians,  23.      Favor  the   Americans,  in   the 

Revolution.  26.     Their  missionary,  the  Kev.  Samuel 

Kirkland,  25.     Hi-a-wat-ha's  address  to  the.  24. 
ONIS,  DON.   His  Treaty  with  the  United  States,  1819,  451. 
Onondaga  Indians.     Ili-a-wat-ha's  address  to  the,  24. 
Onondaga  County.     Clarke's  History  of,  cited,  23. 
Ontario,  Lake:  see  Lake  Ontario. 
OPECHANCANOUGH,  brother  of  Powhatan,  66.     Captures 

Captain  John  Smith.  106.     Hostile  to  the  Vir-'inia 

Colony,  103. 
Orders  in  Council.     Explained,  400.      The  Order  of 

1807,  402. 

Oregon  Indians,  33. 

Oregon  Territory,  33.     British  claims  to,  479. 
Orphan  House.    Whitfleld's,  171,  172. 
Osactf,  Indians,  32. 
OS^KOLA.    Principal  Chief  of  the  Seminoles,  466.    Death 

ot  468.     Portrait,  466. 


Ostend.    Conference  at,  respecting  Cuba,  in  1854,  522. 

OSWALD,  RICHARD.  English  Commissioner  on  the 
Treaty  of  Peace,  in  1782,  348. 

Osicego.  Map  of  the  forts  at,  192.  Battle  at,  in  181-1. 
432,  433. 

OTIS.  JAMES,  207,  208,  212,  213,  219.  Author  of  the  Me- 
morials to  Parliament,  in  1765,  552.  Member  of  the 
Stamp  Act  Congress,  556.  Portrait  of,  207.  Notice 
of,  212. 

Otoe  Indians,  32. 

Ottawa  Indians.  Their  territory.  17.  Attempt  to  ex- 
terminate the  white  people,  in  "1763,  13,  205.  Aid  the 
French  against  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  18.  Their  war 
with  the  Five  Nations,  18.  Conquered  by  the  Five 
Nations,  25. 

Ottaica  Ricer,  17. 

Outagamie  Indians:  see  Fox  Indians. 

Oyster  Point,  South  Carolina,  9D,  166. 

Oyster  River.  Incursion  of  French  and  Indians  at, 
134. 

PACA,  WILLIAM.  Member  of  the  first  Continental  Con- 
gress, 538.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, 602. 

PAOKENHAM,  General.  At  New  Orleans,  1814,  439. 
Death  of,  440. 

PAGE,  Captain,  482. 

PAINE,  ROBERT  TREAT.  Member  of  the  first  Conti- 
nental Congress,  1774,  583.  Signer  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  602. 

PAINE,  THOMAS.     His  "  Common  Sense,"  250. 

PALESTRELLO.     Columbus  marries  the  daughter  of,  37. 

Palisaded  Buildings.     Picture  of.  127. 

Palo  Alto.    Battle  of,  432. 

Palos.    Columbus  sails  from,  84,  39,  40. 

Pamunkey  Indians,  111. 

Panama.  Commissioners  at,  in  1826,  457.  Railway, 
524. 

Panuco  River.    The  followers  of  De  Soto  at  the,  45. 

Paper  Blockades,  444. 

Paper  Money.     Issued  by  Massachusetts,  122,  132. 

PAPINEAU,  Louis  JOSEPH,  472. 

PAREDES,  General.     Succeeds  Ilcrrera,  481. 

Paris.  Treaty  of  Peace  at,  in  1763.  204;  in  1783,  848. 
The  allied  armies  enter.  1814,  431. 

PARKER,  SIR  PETER,  248,  261. 

PARKER,  WILLIAM,  63. 

Parliament.  Its  Act  of  Supremacy,  75.  Its  appropri- 
ation to  Georgia,  100.  Grants  by,  during  the  Seven 
Years1  War  in  America,  206. 

PARTRIDGE,  OLIVER.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress, 556. 

Pasquas  de  Floret*.  42. 

Passamaquoddy  Indians,  22. 

PATERSON.  WILLIAM,  356,  359.  Signer  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, 629. 

Patroons.     Account  of  the,  139. 

PAULDING.  JOHN,  326.     Medal  to,  326. 

Panlus's  Hook,  94. 

PAUW,  MICHAEL,  94.  139. 

Pavonia.     Territory  of,  94. 

Pawnee  Indians.  33". 

Pawtucket  Indians.  2'?. 

Paictucket  River,  S9,  90. 

PAYNE,  General,  416. 

" Peace- Makers''  in  Pennsylvania,  162. 

Peace-Party,  of  1812,  410. 

"  Peacock,"  brig,  429,  440.  Captures  the  brig  "  J^w- 
vier,"  440. 

PEARCE,  Colonel.     At  York,  Canada,  425. 

Pearl  River,  29. 

Peers  of  England.    Cannot  be  arrested  for  debt.  150. 

"  Pelican,'"  sloop  of  war,  430. 

Peltries.    Trade  in,  72. 

Pemaquid  Point,  SO,  131.  Capture  of  the  garrison  at, 
130,  134. 

PENDLETON,  EDMUND.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  588. 

PENDLETON,  NATHANIEL,  356. 

"  Penguin,"  brig,  440. 

PENN,  JOHN.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, 602;  and  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  611. 

PENN,  WILLIAM,  Admiral,  95. 

PENN,  WILLIAM.  His  Charter  from  Charles  II. ;  pur- 
chases part  of  New  Jersey.  95.  His  voyage  to  Amer- 
ica, in  1632;  his  government,  96.  His  advice  to  the 
Duke  of  York,  respecting  an  assembly  of  Representa- 
tives, 147.  His  purchases  of  parts  of  New  Jersey.  1 60. 
His  arrival  in  Pennsylvania;  his  treaty  with  the  Del- 
aware Indians,  161.  His  Charter  of' Liberties ;  his 


INDEX. 


663 


return  to  England,  1684,  162.     Deprived  of  his  provis- 
ional   government,  in   1692;    his  rights    restored,  in 
1094;  returns  to  England,  in  17ol,  163.     Philadelphia 
founded  by,  102.     Suggests  a  union  of  the  Colonies, 
183.     Involved   in   debt,  in   settling  and  improving 
Pennsylvania,   2^9.      His  sons,   Thomas,   John,   and 
Richard.  103.     Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of,  95. 
Perm's  House.     Picture  of,  102. 
Penn  Society  of  Philadelphia,  161. 
Pennacook  Indians.  22. 

Pennsylvania.  Origin  of  the  name,  96.  Swedes  in,  62. 
History  of  the  Colony  of;  161.  Commencement  of  the 
State  debt  of,  163.  Mutiny  of  the  troops  of,  in  1781, 
323. 

Penobscot  Indians,  22. 
Penobscot  Bay.     Henry  Hudson  at,  59. 
Penobscot  Rirer.  22. 
Pensacola,  Florida.     Stormed,  438.     Captured,  in  ISIS, 

451. 

Peoria  Indians,  19. 
PEPPERELL,  WILLIAM,  137. 

2'equod  Indian*.  Their  territory,  21.  Smitten  by  the 
Narragansets,  21.  Jealous  of  the  white  people,  86, 
87. 

PERCY,  Earl.     Anecdotes  of,  233. 

PERCY,  GEORGE.     Brother  of  Earl  Percy  ;  Acting  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia,  68,  69. 
Perote,  The  Castle  of,  490. 

PERRY,  OLIVER  II.,  Commodore.  His  exploits,  423,  430. 
His  expedition  against  pirates,  in  1819, 453.  Portrait, 
autograph,  and  notice  of,  423. 

PERRY,  M.  C.,   Commodore.      Captures  Tampico,  Ta- 
basco and  Tuspan.  1847,  485.     At  Japan,  512. 
PERTH,  Earl  of,  160. 

Perth  Amboy,  New  Jersey.    Origin  of  the  name,  160. 
Peru.     Discovery  of,  by  Pizarro,  1524,  44. 
PETERS,  HUGH,  86,  119.     Executed,  119. 
PETERS,   RICHARD.      Secretary  of  the   Board  of  War, 

1776,  294. 

Petition  to  the  King.  In  1765,  550-552;  written  by 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  550.  In  1774,578-582;  drawn 
up  by  John  Adams,  and  corrected  by  John  Dickin- 
son, 578. 

Petrel*.    Seen  by  Columbus  and  his  crew,  39. 
Philadelphia.     Founded,  162.      Picture   of  the   State 

House  at,  250.     Meeting  of  Congress  at,  583. 
"Philadelphia"  The.     One  of  "Commodore   Treble's 
vessels  captured  by  Tripolitans,  1803,  391.     Decatur's 
exploit  in  tiring  the,  392. 
Philadelphia  College,  173. 
PHILIP  of  Anjou,  134. 
PHILIP  II.,  of  Spain.    His  measures  against  the  French 

Protestants  in  America,  5:>. 
PHILIP,  King:  see  KING  PHILIP.    Portrait  and  notice 

of,  124. 
PHILLIPS,  General.     Joins  Arnold,  in  1781;  death  of, 

330. 

PHILLIPSE,  MARY,  Miss,  259. 

PHIPPS,  SIR  WILLIAM.      His  Expedition   against  the 
French,  131.    At  Quebec,  131.    Sent  to  England,  132. 
"PACB&6,"  frigate,  431. 
Phoenicians,  The.    Origin  of  Indian  tribes,  referred  to,  i 

11. 

Piankeshaw  Indians,  17,  19. 
Piscataqua.    Letters  from  the  King's  commissioner  at, 

118. 
PICKENS,  General,  295,  314,  315,  319.    At  Ninety-six,  in  I 

1781,  336.    Notice  of,  337.     Portrait  of,  336. 
PICKERING,  JOHN.     Member  of  the  Convention,  1787, 

on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  356. 
PICKERING,  TIMOTHY.     Secretary  of  State,  384. 
Picture  Writing,  Indian,  13. 

PIERCE,  FRANKLIN.  Briiradier-General,  in  1847,  514. 
In  the  army  in  Mexico,  under  General  Scott,  493. 
President  of  the  United  States,  in  1852,  513.  Pre- 
sides at  the  opening  of  the  World's  Fair,  1853,  517. 
Portrait,  autosraph^and  notice  of,  514. 
PIERCE,  WILLIAM.  Delegate  from  Georgia  to  the  Con-  ! 

vention  on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  1787,  356. 
PIGOT,  General,  289,  335. 
Pigmies.    In  America,  stories  of,  12. 
PIKE,  ZEBULON  M.     Portrait  and  notice  of,  425. 
"•Pilgrims,"  The.     Voyage  of,  to  America,  in  1620,77. 
78.     Landing  of  the,  78.    Names  of;  fabulous  story 
of,  78.     Salutation  of,  by  Samoset,  114. 
PINCKNEY,  CHARLES.     Of  South  Carolina,  Member  of 
the   Convention   on   the   Articles  of   Confederation,  ' 
1787,  356.     Signer  of  the  Constitution,  629. 
PINCKNEY,  CHARLES  COTESWOKTH.     Of  South  Carolina,  ! 
Member  of  the  Convention  on  the  Articles  of  Confed-  ; 


eration,  17S7,  356.     Signer  of  the  Constitution,  6-29. 
Envoy  to  France,  1797,  385.     Candidate  for  the  Pres- 
idency, 388,  396,  404.     Portrait  and  autograph  of,  384. 
••     Notice  of.  385. 

Pine-street,  Philadelphia.     Origin  of  the  name,  162. 
Pine-tree  Money,  122. 
PINKNEY,   WILLIAM.      His  treaty  wJth  Great  Britain. 

1806 ;  portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of,  400,  401. 
j   Pinnace,  A.     Described,  65. 
\  Pipe  of  Peace,  Indian,  14. 

Pipe-clay.     Indian  calumets  made  of.  14. 
j  Piracy.     The  Earl  of  Bellomont's  efforts  to  suppress. 

149.     In  the  West  Indies,  149. 
PITCAIRN,  Major,  232. 

PITT,  WILLIAM,  195.     His  views  of  taxation,  217,  544, 
His  scheme  for  conquering  Canada,  199.     Resigns  hi.< 
orh'ce  as  Prime  Minister,  213.     Portrait  and  notice  of. 
217.     See  CHATHAM. 
PITT,  WriLLiAM,  the  younger,  367. 
PIZARRO.     Death  of;  notice  of,  44. 
Plains  of  Abraham,  201,  202,  241. 
Planetarium,  Rittenhouse's,  210,  269. 
i   PLATO.     His  suggestions  respecting  Atlantis,  87. 
I  Platte  River,  81". " 

J   Plattxburg  Bay.    Naval  action  at,  in  1814,  435. 
i  Plymouth  Colony.     Its  Government,  116.     Joins  the 

Confederacy  of  Colonies,  in  1643,  121. 
I   Plymouth  Company,  63,  04.     Explore  North  Virginia. 
1606,  73.      Employ  Captain  John   Smith,  1614  and 
1615;  new  charter  of  the,  1620;   superseded  by  the 
Council  of  Plymouth,  74.     Consent  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Puritan  Colony  in  North  Virginia,  77. 
Plymouth,  Council  of,  74. 
Plymouth  Rock,  79. 

POCAHONTAS.    The  story  of,  66.     Guardian  angel  of  the 
Virginia  colony,  69.     Captured   by   Captain  Argall : 
baptized;  marries  John  Rolfe,  70.     John  Randolph. 
descended  from,  4(4.     Portrait  of,  66. 
POINSETT,  JOEL  R.     Secretary  of  War,  1836,  470. 
"  Poictiers,"  ship,  415. 
Point  Comfort,  64. 
Point  Isabel,  481. 
Point  Pleasant.    The  Shawnee  Indians  subdued  at.  in 

1774,  19. 

Pokonet  Indians,  22. 

POLK,  JAMES  K.     President  of  the  United  States,  1845. 
478.     Proclaims  Peace  with   Mexico,  497.     Portrait, 
autograph,  and  notice  of,  478,  479. 
POLO,  MARCO,  38. 

Polygamy.     Indian,  15.    Mormon,  504. 
POMEROY,  SF.TII,  General,  198,  238. 
Pompton.     New  Jersey  troops  at,  328,  329. 
PONCE  DE  LEON,  Juan.     Discovers  Floiida  ;  at  the  Tor- 
tugas;  returns  to  Porto  Rico,  42.     Returns  to  the 
West  Indies;  mortally  wounded,  43. 
PONTIAC.     Ottawa  Chief,  IS,  204,  205.     His  grave,  IS. 

205. 

Pope,  The.  His  Apostolic  Vicar  in  the  United  States. 
1786,  353.  Bulls  of,  46.  Sanctions  the  Slave-trade. 
533.  Ji-LirsIIL,  Pope,  75. 

POPHAM,  GEORGE.     Member  of  the  Plymouth  Com- 
pany, 63. 
POPHAM,  SIR  JOHN.    At  Kcnnebec,  in  1607,  73.    Death 

of,  74. 

Popular  Rights  in  Virginia,  112,  113. 
Population.    Of  the  American  colonies,  179.    Increase 
of,  in  the   United  States,  447,  448.     Of  Indian  tribes, 
in  1650;  and  in  1853,31,32. 
"  Porcupine.'"  schooner,  420. 
POREY.     Secretary  of  Virginia,  in  1622,  97. 
PORTER,   DAVID,   Commodore,  430.      His    Expedition 

against  pirates,  453.     Notice  of,  431. 
Porto  Rico.      Exploring  voyages  to,  41.      Ponce  de 

Leon,  Governor  of;  his  return  to,  in  1512,  42. 
Portraits. 

AHERCROMBIE,  General,  191 
ADAMS,  JOHN,  383,  589. 
ADAMS,  JOHN  QUINCY.  455. 
ADAMS.  SAMUEL,  221. 
AMES,  FISHER,  380. 
AMHERST,  Lord,  196. 
ARNOLD,  BENEDICT,  325. 
BAINBRIDGE,  Commodore,  391. 
BALBOA,  42. 
BLACK  HAWK,  18. 
BOONE,  DANIEL,  299. 
BRADDOCK,  General,  186. 
BRANT,  JOSEPH,  273. 
BROWN,  JACOB,  General,  432. 
BUCHANAN,  JAMES,  532. 


664 


INDEX. 


BURGOYNE,  General,  279. 
BURK,  AARON,  397. 
CABOT,  SEBASTIAN,  46. 
CALHOUN,  JOHN  C.,  458. 
CARROLL,  Archbishop,  354. 
CARROLL,  CHARLES,  601. 
CECIL,  Lord  Baltimore,  81. 
CHURCH,  BENJAMIN,  128. 
CLAIBOKNK,  Governor,  443. 
CLARKE,  GEORGE  B.,  General,  300. 
CLAY,  HENRY,  500. 
CLINTON,  GEORGE,  Governor,  350. 
CLINTON,  DE  WITT,  456. 
CLINTON,  General,  287. 
GOLDEN,  CADWALLADER,  216. 
COLUMBUS,  CHRISTOPHER,  36. 
CORNWALLIS,  Lord,  318. 
COXE,  TENCH,  369. 
CROC, HAN,  Major,  420. 
DEANE,  SILAS,  266. 
DEARBORN,  General,  410. 
DECATUR,  Lieutenant,  392. 
DE  KALB,  Baron,  316. 
DE  SOTO,  44. 
DICKINSON,  JOHN,  219. 
ELLSWORTH,  OLIVER,  360. 
ESTAING,  Count  (V,  289. 

FlLLMORE,  MlLLARD,  502. 

FRANKLIN,  BENJAMIN,  267,  589. 
FREMONT,  JOHN  C.,  488. 
FULTON,  ROBERT,  398. 
GATES,  General,  314. 
GRASSE,  Count  de,  340. 
GREENE,  NATHANIEL,  General,  331. 
HAMILTON,  ALEXANDER,  361. 
HANCOCK,  JOHN,  231. 
HARRISON,  WILLIAM  IL,  474. 
HAYNE,  ROBERT  Y.,  463. 
HENRY,  PATRICK,  214. 
HOPKINS,  Admiral,  308. 
HOPKINSON,  FRANCIS,  284. 
HOWE,  Lord,  197. 
HUDSON,  HENRY,  59. 
INGRAHAM,  Captain,  518. 
ISABELLA,  Queen,  88. 
JACKSON,  ANDREW,  460. 
JACKSON,  JAMES,  347. 
JAY,  JOHN,  379. 
JEFFERSON,  THOMAS,  389,  589. 
JOHNSON,  SIR  WILLIAM,  190. 
JONES,  PAUL,  307. 
KANE,  Dr.,  510. 
KING  PHILIP,  124. 
KING,  RUFUS,  395. 
KIRKLAND,  SAMUEL,  Rev.,  25. 
KNOX,  General,  370. 
KOSCIUSZKO,  277. 
LA  FAYETTE,  General,  273. 
LAWRENCE,  Captain,  429. 
LEE,  CHARLES,  General,  248. 
LEE,  HENRY,  Colonel,  333. 
LINCOLN,  General,  294. 
LIVINGSTON,  EDWARD.  452. 
LIVINGSTON,  ROBERT  R.,  366,  589. 
MACDONOUGH,  Commodore,  435. 
MADISON,  JAMES,  405. 
MARION,  FRANCIS,  317. 
MARSHALL,  JOHN,  351. 
MATHER,  COTTON,  133. 
MIFFLIN,  General,  352. 
MONROE,  JAMES,  447. 
MONTGOMERY,  General,  242. 
MORGAN,  General,  331. 
MORRIS,  GOUVERNEUR,  364. 
MORRIS,  ROBERT,  264. 
MORSE,  Professor,  507. 
MOTTE,  REBECCA,  335. 
MOULTRIE,  General,  249. 
NORTH,  Lord,  224. 
OGLETHORPE,  JAMES  EDWARD,  104. 
OSCEOLA,  466. 
OTIS,  JAMES,  207. 
PENN,  WILLIAM,  95. 
PERRY,  Commodore,  423. 
;PICKENS,  General,  336. 
PIERCE,  FRANKLIN,  514. 
PIKE,  General,  425. 

'PlNCKNEY,  C.  C.,  384. 

PINKNEY,  WILLIAM,  400. 
-PITT,  WILLIAM,  217. 


POCAHONTAS,  66. 

POLK,  JAMES  K.,  479. 
PORTER,  Commodore,  431. 
PULASKI,  Count,  305. 
PUTNAM,  General,  253. 
PUTNAM,  RUFUS,  362. 
RALEIGH,  SIR  WALTER,  55. 
RAMSAY,  DAVID,  312. 
RANDOLPH,  JOHN,  403. 
RED  JACKET,  9. 

RlTTENHOUSE,   DAVID,  211. 

ROCHAMBEAU,  Count  de,  339. 

RUSH,  BENJAMIN,  251. 

RUTLEDGE,  Governor,  310. 

ST.  CLAIR,  General,  276. 

SCIIUYLER,  PHILIP,  General,  239. 

SCOTT,  WINFIELD,  General,  485. 

SHELBY,  ISAAC,  417. 

SHERMAN,  ROGER,  589. 

SMITH,  JOHN,  Captain,  61. 

SMITH,  JOSEPH,  504. 

STEUBEN,  Baron,  291. 

STORY,  JOSEPH,  612. 

STUYVESANT,  PETER.  142. 

SULLIVAN,  General,  304. 

SUMTER,  General,  315. 

TARLETON,  Colonel,  316. 

TAYLOR,  ZACHARY,  498. 

THOMPSON,  BENJAMIN,  346. 

THOMSON,  CHARLES,  227. 

TRUMBULL,  JONATHAN,  323. 

TYLER,  JOHN,  476. 

VAN  BUREN,  MARTIN,  470. 

VAN  RENSSELAER,  SOLOMON,  413. 

VERAZZANI,  47. 

VESPUCCI,  AMERIGO,  34. 

WARREN,  JOSEPH,  237. 

WASHINGTON,  GEORGE,  365. 

WASHINGTON,  MARTHA.  387. 

WASHINGTON,  Colonel,  332. 

WAYNE,  General,  298. 

WEBSTER,  DANIEL,  503. 

WEST,  BENJAMIN,  210. 

WHIPPLE,  ABRAHAM,  310. 

WILLIAMS,  ROGER,  90. 

WINTHROP,  JOHN,  117. 

WOLFE,  General,  201. 
Port  Royal,  Nova  Scotia.     Founded,  58.    Seized  by 

Phipps,  131.     Expeditions  against,  135,  136. 
Port  Royal.  South  Carolina.     Oglethorpe  at,  in  1732, 

100.    Lord  Cardon  settles  at;  claimed  by  the  Span- 
iards, 166. 

Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire.    Founded,  80. 
Portugal.     Emulates  the  Italian  cities,  in  trade,  36. 

Claims  of,  against  the  United  States,  468. 
Portuguese.    Settle  in  Newfoundland  and  Nova  Scotia, 

47. 

Post  Office  of  the  United  States,  373,  507. 
Potomac  River,  17. 
POTTER,  Colonel.     Death  of.  269. 
Pottery,  Ancient  glazed.     Found  in  Ohio,  11. 
Pottoicatomie  Indians,  17,   18.    Conspire  against  the 

English,  in  1763,  205. 

POTTS,  ISAAC.    Discovers  General  Washington  in  a  re- 
tired place,  at  prayer,  2S5. 

POUTRINCOURT,  M.     At  Port  Royal,  Nova  Scotia.  58. 
POWHATTAN.    Emperor  of  the  Powhatan  Indians ;  his 

name  and  character,  65.     His  history,  20.     His  eldest 

brother,  66.  .  His  daughter,  Pocahontas,  20,  66.     His 

hostility;  his  friendship,  7o.     Death  of,  106. 
Powhatan  Indians,  17,  20,  107,  108. 
Poichatan  River.    The  name  of  the,  changed  to  James 

River,  64. 
Prayer.    At  the  Continental  Congress,  1774,  228.    At 

the  Convention  on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  1787, 

359.    Macdonough's,  435. 
PREBLE,  JEDEDIAH,  General.  230. 

PREBLE,  Commodore.     In  the  Mediterranean,  1803,  391. 
PRESCOTT,  General  (British).    Captured  ;  exchanged  for 

General  Charles  Lee,  261,  271. 
PRESCOTT,  WILLIAM,  Colonel,  234,  235,  236.    Notice  of, 

234. 
President  of  the  United  States.      His  approval  and 

Veto  powers,  616.    How  elected,  621,  631,  632.    Quali- 
fications, salary,  duties,  etc.,  of  the,  622,  623.   Electors 

of,  621,  622. 
Presidents  of  the  United  States. 

WASHINGTON,  GEORGE,  1789,  364. 

ADAMS,  JOHN,  1797,  383. 

JEFFERSON,  THOMAS,  1801,  388. 


INDEX. 


665 


MADISON,  JAMES,  1809,  404. 
MONROE,  JAMES,  1817,  446. 
ADAMS,  JOHN  QUINCY,  1825,  454. 
JACKSON,  ANDREW,  1S29,  459. 
VAN  BITREN,  MARTIN,  1837,  469. 
HARRISON,  WILLIAM  HENRY,  1S41,  473. 
TYLER,  JOHN,  1841,  475. 
POLK,  JAMES  KNOX,  1S45,  478. 
TAYLOR,  ZACHARY,  1849,  498. 

FlLLMORE,  MlLLARD,  1850,  501. 

PIERCE,  FRANLLIN,  1853,  514. 
BUCHANAN,  JAMES,  1857,  532. 

"President"  frigate,  407,  414,  440. 

Press.    Freedom  of  the.  restrained  by  Andros,  130. 

PRESTON,  Captain,  221,  222. 

PRESTON,  WILLIAM  B.  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  1849, 
499. 

PREVOST,  AUGUSTINE,  General.  In  East  Florida,  in 
1779,  294.  At  Brier  Creek,  295.  Prepares  to  invade 
South  Carolina,  296. 

PREVOST,  SIR  GEORGE,  General.  Succeeds  General 
Brock,  416.  At  Sacketfs  Harbor,  in  1813,  426.  At 
Plattsburg,  in  1814,  434. 

PREVOST,  J.  C.  Commander  of  the  steamship  "  Virago" 
524. 

PRICE,  Governor.  Gives  names  to  the  two  sons  of  Mas- 
sasoit,  124. 

PRICE,  Colonel.     In  New  Mexico,  1847,  4S9. 

PRICE,  Captain.     At  St.  Augustine,  in  1740,  172. 

PRIDEAUX,  General,  199,  200. 

Prince  of  Orange.  The.  Friendly  to  America,  in  1776, 
266.  ' 

Princeton,  New  Jersey.  Captured  by  Cornwallis,  260. 
Battle  of,  269.  Congress  at,  588. 

'•'•Princeton,"  steamer,  475,  512. 

PRING,  MARTIN.     His  Expedition  to  America,  58,  73. 

Printing.  Effect  produced  by  the  art  of.  62.  Forbid- 
den in  New  York,  by  James  II.,  147.  In  the  Amer- 
ican colonies,  prohibited  by  William  III.,  153. 

Printing  Press.  Not  one,  in  Virginia,  in  1677,  112; 
nor  in  1688,  114.  The  first  established  in  Virginia,  in 
1729,  114. 

Prison-Ship.  Jersey,  259. 

Privateering,  149.  *  Account  of,  246.  Privateers  fitted 
out  by  Robert  Morris,  308 ;  and  by  M.  Genet,  377. 

Private  Judgment.     Doctrine  of,  at  Plymouth,  116. 

PKOCTOR,  General,  416.  AtFortMcigs,  418,  419.  Routed, 
in  1813,  424. 

"Prophet,"  The.    Twin  brother  of  Tecumseh,  408. 

Protestant.  Origin  of  the  word,  6?.  Reformation,  62. 
Feeling,  aroused  in  England,  by  the  cruelties  of  Mc- 
lendez,  52.  French  Protestants  in  Carolina,  55.  Prot- 
estantism in  England,  in  1574,  75. 

Providence  Plantation,  91. 

Providence,  lihode  Island.  Founded,  90.  Burned, 
127. 

Prussia.    The  King  of,  enters  Paris,  1814,  431. 

Public  Lands  of  the  United  States,  372. 

Puebla.  The  City  of.  Captured  by  General  Scott,  1847, 
490. 

PULASKI,  Count,  274.    Portrait,  and  notice  of,  305. 

PuncaJi  Indians,  32. 

Puritans.  Condition  of  the  New  England  Indians,  on 
the  arrival  of  the,  in  America,  in  1620,  22.  Character 
of  the  English.  75,  76:  their  principles,  76.  Picture 
of  one  of  the,  75.  Friendly  intercourse  of  the,  with 
the  Dutch,  85.  Of  Massachusetts  colony,  118.  Settle 
in  New  Netherland,  143. 

PUTNAM,  ISRAEL,  General,  194,  234,  235,  238.  In  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  198.  Enters  Boston.  1776, 
247.  On  Long  Island,  253,  At  the  house  of  Roger 
Morris,  259.  His  exploit  at  Greenwich,  297.  Portrait 
and  notice  of,  253. 

PUTNAM,  RUFUS,  General.  Portrait,  autograph,  and 
notice  of,  363. 

PYLE,  Colonel.  Defeated  by  Colonel  Henry  Lee,  1781, 
333. 

Quaboag.    Englishmen  slain  at,  126. 

Quadrant,  The.    Invented  by  Godfrey,  209. 

Quakers.  Origin  of  the  name,  94.  their  tenets,  123. 
In  Pennsylvania,  94.  In  Massachusetts  Bay,  122.  In 
North  Carolina,  168, 231.  In  New  Jersey,  160.  Com- 
pelled to  pay  fines,  110.  Persecuted,  94,  122,  123. 

Quaker  mil.    Battle  of,  290. 

Quebec.    Algonquins  at,  17.    Founders  of,  74.    Military 

aierations  at,  in  1759,  201.    Surrender  of,  to  General 
urray,  203.     Map  of,  242. 
"  Quebec  Act,"  The,  225. 
QUEEN  ANNE,  of  England,  134.    Queen  Anne's  War,  135. 


Queen's  College,  178. 

Queen's  Creek,  66. 

Queenstown.    Battle  of.  413,  414. 

QUINCY,  JOSIAII.    Defeats  Captain  Preston,  222. 

Quinipiac  Creek,  88. 

QUITMAN,  General,  4*3,  494.    Notice  of,  494. 

Quon-eh-ta-cut,  or  Connecticut,  85. 

Rabida.    The  Monastery  of,  38. 

Railway.    To  the  Pacific,  516,  518,  520,  524. 

Raisin  River,  417. 

RALEIGH,  SIR  WALTER.  Studies  the  art  of  war,  under 
Coligny,  52.  Introduces  tobacco  into  England,  70. 
Historical  error  respecting,  IOC.  Picture  of  his  ships ; 
portrait  and  notice  of,  55,  56. 

Raleigh  Tavern,  The,  226. 

RALL,  Colonel.     With  his  Hessians  at  Trenton,  262. 

RAMSAY,  DAVID.  Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of, 
312,  617. 

RANDOLPH,  EDWARD.     Custom-house  officer,  1679,  129. 

RANDOLPH,  EDMUND,  356,  359.  Attorney-General  of 
the  United  St-ites,  369. 

RANDOLPH,  JOHN.  Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of. 
403,  404. 

RANDOLPH,  PEYTON,  228,  588. 

Rank.  Of  American  Naval  and  Military  commanders, 
308. 

RAPEL.JE,  SARAH.  The  first  white  child  born  in  New 
Netherland  ;  her  descendants,  73. 

Rappahannock  River.  Explored  by  Captain  John 
Smith,  67. 

Raritan  Indians,  140. 

RATCLIFFE.     President  of  the  Plymouth  Colony,  65. 

RAWDON,  Lord.  On  the  Santee  River.  1780;  at  San- 
ders's  Creek,  315.  At  Hobkirk's  Hill,  1781,  334.  Em- 
barks for  England,  337. 

RED  JACKET,  Seneca  Chief.  1426.     His  eloquent  remark 

respecting  his  children,  26.     Portrait  of,  9. 
1  Red  Cross  of  St.  George,  141. 

|  Red  River.    De  Soto's  followers  wander  among  tribu- 
tary streams  of  the,  45. 

REED,  GEORGE,  356,  588,  602,  629. 

REED,  JOSEPH,  General,  611.     Attempt  to  bribe,  286. 

REEDER,  ANDREW  II.  Governor  of  Kansas;  delegate 
in  Congress,  1855,  529. 

Reformation.  The  Protestant,  62.  Effects  of,  in  France, 
49. 

" Regulators"  The,  223. 

Rehoboth,  Rhode  Island.    Founded,  89. 

Republican  Government.  Guarantied  by  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  629. 

Republican  Part//,  The.  377.  531. 
I  Republicanism  in  Maryland,  152. 
I  Representatives  in  Cong,  ess,  366. 

Resaca  de  la  Palma.    Battle  of.  482. 

^Retaliation,"  schooner.     Captured,  385. 

Revenue  of  the  United  States,  388. 

REVERE,  PAUL,  232. 

Revolution,  American.     History  of  the,  207  ss.    The 
Shawnees  aid  the  British,  in"  the,  19.      The  Lenni- 
Lenapes  join  the  British,  21.    Officers  and  soldiers  of 
the,  provided  for,  453. 
i  Revolution,  English,  of  1688,  162. 

!  REYNAL,  Abbe.    His  remarks  on  the  Signers  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  6.18. 

RHETT,  Colonel,  169. 

Rhode  Ixland.  Explored  by  Scandinavians,  85.  Origin 
of,  89,  91.  Founded,  62,  119.  Origin  of  the  name,  91. 
Seal  of.  91  ;  Colony  of,  proposes  to  ioin  the  Confeder- 
acy of  Colonies,  in  1643,  121.  History  of,  157.  Char- 
ter of,  1663. 158.  Refuses  to  be  included  in  Connecticut 
Colon v,  155.  Religious  toleration  in,  151.  Persecu- 
tion of  Roman  Catholics  and  Quakers  in,  158,  Sir 
Peter  Parker  at,  261.  Evacuated  by  the  British,  in 
1779,  306.  Joins  the  Union,  1790.  371.  State  Consti- 
tution of,  157,  447. 

Rhode  Island  College,  178. 

RHODES,  SAMUEL.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  1774,  588. 

RIALL,  General.     At  Chippcwa,  1814,  433. 

RIBAULT,  JOHN.  Sails  with  Huguenots  for  America,  in 
1562,  50.  Fate  of  him  and  his  party,  50,  51. 

Rice.    Origin  of  the  culture  of,  in  South  Carolina,  167. 

Richelieu  River,  59. 

RIEDESF.L,  Baron.     With  Burgoyne,  281. 

RILEY,  General.     Governor  of  California,  499. 
!  Ring.     Presented,  by  Winthrop,  to  Charles  II.,  155. 

RINGGOLD,  THOMAS.    Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress, 556. 
i  RINGGOLD,  Major,  482. 


666 


INDEX. 


RINGGOLB.  Captain.     His  Expedition,  1858,  415. 

Rio  de  la  Plata.    Discovered  by  Cabot,  47. 

liio  del  Norte.  Coronada's  Expedition  to  the  head 
waters  of  the,  45. 

Rio  Grande,  480,  481.  Boundary  of  the  Aztec  Empire, 
10. 

RIPLEY,  General.     At  Fort  Erie,  in  1S14,  43:3. 

RISINGH,  Governor,  143. 

RITTENHOUSE,  DAVID,  210.  Portrait  and  autograph  of, 
211. 

RIVAS,  General,  525,  52G. 

Hirer  Indians,  140.  141. 

ROANOKE,  Lord  of,  56. 

lioanoke  Inland,  55,  64. 

ROBB,  WILLIAM.    At  the  battle  of  Kind's  Mountain,  319. 

ROBERDEAU,  DANIEL.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, 611. 

ROBERTVAL,  Lord.  His  Expedition  to  New  France; 
arrives  at  Newfoundland  ;  his  second  Expedition. 
1549,  49. 

ROBINSON',  JOHN,  Rev.  At  Leyden,  11.  His  remark 
respecting  Standish's  slaughter  of  Indians,  115,  116. 
His  family  join  the  Plymouth  colonists,  116. 

ROCHAMBEAU,  Count  de.  Arrives  at  Newport,  1780,321. 
His  first  interview  with  Washington,  323.  At  Dobbs's 
Ferry,  339.  At  Yorktown,  in  1781,  341.  Portrait  and 
notice  of,  8'39. 

ROCHE,  Marquis  de  la,  57. 

ROCHESTER,  WILLIAM  B.     At  Panama,  1S2G,  457. 

Rockets.     Used  in  war,  described,  437. 

ROCKINGHAM,  Marquis  of,  217. 

RODNEY,  C.ESAU.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress, 
556;  and  of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  538.  His 
notes  respecting  the  authors  of  the  State  Papers,  in 
1774,  572.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
602.  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  4!;G. 

ROLFE,  JOHN.    Marries  Pocahontas,  70. 

ROGEKS,  JOHN-,  the  Martyr,  76. 

ROGERS,  Commodore,  407. 

ROGERS,  Major,  194.  His  expedition  against  the  St. 
Francis  Indians,  200. 

Roman  Catkolics.  Auricular  confession  of,  38.  Punish 
witchcraft.  132.  In  England,  in  the  time  of  Henry 
VIII. ,  75  ;  and  of  Mary,  76.  Found  a  colony  in  Mary- 
land, 62,  81,  151,  152.  Persecuted  by  Puritans,  119; 
and  in  Maryland,  New  York,  and  New  England,  131, 
132,  154.  Provincial  offices  in  New  York  filled  by, 
147.  The  prevalence  of  their  faith  in  Lower  Canada, 
2  )3.  Parliamentary  concessions  to,  225. 

ROQUE.  FRANCIS  DE  LA:  see  ROBERTVAL. 

ROSE,  Mr.  British  Envoy  to  the  United  States,  1807, 
402. 

Ross,  GEORGE.  Member  of  the  first  Continental  Con- 
gress, 1774.  588.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, 602. 

Ross,  General.  At  Benedict.  Washington  city,  and 
Baltimore,  436.  Death  of,  437. 

ROSWELL,  Sin  HENRY,  117. 

ROUVILLE,  Major,  135. 

ROWLAND,  DAVID.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress, 556. 

Roxbury,  Massachusetts.    Founded,  113. 

Royal  Standard  of  England,  144. 

RUGGLES,  TIMOTHY,  19;),  215.  President  of  the  Stamp 
Act  Congress,  556. 

Rum.     Indians  supplied  with,  by  the  Dutch,  140. 

RUSH,  BENJAMIN,  Dr.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, 602.  His  letter  to  General  Wayne,  29S. 
Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of.  250,  251. 

RUSH,  RICHARD.'    Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1825,454. 

RUSSEL,  JOHN.  United  States  Commissioner  at  Ghent, 
1814,  443. 

RUSSELL,  JOHN,  Lord.  His  answer  to  Mr.  Everett's  let- 
ter respecting  Cuba,  513. 

Russia.  England's  first  maritime  connection  with,  47. 
Vassalage  in,  63.  The  Emperor  of,  enters  Paris,  1814, 
431.  Treaty  of  the  United  States  with,  469.  Aids 
Austria  against  Hungary,  1848,  518. 

Russian  Trading  Company,  47. 

RUTHERFORD,  General,  295. 

RUTLEDGE,  EDWARD.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  1774,  588.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, 602.  Member  of  the  Convention  on  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  604.  On  the  Committee  to 
confer  with  Lord  Howe,  257 

RUTLEDGE,  JOHN.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress, 
556  ;  and  of  the  Convention  on  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, 356,  359.  Signer  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  629.  ~  Defends  Charleston,  310.  His 
proceedings  after  the  capture  of  Lord  Cornwallis, 


1781,  345.    Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  369.     Portrait  and  notice  of,  310. 
Rysicick.    The  treaty  at,  134. 

Sable  Island,  57. 

Sachems,  Indian.     Civil  heads  of  tribes,  14,  16. 

Sackett's  Harbor.     Commodore  Chauncey  at,  1813,  425. 

Sacrifices,  Indian,  16. 

Sacs  and-  foxes.  Indians,  17.  Discovery  of  the;  at- 
tack the  French  at  Detroit;  sell  their  lands  to  the 
United  States,  18. 

Sttgadahock  River,  58,  73. 

SAGOYEWATHA:  see  RED  JACKET. 

Siiguenay  River,  58. 

St.  Augustine,  Florida.  Ponce  de  Leon  lands  near,  42. 
Ribault's  Expedition  arrives  at,  1562,  50.  Founded, 
51.  Spanish  military  post  at,  61. 

St.  Augustine,  Mexico.     General  Twiges  at,  493. 

St  Clair,  General,  275.  His  Expedition  against  the  In- 
dians, 1791,  374.  Portrait  of,  276. 

St.  Croix  River.    De  Monts  at  the,  58. 

St.  Domingo.  Discovery  of.  by  Columbus,  40.  Explor- 
ing voyages  to,  41.  D1  Ay  lion  dies  at,  43.  The  body 
of  "Columbus  removed  to,  41. 

St.  Francis  Indians.  Major  Rogers's  Expedition  against 
the,  200. 

St.  George  Settlement,  73. 

St.  Helen's  Sound.     D'Ayllon  at.  42. 

St.  John's,  Newfoundland.    Gilbert  at,  in  1583,  52. 

St.  John's  Rive.'.  Named  by  Ribault,  ki  River  of  May." 
50. 

St.  Joseph's  Mand,  480. 

St.  Juan  d'  Clloa.     Cortez  lands  at,  43. 

St.  Lawrence  River.  Origin  of  the  name,  48.  Indian  - 
on  the,  32. 

ST.  LEGER,  Colonel.  In  the  Mohawk  Valley,  278.  In- 
vests Fort  Stanwix,  278. 

"St.  Louis'"  sloop-of-war,  518. 

St.  Mary's,  Florida.     Pirates  and  slave-dealers  at,  448. 

St.  Jfary's,  Maryland,  151.  Founded  ;  legislative  As- 
sembly convened  at,  82. 

St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  503,  516. 

ST.  PIERRE,  M.  DE.  Governor  Dinwiddie's  letter  to, 
181,  182. 

St.  Regis.     General  Wilkinson  at,  in  1S13,  427. 

Salamanca.     Council  at,  34,  3S. 

Salem,  Massachusetts.  Colony,  117.  The  Genera.  As- 
sembly of  Massachusetts  meets  at,  226,  227.  Witch- 
craft at,  132,  133. 

Salem,  New  Jersey.     Origin  of  the  name,  95. 

Salmon  Falls  village.  Attacked  by  the  French  and 
Indians,  131. 

Sitltillo.  General  Wool  and  Colonel  Doniphan  at,  484. 
488. 

SALTONSTALL,  SIR  RICHARD,  117,  118. 

SAMOSET.  Salutes  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  114.  Teaches 
Standish  how  to  cultivate  Indian  corn,  115. 

San  Antonio,  483,  493. 

Sand  era's  Creek.    Battle  at,  1780,  315. 

Sandusky  River.    The  Attiouandirons  flee  to  the,  23. 

Sandwich  Islands.  Proposed  annexation  of  the,  to  the 
United  States.  1853,  519. 

Sandy  Hook,  New  Jersey,  252. 

SANDYS,  SIR  EDWARD,  77,  105. 

Sun  Gabriel.     Battle  at,  1847,  487. 

San  Juan  d'Ulloa.  Castle  of,  489. 

San  Luis  Potosi,  485. 

San  Salvador:  see  GuanaJutma. 

SANTA  ANNA,  ANTONIO  LOPEZ  DE,  477.  Anecdote  of 
him  and  General  Taylor.  485,  486.  At  Cerro  Gordo. 
1847,  489.  His  escape,  490.  Flees  from  Cherubusco. 
493.  President,  1854,  515.  Portrait  and  notice  of,  515. . 

Santa  Fe.     Road  to,  20.     General  Kearney  at,  486. 

SANTAREM,  Viscount,  60. 

'"Saratoga"  ship,  435. 

SARGEANT,  JOHN.    Commissioner  at  Panama,  1826,  457. 

SARGENT,  WINTHROP,  363. 

Sttsco  Swamp,  88. 

Saskatehawan  Rirer,  516. 

SASSACUS.     Pequod  Sachem,  21,  87,  88. 

Sassafras  roots,  58. 

SASSAMON,  JOHN,  124. 

SAUNDERS,  Admiral,  201. 

Savannah  Indians,  30. 

Savannah,  Georgia,  Founded,  62,  101,  103.  Siege  of, 
1779,  305.  Evacuated  by  the  British,  1782,  343. 

Savannah  River,  28. 

SAY-AND-SEAL.  Lord,  85. 

Saybrook,  Connecticut.  Settlement  at.  86.  Andres's 
Expedition  to,  1676, 147.  Colony  at,  154. 


INDEX. 


G67 


SAILE,  WILLIAM.    His  colony;  death  of,  98. 

SAYRK,   STEPHEN.     The  Earl  of  Chatham's  letter  to, 

228. 

Scalps.    Indians  trophies;  scalping-knivcs,  14. 
Scandinavian.    Voyages,  34.     Child,  born  at  Rhode 

Island,  35. 
Schenectada,  New  York.    Burned  and  desolated,  131, 

148. 

SCHAFFER,  PETER.     Casts  the  first  metal  types,  62. 
Schoharie  Valley.    Devastation  of,  in  1778,  290. 

SOHOOLCRAFT,  HENRY  R.,  33. 

Schools.     Established  in  Massachusetts,  in  1647,  121. 

SCHUYLER,  PETER,  Mayor  of  Albany,  149. 

SCHUYLER.  PHILIP,  General.  Conveys  to  Albany  the 
remains  of  young  Lord  Howe,  197.  At  He  aux  Noix, 
240.  At  Fort  Edward,  276.  Superseded  by  Gates, 
277.  Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of,  239,  240. 

'•Scorpion,''1  The.  One  of  Commodore  Perry's  vessels, 
420. 

SCOTT,  WINFIELD,  General.  Against  the  Indians  on 
the  Wabash,  374.  At  Fort  George,  1813,  426.  Cap- 
tures Fort  Erhx,  1814,  433.  His  mission  to  remove 
the  Cherokecs.  1838,  462.  His  Expedition  against  the 
Seminoles,  467.  On  the  Canada  frontier,  1838;  in 
Maine,  1839,  47  i.  Plan  of  his  Mexican  campaign,  483. 
At  Vera  Cm,  485,  489.  At  Cerro  Gordo,  489,  490. 
At  Cherubusco,  1847,  493.  At  Chepultcpec,  494.  At 
Mexico,  494,  495.  Nominated  President  of  the  United 
States,  1S52,  513.  Portrait  and  notice  of,  485. 

SCUDDER,  NATHANIEL.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, 611. 

SEAISURY,  SAMUEL.     Bishop  of  Connecticut,  354. 

Sea  Kings  of  the  North,  35,  36. 

Seal.  Of  New  Netherland,  73.  Of  Plymouth  Colony, 
1 17.  Of  Rhode  Island,  91,  158. 

SEARS,  ISAAC,  232. 

SEAVER,  EBENEZER,  of  Massachusetts,  409. 

SEDGWICK,  THEODORE.  His  address  at  the  opening  of 
the  World's  Fair,  1853,  517. 

Sedition  Law  of  the  United  States,  386. 

Seekonk  River,  89,  90. 

Seminole  Indians.  Inveterate  enemies  of  white  men; 
subdued  by  General  Jackson.  3  ).  Deputations  by,  in 
1817,  448  ;  'and  in  1835,  466.  Treaties  of  the,  with  the 
United  States,  1837  and  1839,  468. 

Senators  of  the  United  States.  614,  615.  Their  num- 
ber, classification,  qualifications,  presiding  officer,  etc, 

Seneca  Indians,  23, 110.  Red  Jacket,  Chief  of  the.  14. 
At  Genesee  Flats,  304.  Conspire  against  the  English, 
205.  Ili-a-wat-ha's  address  to  the,  24. 

"  Sera-pis,"  ship.     Captured  by  Paul  Jones,  1779,  307. 

Settlement.  The  farming  of  a,  described;  era  of  settle- 
ments in  North  America,  61.  , 

Seven  Years'1  War  in  America,  179.  Cost  of  the,  204, 
206. 

SEVIER,  JOHN.    At  King's  Mountain,  319. 

Shackamaxin,  Pennsylvania,  96. 

"Shades  of  Death,"  The,  291. 

SIIAFTESBURY,  Earl  of,  98,  99.  His  "  Fundamental  Con- 
stitution," 164. 

^Shannon"  frigate,  429. 

SIIARPE,  Governor,  184, 185.  His  expectation,  1754,  of  ! 
a  Stamp  Act,  541. 

Shawm-ut,  Massachusetts,  89,  118.  The  site  of  Boston, 
visited  by  Standish,  115. 

Shawnee  Indians,  17.  Their  territory;  history  of  the, 
19.  Join  the  French,  in  the  French  and  Indian  War ; 
subdued  by  Bouquet,  1763, 19.  Aid  the  British,  during 
the  Revolution;  and  during  the  second  war  of  the 
United  States,  with  Great  Britain,  19.  Conspire 
against  the  English,  in  1763,  205.  Treaty  with  the, 
363. 

SHAYS,  DANIEL,  353. 

SHEAFFE.  General,  416.     At  York,  Canada,  425. 

Sheep.  The  first,  that  were  taken  to  Virginia,  1609.  68. 
Use  of  the  flesh  of,  why  discouraged  in  America,  216. 

SHELBY,  ISAAC,  Governor.  At  King's  Mountain,  319. 
Sanctions  Hopkins's  Expedition  against  the  Indians, 
1416.  Declines  the  appointment  of  Secretary  of  War, 
1817,  447.  Portrait  and  autograph  of,  417.  Notices 
of,  417,  423. 

Shelby,  Gloucester  County,  Virginia,  66. 

SHERMAN,  ROGER.  On  the  Committee  to  draft  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  251.  Member  of  the  Con- 
vention on  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  1787,  356. 
Member  of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  588.  Signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  602  ;  of  the  Arti- 
cles of  Confederation,  604.  611 ;  and  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, 629.  Portrait  of,  589. 


SHIELDS,  General.  In  Mexico,  1847,  493.  Notice  of, 
493. 

Sfiields.  Indian,  14.  An  ancient  shield,  found  at  Monte- 
video, 11. 

Ships.  Raleigh's,  55.  The  class  of,  used  by  the  early 
explorers  of  America ;  the  ships  of  Frobisher,  G'J. 
Picture  of  a  Norman  ship,  35. 

Ship-canal.     Across  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  524. 

SIIIPPEN,  EDWARD.  General  Arnold  marries  the 
daughter  of,  324. 

SHIPPEN,  Captain.     Death  of,  269. 

SHIRLEY,  WILLIAM,  Governor,  137,  184,  185.  His  Ex- 
pedition against  Niagara,  185, 189  ;  and  against  Acadie, 
185.  Succeeds  Braddock  ;  Governor  of  the  Bahamas,. 
191.  Urges  Parliament  to  establish  a  Stamp  Tax, 
541.  , 

SIIUBRICK,  Commodore.  With  Colonel  Kearney,  at 
Monterey,  487. 

SHUTE,  Governor,  136. 

Siberia,  Eastern.  Ledyard's  observation  respecting 
the  inhabitants  of.  11. 

SIEVES,  The  Abbe,  386. 

Signers.  Of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  602. 
Of  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  611.  Of  the  Con- 
stitution, 629. 

Silk.    Culture  of,  in  Georgia,  100. 

SILLIMAN,  General.     At  Ridgefield,  270. 

Silver.  Bullet,  containing  Clinton's  dispatch  to  Bur- 
goyne,  283.  Coins,  the"  first,  in  the  United  States, 
122.  Cup,  ancient,  found  at  Marietta.  Ohio,  11.  Orn- 
aments, ancient,  found  in  America,  11.  Ancient  bit 
of,  found  in  Genesee  county,  New  York,  11. 

SIMCOE,  Colonel,  339. 

Sioux  Indians,  31,  32.  Character  of  the;  first  visited 
by  the  French,  1660,  32.  Deadly  enemies  of  the  Pot- 
tawatomies,  18.  Language  of  the,  12.  Picture  of,  9. 
See  Eastern  Sioux;  and  Southern  Sioux. 

Six  Nations.  Origin  of  the  ;  sure  friends  of  the  En- 
glish, 25.  History  of  the,  26.  The  British  Govern- 
ment advises  the  colonies  to  secure  tlie  friendship  of 
the,  183  Neutrality  of  the,  192,  193.  Their  treaties 
of  friendship,  199,  363.  Join  Amherst,  in  1760,  203. 
Sullivan's  Expedition  against  the,  303, 30'4.  Measures 
to  conciliate  the,  1764,  596. 

SKELTON,  Rev.  Mr.,  117. 

SKENE.  PHILIP,  275. 

Skenesborough,  or  Whitehall,  276. 

Skin  dresses,  Indian,  14. 

Slaves.  The  natives  of  America  used  as.  by  Columbus, 
41.  Indians  sold  as,  74.  Sold  to  the  Virginia  plant- 
ers, by  the  Dutch,  in  1620,  K'5.  Commencement  of 
negro  slavery  in  South  Carolina.  1071,  98.  Labor  by, 
general  in  Georgia,  in  1750,  174.  In  New  England, 
and  other  colonies,  177.  George  III.'s  relation  to  the 
trade  in,  593 ;  denounced  bv  Jefferson,  as  piratical, 
593.  Slave-ships  from  Africa  to  Savannah,  174.  In 
the  United  States,  1791,  371.  Debates  on  slavery,  in 
Congress,  1818  and  1819,  452.  Charles  Fenton  Mer- 
cer's Resolution,  declaring  the  slave-trade  to  be  pira- 
cy, 1817,  593.  The  Ashburton  treaty,  respecting  the 
slave-trade,  1S42,  472.  Excluded  from  California, 
1849,  499,  500.  Discussion  of  slavery,  in  Congress, 
499,  529,  531.  The  slave-trade  in  tho'DLstrict  of  Co- 
lumbia, abolished,  501.  Oricin  and  history  of  slavery, 
in  the  United  States.  533,534.  Slave  population  of 
the  United  States.  1850,  105.  Every  five,  accounted 
three  persons,  613.  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  507.  In 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  520.  521.  The  cnse  of  the  two 
slaves  of  Colonel  Wheeler,  526.  The  provision,  in  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  for  the  gradual  ex- 
tinction of  slavery,  629. 
Slave  Lake,  33. 

SLOAT,  Commodore.     Captures  Monterey,  1846,  487. 
SLOITGHTER,  HENRY,  Governor,  148. 
SMIHERT,  JOHN,  Artist.     Introduces  portrait-painting 

into  America,  158. 
SMILIE,  JOHN.    Member  of  the  Committee  of  Congress, 

on  the  War  of  1812,  409. 

SMITH,  JAMES,  of  Pennsylvania.  Signer  of  the  Declar- 
ation of  Independence,  602. 

SMITH,  JOHN,  Captain.  63.  His  voyage  to  America, 
1607;  ascends  the  James  River;  President,  of  the 
Jamestown  colony,  65.  Ascends  the  Chickahom- 
iny  :  captured  by  Indians;  saved  by  Pocahontas, 
66.  Remonstrates' against  cold-digging;  leaves  James- 
town, in  disgust;  explores  the  Chesapeake;  sails  vp 
the  Potomac;  explores  the  Rappahannock,  and  the 
Susquehanna,  67.  His  travels;  returns  to  James- 
town, in  1608,  67.  Encourages  agriculture,  67,  68. 
Plots  against  him,  67.  Injured  by" the  explosion  of 


668 


INDEX. 


a  bag  of  gunpowder ;  goes  to  England,  for  surgical 
aid,  OS.  His  popularity  with  the  Indians,  69.  Kin- 
ployed  by  the  Plymouth  Company,  in  1014  and  1015; 
captured  by  a  French  pirate;  his  escape;  Admiral, 
74.  Offers  "his  services  to  the  Puritans,  11.  The  In- 
dian capturer  of,  106.  His  History  of  Virginia,  05. 
Portrait  of,  61.  Notice  of,  65. 

SMITH,  JONATHAN  BAYARD.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of 
Confederation,  611. 

SMITH,  JOSEPH.     Founder  of  Mormonism ;  portrait  of, 

SMITH,  PERSIFER  F.,  General.     At  Contreras,  1847,  493. 

SMITH,  RICH  AUD.     Member  of  the  first  Continental  Con- 

,    gress,  1774,  588. 

SMITH,  ROBERT.  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  390.  Secre- 
tary of  State,  406. 

SMITH,  SAMUEL,  General.  At  Fort  Mifflin,  1777,  275. 
At  Baltimore,  1314;  notice  of,  436. 

SMITH.  Lieutenant-Colonel  (British),  232. 

Smoking  Tobacco.  Its  general  use  among  the  Aborigi- 
nals of  North  America,  14. 

Smyrna.    The  affair  of  Koszta  at,  in  1853,  518. 

SMYTH,  ALEXANDER,  General,  414. 

Snake  In' I  inns.  33. 

Snake  Device,  The.     Picture  of,  226. 

SNORRE.    The  child  of  Gudrida,  35. 

SN-YDER.     A  hoy,  killed  at  Boston,  in  1770,  222. 

SOMERS,  Snt  GEORGE,  68. 

"Somers"  The.  One  of  Commodore  Perry's  vessels, 
420. 

SOMERSET,  JAMES.     The  case  of,  533. 

Sonora.     Colonel  Fremont  at,  in  1846,  487. 

Sons  of  Liberty.  Political  associations,  215.  Of  Massa- 
chusetts, 233.  Of  New  York,  248. 

Sorel  River,  59. 

SOTHEL,  SETH,  Governor,  165,  167. 

SOTO,  FERDINAND  DE:  see  DE  SOTO. 

Soul.    Immortality  of  the,  taught  by  Indians,  15. 

SOULE,  Mr.     At  the  Ostend  Conference,  in  1854,  522. 

Southampton,  England.     Puritans  sail  from,  in  102;),  77. 

SOUTHARD,  SAMUEL  L.     Secretary  of  the  Navy,  454. 

South  Carolina.  Catawbas  in,  27.  Colony,  168.  Oc- 
cupied by  the  British,  in  1780,  313. 

SOUTHCOTE,  THOMAS,  117. 

Southern  Indium.     Picture  of,  30. 

Southern  Sioux  Indians.  Their  country,  and  their 
hunting-grounds,  31. 

South  River,  or  Delaware  River,  94. 

South  Sea.    Origin  of  the  name,  42. 

South  Virginia,  63,  63. 

Spain.  Cedes  the  Floridas  to  England,  204.  At  war 
with  England,  in  1779;  secret  treaty  of,  with  France, 
in  1779,  306.  Treaty  of,  with  the  United  States,  1795, 
381  ;  and  1819,  451. 

Spaniards.  Claim  Port  Royal,  166.  Menace  South  Car- 
olina settlements,  167.  Moore's  Expedition  against, 
169.  Contests  of,  with  Oglethorpe,  172. 

SpanisJi.  Voyages  and  discoveries,  36-45.  Armada: 
see  Armada. 

Specie  Payments.    Suspended,  in  1837,  471. 

"  Speedwell,"  Puritan  ship,  77,  115. 

SPENCEK,  JOHN  C.     Secretary  of  War.  475. 

SPENCER,  JOSEPH,  General,  23S,  2S9. 

Spirit-land.     Indian,  15. 

Spirits,  Two  Great.     Indian  doctrine  of,  15. 

SPRAIGUT,  RICHARD  DOBBS,  356,  534,  629. 

Spring.  At  Shawmut,  118.  Williams's,  at  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  90. 

Springfield  Indians,  127. 

Springfield,  Connecticut,  86,  127. 

Springfield,  New  Jersey.  Skirmish  at,  in  1780,  320, 
321. 

Spruce-street,  Philadelphia.     Origin  of  the  name,  162. 

SQUANTO.  Indian  Chief,  74,  114.  Kidnapped  by  Cap- 
tain Hunt,  74. 

Stamp  Act,  The.  Becomes  a  law,  1765,  213.  Fate  of, 
in  America,  215.  Repealed,  217.  History  of,  541. 
Copy  of,  541-548.  Stamp  distributors,  598. 

Stamp  Act  Congress,  The.  State  Papers  put  forth  by, 
in  1765,  549  ;  Declaration  of  Rights,  549  ;  Petition  to 
the  Kins,  55J ;  Memorial  to  Parliament,  552.  Mem- 
bers of,  556. 

STANDISH,  MILES,  Captain,  78, 115. 

STARK,  JOHN,  General,  193,  234,  277. 

Star-Spangled  Banner.  The  National  Song,  origin  of 
the,  437. 

State  Governments.    Powers  of,  620,  621. 

States.  Of  the  United  States,  rights  of,  denned,  627. 
New,  how  formed,  627.  State  Rights  Doctrine,  403, 
464. 


State  Banks.  The  public  funds  distributed  among  the, 
in  1S36,  470. 

State  House  at  Philadelphia.    Picture  of  the,  250. 

Statuary.     Colossal,  of  the  Aztecs,  10. 

Statue.     Of  Alexander  the  Great,  60. 

Steamboat  Navigation,  in  the  United  States,  399. 

Steamship.     Picture  of  a,  516. 

STED.MAN.  His  remark  on  Tarleton's  want  of  humani- 
ty, 313. 

STEPHENS,  SAMUEL,  Governor,  93. 

STEPHENS.  Major.  His  Expedition  to  explore  a  route 
for  a  Pacific  Railroad,  516. 

STEUBEN,  Baron.  In  Virginia,  in  1781.  333.  Pursues 
Cornwallis,  1781,  339.  Portrait  and  notice  of,  291. 

STEWART,  Commodore,  440. 

STEWART,  Colonel.  At  Orangeburg,  in  1731,  337.  Pur- 
sued by  Greene,  337,  333. 

STIRLING,  Lord,  General,  144.  248,  254.  261.  His  skir- 
mish with  a  corps  under  Cornwallis,  272.  Notice  of, 
254. 

STIRLING,  Colonel  (British),  259. 

Stockade.     Described,  183. 

Stockbridge,  Indians,  189. 

STOCKTON,  RICHARD.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, 602. 

STOCKTON,  ROBERT  F.,  Commodore.  Takes  possession 
of  Los  Angelos;  at  San  Gabriel,  487.  Notice  of,  437. 

STODDART,  BENJAMIN.  First  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
332,  339. 

STONE,  THOMAS.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, 6:2;  and  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation. 

STONE,  WILLIAM.  Governor,  152. 

Stonington.     Commodore  Hardy  at,  in  1814,  437. 

Stono  Indiana.  Depredations  by  the,  in  the  Carolinas, 
165. 

Stono  Ferry,  296. 

Stony  Creek.    Skirmish  at,  in  1313,  426. 

Stony  Point.     Capture  of.  297,  298. 

STORY,  JOSEPH,  Judge.  Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice 
of,  612,  613. 

STOUGHTON,  Captain,  88. 

STRAIN,  Lieutenant.     Of  the  United  States  Navy,  524. 

Straits  of  Belle  isle,  48. 

Streets  of  Philadelphia.    Origin  of  the  names  of,  162. 

STRICKER,  General.     At  Baltimore,  in  1S14,  437. 

String,  Wampum,  13. 

STRONG,  CALEB,  356. 

STUART.  ALEXANDER  II.  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  in 
1850,  502. 

STU  YVES  ANT,  PETER,  Governor,  93,  141,  142.  Captures 
Swedish  forts ;  chastises  the  Esopus  Indians,  143. 
Portrait  and  autograph  of,  142. 

Sub-Treasury  Sclieme,  471,  475. 

Sugar  Bill,  The,  "2 13. 

Suits  at  Common  Law,  in  the  United  States,  630. 

SULLIVAN,  JOHN,  General,  238.  At  Brooklyn,  253. 
Paroled,  257.  Succeeds  General  Charles  Lee ;  joins 
Washington,  261.  At  Trenton,  262.  At  Brandywine, 
273.  Supersedes  General  Spencer,  289.  At  the  bat- 
tle of  Quaker  Hill,  290.  His  Expedition  against  the 
Six  Nations,  303,  304.  At  Tioga  Point ;  at  Chemung, 
304.  One  of  the  members  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  583.  Portrait  of,  304.  Notice  of,  303. 

Sultan,  The.     Mary  Fisher's  mission  to,  123. 

SUMNER,  JETHRO,  General,  337. 

SUMTER,  THOMAS,  General.  In  South  Carolina,  1780, 
314.  On  the  Catawba;  at  Hanging  Rock.  315.  At 
Fishing  Creek,  316.  Returns  to  South  Carolina.  1780, 
319.  Cornwallis  calls  him,  The  South  Carolina  Game- 
cock, 319.  Portrait  of.  315. 

Sun.  Worship  of  the,  29,  40.  Temples  of  the,  in  Mex- 
ico and  Peru,  40. 

Superior,  Lake:  see  Lake  Superior. 

Supremacy,  Act  ot,  in  1534,  75. 

Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  Jurisdiction  of 
the,  624. 

Supreme  Law  of  the  United  States,  defined,  628. 

Susquelianna  Indians,  17,  110. 

SUTTER,  Captain.  Of  California,  gold  discovered  near 
the  mill  of,  in  1848,  497. 

Swanzey.  King  Philip  attacks  the  men  of  Plymouth 
at,  in  1675, 125. 

Sweden.    Comprised  in  Scandinavia,  34. 

Swedes.  Seize  Fort  Casimir,  142.  Subjugated  by  the 
Dutch,  143.  In  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  62. 

Swedish.  Colony  in  America,  92.  Fortresses,  captured 
by  Stuyvesanti  143.  West  India  Company,  93. 

Swine.  Taken  to  America,  first  by  De  Soto,  44 ;  to  New- 
foundland and  Nova  Scotia,  47, '58;  to  Virginia,  63. 


INDEX. 


669 


Sicords.    Ancient,  found  at  Montevideo,  11. 

Sycamores.     At  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  90. 

Sv. \iME8,  JOHN  CLKVES,  363. 

/Syracuse,  New  York.    Great  Council  Fire  at,  23. 

I 

Tabaco,  Yucatan,  70. 

Talladega.    Battle  at,  in  1813,  428. 

Tallushatchee.     General  Coffee  at,  in  1814,  428. 

Tamarona  Indians,  19. 

Tammany  Hall,  New  York  City,  148. 

Tampa  Bay.     De  Soto  lands  at,  in  1539,  44. 

Tampico.     Captured  by  Commodore  Conner,  485. 

TANEY,  ROGER  B..  Chief  Justice.  Keiuoves  the  Govern-  j 
inent  funds  from  the  United  States  Hank,  405.  Ad- 
ministers the  oath  of  office  to  President  Van  Buren, 
1837,470;  to  President  Harrison,  1841, 474 ;  to  Presi- 
dent Taylor,  1S49,  499;  and  to  Presdent  Pierce,  1853, 
514. 

Tariff  Bill.  Of  1828,  459,  463,  4G4.  Modifications  of 
the,  476,  477. 

TARLETON,  Colonel.  Loss  of  his  cavalry  horses,  off 
Cape  Hatteras,  309.  Defeats  Colonel  linger,  in  ITS!), 
811.  His  slaughter  of  Buford's  troops,  1780,  313.  At 
Sanders's  Creek,  316.  At  Fishing  Creek,  316.  At  the 
Cowpens,  331.  Portrait  and  notice  of,  316. 

Tattooing,  Indian,  13. 

Taxation.  Without  representation,  is  tyranny,  164, 
165,  211,  212.  William  Pitt's  opinion  of,  217.  Views 
of,  in  the  Carol inas,  164,  165 ;  and  in  Massachusetts, 
219.  In  the  United  States,  619. 

TAYLOR,  GEORGE.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, 602. 

TAYLOR,  ZACHARY,  General.  Succeeds  General  Jossup, 
in  the  Seminole  War,  1S37,  468.  His  Army  of  Occu- 
pation, 48(».  At  Point  Isabel,  481.  Captures  Mcta- 
moras,  483.  At  Monterey,  484;  Victoria,  485  ;  Buena 
Vista,  486.  Map  of  the  region  of  his  operations,  486. 
President  of  the  United  States.  1849,  490.  Death  of, 
501.  Portrait,  autograph,  and  notice  of,  498. 

Tea.  Tax  on,  by  the  British  Government,  222.  De- 
struction of,  at" Boston.  225. 

TECUMSEH.  Shawnee  Chief,  20,  408,  411.  Defeated 
by  Colonel  Miller,  411.  Houses  the  Southern  tribes 
of  Indians,  1813,  427.  Death  of,  424.  Notice  of, 
424. 

Te  Deum,  The.  Sung,  after  victories  and  deliverances, 
265. 

TELKAIR,  EDWARD.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, 611. 

Temple  of  the  Sun.    In  Mexico  and  Peru,  40. 

Tennessee.     Idol  found  in,  11. 

TERRY,  Admiral.    His  fleet,  at  Newport,  in  1780,  321.  1 
Death  of.  339. 

Territory.     Indian,  claimed  by  England,  17.     South-  j 
west  of  the  Ohio,  372.      Territorial  Government  of  j 
the    United    States,  362.     Territorial    System,  611. 
"The  Territories,"  96. 

Te-ungk-too,  or  Cross  Lake,  23. 

Texas.  Indians  in,  in  1853,  33.  Retained  by  Spain,  in 
1819,451.  Annexation  of,  to  the  United  States,  477, 
478.  State  Constitution  of,  479.  Claims  of,  499. 

Texel  River,  71. 

TKYENDAGAGES.    The  totum  of,  15. 

Tluimes  River,  Connecticut.  Discovered  by  Block,  72, 
87.  Mohegan  Indians  on  the,  21. 

Thames  River,  Canada.    Battle  on  the,  424. 

Thanksgiving  and  Prayer.  Congress  recommends 
the  appointment  of  a  day  for,  1789,  370.  National, 
after  the  Peace  of  1814,  144. 

THAYENDANEOA  :  see  BRANT,  JOSEPH. 

Thicketty  Mountain,  331. 

THOMAS,  JOHN,  General,  238.  In  Canada,  1776 ;  notice 
of,  243. 

THOMPSON,  BENJAMIN,  Colonel.  Count  Rumford ;  por- 
trait, autograph,  and  notice  of,  346. 

THOMPSON,  Colonel.     At  Sullivan's  Island,  1776,  249. 

THOMPSON,  DAVID.    His  colony  of  fishermen,  79. 

THOMPSON,  SMITH.     Secretary  of  the  Navy,  1818,  447. 

THOMPSON,  WILEY,  General.  His  Expedition  to  Flor- 
ida, 1834,  466.  Death  of,  467. 

THOMSON,  CHARLES.  Secretary  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress; Congress  presents  an  urn  to  his  wife,  228. 
Portrait  and  autograph  of,  227. 

THORLOOK,  Bp.     Of  Iceland,  35. 

THORNTON,  MATTHEW.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  002. 

THORNTON.  Captain.     At  the  Rio  Grande,  481,  482. 

THORWALDSKN,  BERTEL.     Danish  sculptor,  35. 

THURY.  M.,  the  Jesuit,  130. 

Ticonderoga.     Samuel  Champlain  at,  59.    Abercrom- 


bie's  Expedition  against ;  map  of,  196.  Ruins  of,  197. 
Captured  by  Allen  and  Arnold,  238. 

"  Tigress,'"'  schooner,  420. 

TILGHMAN,  EDWARD.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress, 556. 

TILGHMAN,  MATTHEW.  Member  of  the  first  Conti- 
nental Congress,  588. 

Timber  Creek,  93. 

Tinicum  Island,  93. 

Tinto  River,  39. 

Tippecanoe.    Battle  of,  408. 

Tobacco.  Its  ancient  general  use  among  the  Aborigi- 
nals, 14.  Discovery  of;  introduced  into  England  ; 
King  James's  treatise  on  ;  trade  in,  70.  A  circulating 
medium  in  Virginia,  H'5.  James  I.  proposes  to  con- 
tract for  the  whole  crop  of,  in  Virginia,  in  1628,  107. 
Treaty  of.  in  Virginia,  114.  Culture  of,  at  Plymouth, 
unsuccessful.  116^ 

Tabasco.  Cortez  lands  at,  43.  Captured  by  Commo- 
dore Perry.  485. 

Tomahawks.    Indian,  14. 

Tombigbee  River,  30. 

TO-MO-CHI-CHI.  Creek  Sachem ;  his  speech  to  Ogle- 
thorpe,  103. 

TOMPKINS,  DANIEL  D.,  Governor.  412.  Vice  President 
of  the  United  States,  1817  ;  notice  of,  446. 

Tonomy  Hill,  Rhode  Island.  125. 

Torbay.     William  of  Orange  lands  at,  113. 

Tortugas  Islands.     Ponce  de  Leon  at,  in  1512,  42. 

Tories.  In  the  Carolinas,  in  17t>0.  309.  The  term  Tory, 
explained,  226. 

TOTTEN,  Colonel.     At  Vera  Cruz  ;  notice  of,  489. 

Totum,  Indian.     Explained.  15. 

Ton-er  at  Newport.    Picture  of  the,  35. 

TOWNSHEND,  CHARLES,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  218. 

TowNsiiEND,  General,  201.     At  Quebec,  201-208. 

Traditions.     Indian,  respecting  a  universal  deluge,  11. 

Treason  against  the  United  States,  defined ;  how  pun- 
ished, 626. 

TREAT,  ROBERT.  Governor,  156. 

Treaties.  Indian,  362.  363.  Treaty  of  Peace,  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  1814,  443,  444- 
Treaty  between  Spain  and  the  United  States,  1819, 
451. 

Tremont.    Orisin  of  the  word.  118. 

Trenton,  New  Jersey.  Captured  by  Cornwallis,  260. 
Battle  of,  262.  Map  of  the  battle  of,  263.  The  Conti- 
nental Congress  meets  at.  588. 

Trial  by  Jury,  in  the  United  States,  630. 

Tri-Moiintain,  or  Boston,  Massachusetts,  118. 

Tripartite  Treaty,  The.  513. 

Tripoli.  The  United  States  at  war  with,  1801,  390,  391. 
Decatur  at,  1815.  445. 

"  Trippe,"  sloop,  420. 

TRIST,  NICHOLAS,  P.,  613.  United  States  Commissioner 
to  treat  for  peace  with  Mexico,  494. 

TROUP,  Governor,  456. 

TRUMBULL,  JOHN.  LL.D.  His  remark  respecting 
Washington,  17s9,  370.  His  allusion  to  General  Clin- 
ton, 288." 

TRL*MBULL,  JONATHAN.  Notice  of,  324.  Portrait  and 
autograph  of.  321. 

TRYON,  Governor,  223.  Driven  from  New  York,  248. 
At  Compo,  270.  Atrocities  committed  by,  270,  271. 
His  marauding  Expeditions,  in  1779,  296. 

TUCKER.     President  of  the  New  Jersey  Convention,  260. 

Tunis.  The  United  States  at  war  with,  ISol,  390.  De- 
catur at,  1815,  445. 

TUPPER,  General.  416. 

TURGOT.  M.  His  motto  for  a  medal  in  honor  of  Frank- 
lin, 603. 

Turtle  Tribe,  15. 

Tuscarora  Indians,  20,  23.  Defeated  by  the  Caroli- 
nians, 1712,  25  Join  the  Five  Nations,  1714,  25. 
Conspire  against  the  North  Carolina  settlements,  168. 

Tuspan.    Captured  by  Commodore  Perry,  485. 

TWIGGS,  General,  483,489.  At  Cerro  Gordo,  489,  490 ; 
at  St.  Augustine,  493.  Notice  of,  493. 

Twightwee .Indians,  19.  Enemies  of  the  United  States, 
19. 

TYLER,  JOHN.  Vice  President  of  the  United  States, 
1841,  473.  Succeeds  President  Harrison,  1841;  notice 
of,  475.  Portrait  and  autograph  of,  476. 

Types.    When  first  used  in  printing,  62. 

Uchee  Indians.    Their  territory  and  language,  12,  28. 

Population  of  the,  in  1650,  31. 
UNOAS.     Mohegan  Chief,  87.     His  rumor  aeainst  the 

Narragansets,  155.     Revolts  against  Sassacus;  grave 

of;  picture  of  the  Monument  to,  21. 


670 


INDEX. 


UNDERIIILL,  JOHN,  Captain.  87.  141. 

Union  Flag,  144.     Picture  of  the,  245. 

Unitarians.     Persecuted  in  Maryland,  82,  151. 

United  States.  Presidents  of  the :  see  Presidents. 
Bank,  440 ;  opposed  by  President  Jackson,  462,  465, 
466.  Census,  585  ;  in  IS.,0,  888.  Commerce,  381, 382  ; 
non-intercourse  with  Great  Britain,  in  1806,  899;  and 
in  1809,  4j6;  injured  by  England  and  France,  400, 
401;  and  by  pirates,  in  1819,  453.  Confederation,  Ar- 
ticles of,  23(5,  267,  353,  355.  Constitution,  355  ss.  Dis- 
covery of  the  coast  of  the,  by  Cabot,  47.  History  of 
the,  by  Bancroft,  and  by  Hildreth,  60.  Mint,  372,  373. 
Internal  Trade  of,  535.  Navy,  origin  of  the,  382; 
state  of,  in  1811,  407;  and  in  1S12,~"414,  415.  Post 
Office,  373.  Revenue,  in  1800,  388.  Territorial  ex- 
tent of,  535. 

Treaties:  with  Algiers,  1795,  381;  Belgium,  469; 
France.  180  >,  3S6 ;  Great  Britain,  1783,  348  ;  1794,  380  ; 
and  1S15,  443;  Mexico,  1848,  497;  Miami  Indians, 
18,)9,  41)8;  Russia,  469;  Spain,  381:  and  1819,  451; 
Tripoli,  1805,  395. 

Wars:  with  Algiers,  1801,  390  ;  England,  1S12,  409  ; 
France,  1798,  385';  Mexico,  1846,  480  ss. ;  and  1854, 
522;  Morocco,  1801,  390  ;  Tripoli,  and  Tunis,  1801,  390. 
Claims  of  the,  against  France  and  Portugal,  468. 
Dispute  of  the,  with  Great  Britain,  respecting  Ore- 
gon, 479,  480.  State  of  the,  in  1809,  405.  406.  Ex- 
ploring Expedition  returns  to,  in  1842,  476.  Indian 
population  of,  in  1853,  32.  Relations  between  the, 
and  Spain,  respecting  Cuba,  512. 

"United  Stated  frigate,  382,  414,  415. 
UPSHUR,  ABEL  P.     Secretary  of  the  Navy,  475. 
USSELINCX.     Projector  of  the  Dutch  West  India  Com- 
pany, 92. 

Utah.  Indians,  33;  number  of,  in  1853,  33.  Mormons 
in,  499,  5)3.  Territory  of,  501,  507.  Railroad  to,  516. 

Utrscht.    Peace  of,  185. 

VALENCIA,  General.     At  Contreras,  in  1847,  493. 

Valladolid.     Columbus  dies  at,  in  1506,  41. 

Valley  forge.  Washington  in  winter  quarters  at,  284. 
Map  of  the  encampment,  285. 

Valparaiso.     Naval  action  at,  in  1814,  431. 

VAN  BUREN,  MARTIN.  Secretary  of  State,  in  1829,  461. 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  1832,  464.  Pres- 
ident, 1837,  469.  Portrait  and  autograph  of,  47«). 
Notice  of,  469. 

VAN  DAM,  RIP,  150. 

VAN  DYKE,  NICHOLAS.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, 611. 

VANE,  HENRY,  86.  Governor ;  favors  Anne  Hutchinson, 
120. 

VAN  HORNE,  Major,  411. 

VAN  RENSSELAER,  SOLOMON,  Colonel,  413. 

VAN  RENSSELAER.  STEPHEN,  General.  Commands  the 
Army  of  the  Centre,  412.  Portrait  and  autograph  of, 
413.  Notice  of,  412. 

VAN  RENSSELAER,  KILLIAN,  139. 

VAN  TWILLER,  WOUTER,  139. 

VAX  WART,  ISAAC,  326. 

VARNUM,  JAMES  M.,  General,  355. 

VASCO  DE  GAM  A.  Passes  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in 
1497,  37. 

VASCO,  LUCAS  :  see  D' AYLLON. 

VASCO  NUNEZ:  see  BALBOA. 

VANDREUIL.     Governor-General  of  Canada,  203. 

VAUGHAN,  JOHN,  General.     Burns  Kingston,  283,  297. 

VELASQUEZ.  Governor  of  Cuba ;  his  Expeditions  to 
Mexico,  43. 

Vera  Cruz.  Its  fortress;  map  of  intrenchments  at; 
capture  of,  by  General  Scott,  1847,  489. 

VERGENNES.  Count  de.  His  dissatisfaction  respecting 
the  Treaty  of  Peace,  1783,  348. 

Vermont.  Added  to  the  United  States,  in  1791,  371. 
Slavery  never  existed  in,  534. 

Verplanck's  Point.     Capture  of  the  fortress  at,  297. 

VERAZZANI,  JOHN.  His  Expedition  to  America,  in 
1523 ;  portrait  of,  47. 

Versche  River,  or  Connecticut  River,  82. 

Vesper  Hymn.    Sung  by  Columbus  and  his  crew,  39. 

VESPUCIUS,  AMERICA.  Account  of,  40,  41.  Visits  the 
West  Indies,  and  South  America,  in  1499,  41.  Discov- 
eries by,  60.  Portrait  of,  34. 

Veto  and  Approval  powers  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  616. 

Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  How  elected 
621,  631,  632. 

VICTORIA,  General,  477. 

VIJIL,  Father.    At  Washington  city,  1855,  527. 

VILLIEBS,  M.  de,  183. 


Vincennes.    Captured,  and  re-captured,  1779,  303. 

'•  Viper"  brig,  414. 

"  Virago'"  steamship,  524. 

Virgin  Bay.     Battle  at,  1855,  525. 

Virginia.  Origin  of  the  name  of,  55.  Capes  of,  59. 
North,  63.  South,  63,  68.  First  settlement  of,  62. 
The  colonists  of,  subdue  the  Shawnees,  at  Point 
Pleasant,  19.  Lord  De  la  Warr,  governor  of,  in  16;i9, 
68.  Famine  in,  in  1610,  69.  A  thousand  Englishmen 
in,  in  1613,  70.  Yeardley's  administration  in,  70,  71. 
Representative  Assembly  in,  71,  105.  Tobacco  a  cir- 
culating medium  in,  in  1619,  105.  Opposes  Cromwell; 
invites  Charles  II.  to  be  king  of  Virginia,  109.  The 
Seneca  Indians  make  war  upon,  110.  Response  of  the 
Burgesses  of,  to  Jetfries,  113.  A  ship,  laden  with  corn, 
sails  from,  to  Boston,  118.  Militia  of,  in  1688;  coun- 
ties and  parishes  of;  population  of.  in  16S3, 114.  Takes 
measures  against  the  French,  in  1754, 182,  183.  Grant 
from  Parliament  to,  in  1756,  206.  Lord  Dunmore 
driven  from,  248.  The  Virginia  Plan,  359. 

"  Vixen"  brig,  414. 

Voyages  and  Discoveries,  Spanish,  36-45. 

"  Vulture"  sloop-of-war,  326. 

Wabash  River.    Indians  on  the,  21. 

WADSWOUTH,  Captain,  156,  157. 

WAINWRIGHT,  Bishop.  At  the  opening  of  the  World's 
Fair  at  New  York,  517. 

WALDRON,  Major.     Death  of,  130. 

Wales.    Supposed  Indian  colony  from,  32. 

WALKER,  Governor,  165. 

WALKER,  SIR  HOVEXUON.  At  Boston,  with  a  fleet  and 
army,  1711.  136. 

WALKER,  ROBERT  J.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1845, 
478. 

WALKER,  WILLIAM,  Colonel.  His  military  operations. 
525,  526,  527. 

WALKER,  Captain.    Of  the  Texan  Rangers,  481,  482. 

WALLACE.  SIR  JAMES,  223. 

Witttd-  Walla  Ificer.    Battle  at  the,  in  1855,  528. 

Walloons.  Thirty  families  of,  arrive  at  Manhattan,  in 
1623,  73. 

Walls.     Ancient,  discovered  in  America,  11. 

Walnut  Springs,  484. 

Walnut-street,  Philadelphia.     Origin  of  the  name,  162. 

WALPOLE,  ROBERT.  213. 

WALTON,  GEORGE.  Member  of  the  Convention  on  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  356.  Signer  of  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence,  602. 

WALTON,  JOHN.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 

Wampanoag  Indians,  22,  114,  124. 

Wampum,  Indian.     Picture  and  description  of,  13. 

WANCHESE.     Indian  chief,  55. 

War.  Of  the  Spanish  Succession,  135.  Of  the  Aus- 
trian Succession,  187.  See  United  /States. 

War-club,  Indian,  14. 

WARD,  ARTEMAS,  General.  In  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  198.  His  appointment  as  General,  1775,  230,  234, 
238.  At  Boston,  239.  Enters  Boston,  after  its  evacu- 
ation in  1776,  247. 

WARD,  HENRY.  Member  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress, 
556. 

WARD,  SAMUEL.  Member  of  the  first  Continental  Con- 
gress, 1774,  588. 

WARNER,  SETII,  Colonel,  234,  240,  276,  277. 

WARREN,  JOSEPH,  Dr.,  232,  233.     Portrait  of,  237. 

WARREN,  Admiral,  137,  138,  191. 

WARWICKE,  Earl  of,  85. 

Warwick,  Rhode  Island.     Burned,  127. 

Washington  City,  67.  Burned  by  General  Ross,  1814, 
436.  The  Seat  of  Government  "of  the  United  States, 
388. 

WASHINGTON,  GEORGE.  Bearer  of  Governor  Dinwid- 
die's  letter  to  M.  St.  Pierre,  in  1753, 181.  His  journey 
on  the  occasion.  181,  182.  Colonel  Fry's  Lieutenant, 
in  the  French  and  Indian  War,  182.  At  Great  Mead- 
ows, 183.  Resigns  his  commission,  in  1754,  184. 
Braddock's  Aid  ;  in  the  battle  of  Monongahela;  reads 
the  funeral  service  over  the  dead  body  of  Braddock  ; 
returns  to  Virginia;  his  wonderful  escape  from  death, 
at  Monongahela.  186.  With  General  Forbes,  in  his 
Expedition  against  Fort  Du  Quesne,  in  1758,  198. 
Member  of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  1774,  588. 
Commander-in-chief;  at  Cambridge,  1775,  238.  Causes 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  to  be  read  to  each 
of  his  brigades,  252.  His  retreat  from  Long  Island, 
254,  257.  At  Harlem  Heights,  257.  Exposure  at 
Kip's  bay;  crosses  the  Hudson  ;  at  the  house  of  Roger 
Morris,  259.  Crosses  the  Delaware;  pursued  by 


INDEX. 


671 


Cornwallis,  260.  Captures  Hessians  at  Trenton  ;  in- 
vested with  the  power  of  a  military  dictator,  '204. 
His  victory  ut  Princeton,  268.  Opinion  of  his  exploits 
in  New  Jersey,  expressed  by  Frederic  of  Prussia; 
his  winter-quarters  at  Morristowu,  269.  Perplexed 
by  Howe;  at  Philadelphia,  1777 ;  his  first  interview 
with  La  Fayette,  27'2.  Crosses  the  Schuylkill,  274. 
At  White  Marsh,  2;(3.  Pursues  Clinton,  in  1778;  ral- 
lies General  Lee's  troops ;  Lee's  offensive  letter  to, 
233.  At  White  Plains;  at  Middlebrook,  283.  Disap- 
proves of  the  proposed  invasion  of  Canada,  in  1778, 
294.  At  Valley  Force.  274,  284.  Scheme  for  super- 
seding him,  285.  At  Monmouth,  287.  Called  by  the 
Indians,  "Town  Destroyer;1'  Cornplanter's  Address 
to,  304.  In  winter-quarters  at  Morristown,  306.  Fits 
out  armed  vessels  at  Boston,  307.  Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral of  the  French  empire  ;  his  first  interview  with 
Rochambeau,  3  3.  Reprimands  Arnold,  1780,  325. 
Sends  the  wife  and  son  of  Arnold  to  New  York,  326. 
Proposes  to  attack  New  York,  in  1781,  339.  Writes 
deceptive  letters  to  General  Greene ;  at  Yorktown, 
340,  341.  At  New  Yo:k,  after  the  capture  of  Corn- 
wallis, 346.  Suppresses  the  general  discontent  in  the 
army,  in  1732,  349.  Quells  the  mutiny  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania troops,  in  1733,  350.  Nicola's  letter  to  him. 
349.  His  Farewell  Address  to  his  companions  in 
arms,  in  1733,35;);  and  his  farewell  to  his  officers, 
351.  352.  Resigns  his  commission ;  President  of  the 
Cincinnati  Society,  352.  Hamilton,  the  favorite  Aid 
of.  360,  361.  President  of  the  Convention  to  revise 
the  Articles  of  Confederation.  1787,  356.  Signer  of 
the  Constitution,  629.  President  of  the  United  States ; 
his  administration,  364.  His  journev  to  New  York, 
in  1739,  364,  365.  Takes  the  oath  of  office;  attends 
divine  service  at  St.  Paul's  Chapel,  New  York,  366. 
His  tour  through  the  northern  and  eastern  States,  in 
1789,  370.  Re-elected  President,  377.  His  Farewell 
Address  to  his  countrymen,  382,  633  ss.  Retires  to 
Mount  Vernon,  in  1T97,  383.  Death  of,  in  1799,  386, 
387.  Lee's  Funeral  Oration  on,  3S7.  Bonaparte's 
tribute  to,  337,  333.  Tribute  to.  by  the  British  fleet, 
333.  Portrait  and  autograph  of,  365. 
WASHINGTON,  Mrs.  Wife  of  the  President;  notice  of, 

386.     Portrait  and  autograph  of,  387. 
WASHINGTON,  JOHN,  110. 

WASHINGTON,  WILLIAM  AUGUSTINE,  Colonel,  334.     Por- 
trait and  notice  of,  332. 
Washington  Territory,  480,  513. 
"  Wasp"  sloop,  414,  415.  440. 
WATSON,  Colonel.     On  the  Pedee,  320. 
Waterfo  rd.     Henry  Hudson  at,  59. 
Watertown,  Massachusetts.     Founded,  118. 
WAYNE,  General.      Surprised  by   General   Grey,  274. 
Captures  Stony  Point,  298.     Attempts  to  suppress  the 
mutiny  of  the  Pennsylvania  troops,  323.      Pursues 
Cornwallis,  339.     At  Savannah,  346.     His  Expedition 
against  the  Indians,  in  1793,  374.     Crushes  the  Lenni- 
Lenapes,  in  1794,  21.     Portrait  and  notice  of,  293. 
WEHB,  General,  194. 

WEBSTEK,  DANIEL.     Secretary  of  State,  1841,  474 ;  and 
1850,  5,)2.      His  negotiation   with   Lord   Ashburton, 
1842,  472.     Seconds  Mr.  Clay's  Compromise  Act,  501. 
His  Oration,  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the 
addition  to  the  Capitol  "of  the  United   States,  1351, 
509.     His  answer  to  Hulsemann's  protest,  511.     Por- 
trait, autograph,  and  notice  of,  502.  503. 
WEHSTER,  FLETCHER.     Announces  the  death  of  Presi- 
dent Harrison,  475. 
WEHSTER,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  334. 
WEHSTER,  Captain.     At  Saltillo,  486. 
WEIR,  ROBERT  W.    His  picture  of  the  Embarkation  of 

the  Pilgrims,  77. 
"  Welcome,"  ship,  96. 
WELLINGTON,  Lord.    With  his  army,  enters  Paris,  in 

1814,431. 
WELLS,  Colonel.    One  of  the  chief  leaders  against  the  ; 

savages,  1813,  416. 
Welsh  Indians,  32.        , 

WEMYSS,  Major.     At  the  Broad  River,  in  1780,  319. 
WENTWORTII,  JOHN,  Jr.     Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, 611. 
Weroiroromoco,  Virginia.  66. 
WESLEY,  JOHN,  Rev.     In  Georgia,  171. 
WEST,  BENJAMIN,  356.     Portrait  and  autograph  of,  210. 
WEST,  JOSEPH.     His  colony,  in  1670,  98. 
Wefitc/i  ester,  New  York.     General  Knyphausen  at,  259. 
We  fit  Indie*.  The.     Voyages  of  Columbus  and  Vespu- 

f.ins  to,  40,  41.     Trade  of,  367. 

We*t  Jerxey.    Remarkable  law  enacted  by  the  Assem- 
bly of,  in  1631,  160. 


Westori1*  Colony  ( 115. 

Went  Point,  New  York.     Arnold  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of,  3'25. 

Wethersjield,  Connecticut,  86,  8S. 
WEYMOUTH,  GEORGE,  Captain,  53. 
Weymouth,  Massachusetts.    Burned,  127. 
Wlialeboat  Warfare,  308. 
;    Whale*.     Prove  the  fact  of  a  passage  between  Behrin" 

Strait  and  Baffin's  Bay,  511. 
;  WHALLEY,  EDWARD.     Regicide  Judge,  123. 
i  WJIEELEK,  JOHN  K.     Notice  of,  526. 
WIIE;-.LER,  Captain,  126. 

WHEELOCK,  Rev.  Dr.     His  school,  at  Lebanon,  25. 
WHEELWRIGHT,  JOHN,  Rov.  Founds  Exeter,  80.   Favors 

the  religious  views  of  Mrs.  Ilutchinson,  120. 
Whig  and  Tori/.  Explanation  of  the  terms,  226.    Whig 

Party,  in  1856,531. 

Wmi'i'LE,  ABRAHAM,  Commodore,  223.  His  flotilla;  por- 
trait, autograph,  and  notice  of,  310. 
Wmi'i'LE,  WILLIAM.     Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, 602. 
Wnii'i'LE,   Lieutenant.     His  Expedition   to   explore   a 

route  for  a  Pacific  railroad,  516. 
Whiskey  Insurrection,  The,  378. 
WHITCOMB,  SIMON,  117. 
WHITE,  JOHN,  Governor,  56,  57. 
WHITE,  WILLIAM.     His  son  Peregrine,  the  first  English 

child  born  in  New  England,  78." 
WHITE,  Colonel.     On  the  Santee  River,  in  1780,  311. 
WIIITEFIELD.  GEORGE,  Rev.     In  Georgia,  171. 
WHITEFIELD,  Jonx  W.,  General.     His  seat  in  Congress 

contested,  in  1855,  530. 
White  Mountains  of  New  Hampshire,  19. 
White  Plaint,  New  York.     Washington  at,  253. 
j  WICKLIFFE,  CHARLES  A.     Postmaster-General,  475. 
j  WICKLIFFE,  JOHN  DE,  the  Reformer,  62. 
Wife.     Price  of  a,  in  Virginia,  in  1620,  K5. 
Wigwam,  Indian.     Picture  and  description  of  a.  13. 
Wild  Flowers.     Planted  by  Indians,  on  the  graves  of 

their  friends,  15. 

j   WILKES,  Lieutenant.     His  Expedition.  476.  477. 
!  WILKINSON,  JAMES,   General.      Sent  by  Gates  with  a 
verbal  message   to   Congress,  282.      His  Expedition 
against  the  Indians,  in  1790,  374.     Burr's  associate,  in 
1805,  396.     With  General  Dearborn,  1812,  410.      Suc- 
ceeds Dearborn,  in   1313  ;    his   operations,  426.    At 
Prescott,  426,  427.     At  St.  Regis;  at  French  Mills, 
427.    At  Plattsburg,  in  1314,  432.     Notice  of,  426. 
WILLARD,  Major.     At  Brookfield,  in  1675,  126. 
WILLETT,  Colonel,  278. 
WILLIAM  I.,  of  England,  62. 

,   WILLIAM  II.,  of  .England,  113.     Has  no  children,  136. 
!  WIILIAM  III.,  and  MARY.    Accession  of,  130,  148.    Their 
war  with  France,  130.     William  prohibits  printing  in 
the  American  colonies,  153.      Interested  in  Captain 
Kidd's  Expedition,  149. 
William  and  Mary  College,  178. 

!  WILLIAMS,  DAVID.     One  of  the  captors  of  Andre,  826. 
WILLIAMS,  Ephraim,  Colonel.     Death  of,  190. 
WILLIAMS,  JAMES,  Colonel.     At  King's  Mountain,  319. 
WILLIAMS.  JOHN.     Signer  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 611. 
WILLIAMS,  JOHN,  Rev.     Captured  by  Indians  ;  picture 

of  his  house;  fate  of  his  wife.  135. 
j   WILLIAMS,  OTHO  II.,  Colonel,  318. 

I  WILLIAMS,  ROGER,  87,  158.  Founder  of  Rhode  Island, 
89,  119.  Persecuted.  119.  Pacifies  hostile  Indians  at 
New  Netherland,  141.  Portrait  and  autograph  of,  90. 
Notice  of,  89. 

WILLIAMS,  WILLIAM.    Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, 602. 

Williams  College.     Founded,  190. 
Willit miffs  Spring,  90. 
Wi/liamsburg,  Virginia,  111. 
WILLIAMSON,  HUGH.    Signer  of  the  Constitution  of  the 

United  States,  629. 
WILLIAMSON,  PASSMORE,  526. 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  93. 
WILMOT.  Captain.     Death  of.  343. 

WILSON,  JAMES.  Member  of  the  Convention  on  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  1787,  356,  359.  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  369.  Signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  602 ;  and  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  629. 
WILSON,  Rev.  Mr.  One  of  the  two  Boston  ministers ; 

Saltonstall's  letter  to,  118. 
WILSON,  ROBERT,  Ensign,  342. 

Wilticyck.    Indians  massacre  the  inhabitants  of,  143. 
WINCHESTER.  General,  416,  417.     Notice  of.  418. 
WINDER,  General,  426.    At  Bladensburg,  in  1814,  436. 


67 


INDEX. 


Windsor,  Connecticut,  S3. 

WINGFIELD,  EDWARD  M.  His  conduct  toward  Captain 
John  Smith  ;  deposed,  65. 

Winnebago  Indian*.  Character  of  the,  19.  Hostile  to 
the  Sioux,  31.  Conspire  against  the  English,  in  176:3, 
205. 

WINSLOW,  EDWAUD,  Governor,  85,  1S5.  Received  by 
Massasoit,  1620,  114.  Cows  and  a  bull  imported  by, 
116.  His  letter  to  Governor  Winthrop,  142. 

WINSLOW,  JOHN,  General,  1S5,  191. 

WINSTON,  JOSEPH,  Colonel.     At  King's  Mountain,  319. 

Winter.     Severe,  of  1777-177S,  234. 

WINTHROP,  JOHN,  Governor,  117,  118.  His  Expedition 
against  Canada,  131.  Applies  to  Charles  II.  for  a  new 
charter,  155  Indian  chiefs  at  the  table  of,  118.  Por- 
trait and  autograph  of,  117.  Notice  of,  118. 

Winytiw  B,iy.    La  Fayette  lands  on  the  shore  of,  273. 

WIRT,  WILLIAM.  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  447,  454. 

Wisconsin.     Admitted  to  the  Union,  in  1S4S,  497. 

WISNER,  HENRY.  Member  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  1774,  5S8. 

Wissagussct  S^.tt lament,  115,  116. 

Witchcraft.     In  Massachusetts,  132,  133. 

WITHERSPOON,  JOHN,  llev.  Signer  of  the  Articles  of 
Confederation,  611;  and  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, 602.  Moves,  in  Congress,  to  strike  out  the 
word  "Scotch"  from  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
593. 

Wocoke.n  Island-,  55. 

WOLCOTT,  OLIVER.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, 602 ;  and  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
611.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  384. 

Wolfe  Tribe,  15. 

WOLFE,  JAMES,  General,  196,  199,  200.  At  Quebec,  201. 
Death  of;  monument  to,  202.  Portrait  of,  201. 

Wolfed  Cove,  2  )2,  241. 

Wolfe's  Ravine,  202. 

Women.  Indian,  condition  of,  14,  15.  The  first  two  on 
the  James  River,  67.  A  hundred  anil  fifty,  become 
wives  of  Virginia  planters,  71.  No  white,  in  Virginia, 
in  1619;  ninety,  sent  by  Sandys,  in  1620;  sixty,  sent, 
in  1621,  105.  See  Wife. 

WOODBURY.  LEVI.     Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1S36, 470. 

Wood  Creek,  131. 

WOODFORD,  General,  244,  811. 

WOODHULL,  NATHANIEL,  General,  198,  254. 

WOOL,  JOHN  ELLIS,  General,  413.  At  Monclova;  at 
Parras,  484.  At  Braceti,  483.  At  Saltillo,  4S9.  His 
Indian  campaign,  1S55,  528.  Notice  of,  484. 


Wool.  Means  used  to  prevent  the  scarcity  of,  in  Amer- 
ica, 2 16. 

WOOLSEY,  Captain,  432. 

WOOSTER,  DAVID,  General,  238,  243,  271. 

World's  Fair.  At  London,  1851 ;  and  at  New  York, 
1853,  517. 

WORTH,  WILLIAM  J.,  General.  At  Monterey,  483  At 
Saltillo,  484.  At  the  Castle  of  Perote,  490.  At  Mex- 
ico, 494.  Notice  of,  493. 

WRIGHT,  SIR  JAMES,  295,  599. 

WRIGHT,  G.  W.,  of  California,  499. 

Writing.     Indian  picture,  13. 

Writs  of  Assistance,  212. 

Wyandot  Indium,  23,  24.  Cede  their  lands  to  the. 
United  States,  24.  Conspire  against  the  English,  1763, 
205.  Treaty  with  the,  363. 

Wyandot  County.    Invaded  by  the  Five  Nations,  24. 

WYATT,  SIR  FRANCIS,  106, 108. 

Wyoming  Valley.    Devastation  of,  in  1778,  290,  291. 

WYTHE,  GEORGE.  Member  of  the  Convention  on  the 
Articles  of  Confederation.  1787,  356.  Signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  6i.2. 

Yakinaw  County.    Battle  in,  1855,  527. 

YALE,  ELISHA.    Benefactor  ojf  Yale  College,  178. 

Yale  College.  158, 178. 

Yamacraw  Bluff',  100,  108. 

Yamasee  Indians,  30.  168, 170. 

Yankee  Doodle,  the  National  Song,  220. 

YATES,  ROBERT.  Member  of  the  Convention  on  the  Ar- 
ticles of  Confederation.  1787,  356. 

Yazoo  River.    De  Soto  on  the  banks  of  the,  in  1541,  44. 

YEAMANS,  SIR  JOHN,  98. 

YEARDLEY,  GEORGE,  Governor,  70,  107.  His  Represent- 
ative Assembly,  105. 

Yellow  Stone  River,  33. 

YEO,  SIR  JAMES,  432. 

YORK,  Duke  of,  94.  His  American  possessions,  129. 
Sells  New  Jersey,  159. 

York  River,  17,  66. 

Yorkshire,  territory  of.  80. 

Yorktmcn,  Virginia.  Fortified  by  Cornwallis,  in  1781, 
340.  Map  of  the  siege  of,  341.  Surrender  of,  341, 342, 345. 

YOUNG,  SIR  JOHN,  117. 

Youngstown.     Burnt,  in  1813,  427. 

Yucatan.    Discovery  of,  in  1506,  41. 

ZENGER,  JOHN  PETER.    Editor  of  the  New  York  Weekly 

Journal :  arrested,  150. 
Zipangi,  The  country  of,  38. 


THE   END. 


/  x* 


